There is something slightly ironic about writing a business blog while sitting in the garden.
It’s 11 o’clock in the morning.
The sky is crystal blue.
The temperature has already reached 29°C.
Inside my office, the air barely moves. My computer quietly pumps more heat into the room, and after half an hour I’m distracted, uncomfortable and counting down until I can escape.
Yet outside…
I’m productive.
Not because I’m working harder.
Because I’m working differently.
The Myth That Work Only Happens at a Desk
For years we’ve been taught that “real work” happens sitting at a desk.
Computer on.
Office chair.
Monitor.
Hours of uninterrupted concentration.
But self-employment gives us something many jobs don’t.
Choice.
It allows us to ask a much better question:
What is the best environment for this particular task?
Because not every piece of work needs a computer.
Different Tasks Need Different Spaces
Writing one of my finished blogs?
That needs my computer.
Formatting.
Editing.
Adding links.
Uploading to WordPress.
But creating the ideas?
Planning the structure?
Working out the stories I want to tell?
That happens brilliantly with nothing more than a notebook and a pen.
No notifications.
No emails.
No temptation to “just quickly” reply to one message before carrying on.
Just space to think.
No Squirrels
If you’ve followed me for a while, you’ll know I often talk about squirrels.
They’re those little distractions that pull us away from what we intended to do.
Checking emails.
Opening social media.
Looking up one tiny fact…
…which somehow turns into twenty minutes of reading something completely unrelated.
Outside, with just a notebook, there aren’t many squirrels.
There’s nothing asking for my attention except the page in front of me.
Ironically, walking away from my office often helps me focus far more than staying in it.
Productivity Doesn’t Always Look Productive
This morning I wasn’t rushing.
I wasn’t typing.
I wasn’t staring at spreadsheets.
I was simply writing bullet points.
Thinking.
Watching the garden.
Listening to birds singing.
Hearing Leo happily rustling around the plants before inevitably deciding that chasing the neighbour’s cat was far more important than helping me work.
From the outside, it probably didn’t look like work at all.
But by the time I go back indoors, I’ll have several blog outlines ready to turn into finished articles.
That means less time sitting in front of a hot computer later today.
Working With Yourself Instead of Against Yourself
I’ve learned something over the years.
When I stop forcing myself to work the way I think I should, I usually get far more done.
If it’s too hot in the office, perhaps that’s the perfect time to plan rather than type.
If I need a break, I might water the vegetables before coming back with a clearer head.
If my brain needs fresh air, perhaps fresh air is exactly what it should get.
That’s not avoiding work.
Your Time. Your Way.
One of the biggest advantages of running your own business isn’t simply choosing your own hours.
It’s choosing how you use those hours.
Your most productive place might be a quiet office.
It might be a coffee shop.
It might be the kitchen table.
Or, like me on a hot summer’s day, it might be sitting in the garden with nothing but a notebook, a pen and the occasional interruption from a dog who thinks squirrels, leaves and cats are all equally fascinating.
Productivity isn’t about looking busy.
It’s about creating the environment where your best work can happen.
With a family wedding in the Isles of Scilly just around the corner, there are lots of little jobs competing for my attention. Spending a morning planning blog ideas outside means I’ll have less computer time later in the week, leaving more energy for everything else that needs doing.
Sometimes that means sitting at your desk.
Sometimes it means walking away from it.
And sometimes…
It simply means your time, your way… with no squirrels.