In June, I was working in a co-working space in Tenerife. The co-working office was dark and cooled, what seemed like an advantage considering the rather warm and very sunny climate in Tenerife. And it did start fantastically productive. After I got away from the daily distractions of my wife and son, I was finally able to sit at a quiet desk and work on the long to-do list that had piled up over the days.
Yet, what I thought of as an advantage quickly turned out to be an immense productivity and creativity killer: artificial light.
Because the co-working office was so dark, with very little daylight coming into the space, it was illuminated with bright artificial LED lights.
After a week or so, I started to escape every more often to grab a coffee outside, have a longer lunch break, or finally dividing my day into two parts – a morning and evening work session. I was craving sunlight.
After one month, I finally left the dark artificial co-working environment. Not really knowing where to work from, we ended up renting apartments with a desk somewhere. But these workplaces turned out to be anything but ideal. While a little less dark, the added distractions from my little son didn’t allow my productivity to be anywhere near where I wanted it to be. It was unacceptably low.
Not having the time to do deep work and accomplish my most important tasks can frustrate me a lot that I even went so far considering flying back to our family in Germany, renting an office from which I can finally truly focus on work.
Something had to change. So today, I stepped into my car, originally with the idea of finding a good café or small co-working place to work from. But before I started the engine, I reflected and then realized that more of the same will give me more of the same.
I looked on the map and thought: where can I work from? With zero distractions? In nature?
I chose a remote picnic and barbecue place in the middle of the forests, in the mountains. I knew that they have benches, outside weekends they are absolutely quiet, and they offer sufficient shadow thanks to the trees. I said: perfect, grabbed two alcohol-free beers and drove there.
From there, I’m writing this. Barefoot and grounded with earth. Listening to birds, the wind, and the sound of the forests. No Wi-Fi, not even cell network. Occasionally, hikers are passing by, probably thinking: “What a genius.”
In fact, it turned out to be the most creative, reflective and productive 3 hours I have spent in the past years.
For the next 30 days, I will come back to this place. To meditate, to work, to hike, to train, and for sure to have a barbecue with my family.
If there is one thing I learned, it is that the work environments we have created are artificial. They restrict our creativity and hinder us at unfolding human excellence.
We are constantly working in artificial environments, we are bombarded with constant distractions, and we always have an eye on the clock.
The best thing we can do is to escape artificiality and reconnect with nature. Instead of measuring productivity by tasks and time, we should measure it by the creative and intellectual output we deliver. And that – I am very certain – is achieved grounded and in deep connection with nature.
