Does it not seem like a conflict of interest to anyone else that 37signals preaches the work-from-home lifestyle while selling remote collaboration tools?
My living space and work space are the same. But on most days, I'm out the bedroom door at 6pm and in talking to my wife and playing with my son in the kitchen at 6:01pm. Happiness and productivity are very tightly linked.
I recently went back to a separate office, it's been a freaking blessing. And don't get me wrong, I was very productive at home -- I'm just more productive in the right ways now. Working at an office generally gives you more focus on what's really important.
That's the average work environment, in my experience :)
> Working at an office generally gives you more focus on what's really important.
I do work from home but with a specific (and very small) area as my office - I'm far more productive here than in the cubicles I used to work.
I've found that I actually work hours than I used to, at a higher productivity level than I used to. I am very motivated and passionate about what I do, which helps an awful lot. I don't think that everyone could do it, and I don't think it's the best possible solution, but it works better than anything else I've tried yet.