Megan Elizabeth Morris (aka MEM, Megan the M.) is a bonafide professional catalyst and adventurer. As the Ideaschema instigator, orchestrator and autodidact, she is hopelessly addicted to Making Things Happen.
Today I made a funny connection. Do you have a connection to make, too?
I’ve been putting off our next move forever. Our rent is low (at least for Austin, and for the space we have) but the part of town we live in isn’t quite what I want it to be. I have a list of demands for the next place we live, and I intend that it be someplace I want to stay for a good long time. (On purpose, not just to keep the rent low.) But I keep holding off. I keep saying, it’s not time yet.
And then while I was in New York enjoying my mobility — walking everywhere, taking the bus as needed, glorying in the melting pot of a big city with infinite treasures — I saw this sign.
It said, “Instant Office, $600.”
And I have to tell you that until that point, it had honestly never occurred to me to want an office.
But when I saw that I could have one in Chelsea for $600 a month, I thought… Huh.
I thought, if I can have an office in Chelsea for $600, I can certainly have an office in Austin, if I want one.
Did I want one?
Well… no, not even a little.
But I knew that if I had wanted an office, I could have one. At any time.
How interesting, I thought.
And I mulled that over for awhile.
But I really didn’t want an office. I like being officeless. The second bedroom in my apartment is called “the office” (and actually used to be my office more than just nominally), but honestly, it tends to be more of an extra room to store electronics and office items we don’t need every day. I love working in my living room, or at coffee shops around town. I picked up a Clear subscription to make working outside of the house even easier. Who needs an office? I love being mobile. I intend to get more and more mobile as I go — not less. So no, I don’t need an office.
But the fact that I had seriously considered it made me do a double take. After all of that, I was pretty sure that if I would have significantly benefited from an office… I would have gone and found one. Maybe this month, maybe next. Certainly in the next six months or so. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what I would have done.
So why have I been holding off on that move again?
That move that’s going to give me better, healthier space? That move that will give me a better workspace in my home and a better environment to keep my brain sane? That move… is way better than an office.
So yeah, I did spend half the afternoon looking at apartments around town. I admit it. Because if I’m going to seriously speculate about having an office, I’ll be damned if I don’t also seriously speculate about loving the space I’m living and working in.
The thing is, we all have a few more options than we think we do. Most of us can squeeze thirty bucks out of a fluctuating grocery budget even in the worst of times. The question is, what are you squeezing that thirty bucks for? If it’s a hundred, then why? If it’s $600, is it worth it?
I mean, really worth it?
Because if it is, I don’t know what’s stopping you.
Or me.
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