Last day in the office

The year comes to a close, offices will be deserted and people will rest. But are they really resting?

Writing for the NY Times, Lisa Belkin explored the need for white space,places outside of the typical environment, to get real work done in her column titled: You won't find me in my office working.

Lisa Belkins believes many of us are

“looking for “white space,” a term creeping into the language of work to describe a place where the actual work gets done. Desks suffice for answering phones and filing forms, but when it comes to the creative or introspective aspects of a job, desks can be uninspiring at best, or formidable obstacles at worst.

So we leave those desks. Because we can. We take our laptops and seek shelter (and WiFi) either elsewhere in the building, as Mr. Judkins does, or farther away in libraries and bookstores.

The term “white space” implies a place set apart, physically and mentally. It is not only used by graphic artists to describe the empty space in a layout, but also by time managers to explain the minutes frittered away between appointments on office calendars.

Andy Hines, who studies the future of work at the Washington office of Social Technologies, a global consulting firm, said white space is “what we are looking for when we have thinking to do.”

My white space is a room filled with good music and the TV on in the background. Hey, everybody is different.

Or as Belkin says: "That in the end might be ultimate purpose of white space: The choosing, the control."

May you find many opportunities to enjoy your white space during the holidays.