This is an I-Heart podcast.

Good morning. This is Laura.

Welcome to the new corner office, the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the new world of work,

where location and hours are more flexible than in the

past. Today's tip is to have a go-to second workspace. When you're working from home, you don't

have to stay in your own version of a cubicle, and sometimes you shouldn't. Moving around can put you in a different frame of mind.

I've worked in my home office for years, and I like to think I'm pretty efficient.

But sometimes I need to do different sorts of projects.

When I was working on the manuscript for a novel called The Cortland Boys a few years ago,

I started driving over to my local library

and working there. It was generally pretty quiet, and the space felt different. When I surrounded

myself with other people's novels, it was somehow easier to convince my brain that it was time

to write fiction. Libraries are great. Coffee shops can serve the same secondary space

function, as can a restaurant during off-peak hours, as long as you order enough to make your table

profitable. Of course, as I'm writing this, many coffee shops, libraries, and restaurants are

still closed to promote social distancing.

But even if you're sheltering in place, you might be able to generate a second workspace in your home.

If you normally work at the kitchen table, try sitting on the sofa for a while.

If you normally work in the guest room, take your laptop out to the back porch to coax out some different thoughts.

I have a dedicated home office with a desk as does my husband, but we both have reading chairs wedged into the corners of our offices, so we can hang out in our secondary work spaces within our work spaces.

I find it easier to focus on reading for work when I'm

not sitting in the place where I return emails. Plus, the backdrop is nicer for video calls.

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