Moving office - pros and cons

Having been ensconced in my office for the best part of 8 years, the idea of moving to a new office had more pros than cons.

The reason I (and a number of my colleagues) were moving was due to the company's growth. We already filled the entire 3rd floor of what would have been a perfect location on the edge of the Barton Creek Green Belt, but for the fact that it is 30 miles away from where I live, and on the other side of city of Austin, so not just a long commute, a long and very busy commute towards, and through the city centre. So, moving from the 3rd to the 2nd floor might be a few steps closer to home, but that doesn't change the commute, and in fact will increase the number of times I have to climb the stairs up to the 3rd floor for meetings. Fortunately, I see the exercise as a pro.

Old office packed and ready to go

Being forced to clear out all the drawers and shelves in my office is definitely a big pro - it is way past time to do that, the con side is that I took a bunch of stuff home and now it clutters up my storage room and will honestly have to be thrown out. I have a hard time throwing anything away, because 'you never know when you will need it again'.



A definite con is the amount of hours lost packing and unpacking. A small con is also the fact that the new office space was only just barely ready to move into, there is still the snag list to be taken care of, but that is minor, and should be done and forgotten by the second week.

As I see it the biggest pro is that we (Development and QA) are essentially a quiet group, spending much of our day engrossed in and focused on our work, usually that requires deep concentration. We are now removed from the considerable noise that did surround us, from departments whose modus operandi was noisy by virtue of their job and their personalities. We are also off the beaten track, there will be no casual passers by, anyone coming down to our area will do so because they have business there, therefore the frequent unnecessary interruptions will (should) cease, that is after the initial curiosity visits have ceased.

Now, if we can just remember to turn off the coffee before the last person leaves in the evening, we should be set.

New Office, unpacked and settling in