The Virtual Office

Sometimes, I get bored working from home. Writing is a solitary pursuit but I do more than just write - I also run VillageQ with Deborah and Polly and work with a great group of writers over there. Deborah and I do a lot of brainstorming about content and we have Big Ideas that we would love to make happen. But, we are also parents and our time is limited. We can't spend every waking moment with our Big Ideas so, when we have one, we say, "Whiteboard that!" We never whiteboard anything because she lives in New Jersey and I live in Minnesota. This is the modern world of work where many people work from home and have co-workers all over the country. It's incredible and also a little lonely at times.

My workspace is in my bedroom but I bought a small whiteboard to hang on the bookshelf next to my desk. My plan was to whiteboard all those Big Ideas that we have so that I could remember them but also feel like there was a tiny thread binding my real and virtual work spaces together. I excitedly told Deborah about it and then I waited for the ideas and then my whiteboard fell down before I ever wrote a single thing on it. Stupid, cheap whiteboard! It was too small for our Big Ideas anyway.

So, today, I was wondering if I could use dry erase markers on the window by my desk and then I googled "DIY whiteboards" and - let me tell you - there are a million cool ideas for repurposing things for whiteboards. But then, I found the ultimate solution - dry erase paint!

Now, I want an entire wall for a whiteboard!

More than anything, though, I want a whiteboard wall in a cozy little office with all the people with whom I work online. We'd have our giant whiteboard and a pool table (per Deborah's request) and coffee and tea and a comfy couch and snacks. I just know we'd have the best snacks.