The Office Gal

The one bad part about having a great job that you love is the décor of your office your cubicle; basically the cubicle itself. A boring shade of gray or blue, a cubicle is a company’s cheapest route when it comes to making sure everyone has some privacy without having to rebuild the already formatted office. Cubicles are also a god-send for those offices lacking in space, but needing room for many more.

Past experience working in cubicles has left a sour taste in my mouth. A 3 foot by 3 foot area to call my own, with a depressing shade of blue or gray, sometimes both, that can leave you very depressed about going into work. The hardest part about working in a cubicle setting, everyone knows your business, leaving you with a feeling of your personal space being violated.

Well, over the past few years cubicles have taken the high road. Designers are giving the old cubicle a face lift, coming out with energetic looks that will give you reason to wake up and sprint off to work. OK, maybe not that great, but still awesome none the less.

I could definitely work in this cubicle setting, could you? Designed by Douglas Ball the cubicle offers a workspace worth working in; privacy, but still able to communicate with your team, and an added feature, a closing door for added privacy or a notice that you are busy at work.

I like the look of this cubicle because it has a very clean appealing look. Plus, an easy to clean feel so that you can easily clean the cubicle walls, something a bit difficult to do if you were ever lucky enough to spend time inside a blue or gray carpeted cubicle. You know what I’m talking about – shredding fabric that everything clung to.

Another cubicle that I found a bit interesting and that you have to see is by Knoll A3 Office. A design of what many think looks like the “furniture of the future”, takes on a whole new concept in workstations.

Really not seeing much privacy offered by this creation, but I find it to be a stylish way to go for a cubicle. A smart idea! Do you live in a loft setting? Use this cubicle to separate your office from the rest of your home.

Time is everything when you work independently from a corporate office or as a freelancer. Home offices can be scrutinized tremendously for being lax, having more free time, and just not being under the same regiment that a corporate office is. Entrepreneurs may also find it difficult to keep documentation on hours worked for a client by logging manually.

What is the best way to squash the rumors? Track the time to better serve your company, or for entrepreneurs, serve yourself. Tracking is as simple as downloading software onto your computer that will automatically log your work and associated time. In turn, logged information will benefit personnel for payroll and attendance; for freelancers, it will help with billing clients correct hours spent on projects.

There are several companies that offer tracking software. Two that I found are TimeClock Plus and Time Sprite. Both are very easy to install and use, and will offer a great reporting system for attendance, payroll, project time, taxes; just a variety of tasks that will keep both the corporate office or freelancer on track and on time.

The following screenshots will give you an idea of what each application will look like during use.

TimeClock Plus

Time Sprite

Other suggestions to stay organized and on track – The BusyBodyBook®