The magic of sitting outside to work

There's a quiet, simple kind of magic to sitting in a chair in the shade on a sunny, breezy day and getting some work done. Suddenly, you're both being productive (presumably) and enjoying the world around you. 

The older I get and the more I have to work in offices, whether it's a home office or a regular office, the more I find myself craving connection to the outdoors. Luckily, my wife and I hike regularly (especially during the cooler months) and we have two dogs which require us to get outside often. But still, I find myself on Zillow looking at homes and plots of land deep in Northern California, or Washington state, or elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). I dream of moving to a house in the redwood forests that's close enough to the beach and civilization to regularly go surfing and make shopping easy but also far enough away to feel secluded. 

Hell, these dreams extend out of the Pacific Northwest too. While this region is stunningly gorgeous, I love surfing at my home break in Florida just as much as I love hiking in California. I can be sure, then, that I'm not just craving trees or specifically the PNW. I just need the outdoors. 

My wife and I recently bought a blue adirondack chair and a lavender plant for our front porch. After a year of living in our townhome, our front porch finally isn't empty. It was her idea, and the funny thing is, I was resistant to it at first. I argued that "We'll never use a chair on the front porch!" And "there's not enough space out there anyway." Then I decided it wasn't worth arguing about and that I should just go along with what she wanted. Now, I've realized that she was right all along and that I really like having a chair out front to sit on. Go figure.

See, being in the outdoors is more than just something I crave; it helps me to be more relaxed and focused. It's easier to enter into and maintain a flow state while I'm working, and I feel more creative. I'm not the only one who experiences these benefits. It's been suggested that spending time outside tends to improve overall happiness, lower blood pressure, and help mood and mental health. I suspect that many people who try working outside (weather permitting, of course) will enjoy it and experience benefits from it.

And here's the thing: for all my complaining and talk about wanting to move, I've got it better (as far as access to the outdoors) than most people living in San Francisco, Oakland, or other heavily populated regions of the Bay. My wife and I rent a comfortable two-story townhouse with a variety of hiking trails within 5 minutes. Our dogs love it here, and it feels suburban enough that we don't feel like we're in the middle of nowhere, but the hiking trails are closer than the nearest Target, so that's nice. 

So really, there's no good reason at this point for us to move. We're in a great location and we are close enough to my job that, when I need to start commuting again, it'll be a breeze. How, then, can I reclaim some more connection to the outdoors?

Sit outside, in the shade, on a lawn chair, and get some work done. The dogs can frolick and sunbathe in the grass and I can sip on a cup of coffee or tea while I work. My wife can sit with me, and we can all be together. The only family member that can't come outside is the cat. He's never been outside, and he's definitely the dumbest of our animals. He'll panic and run away. He can't handle it.