I subscribe to the blog titled “Home Office Warrior” by Grant Griffiths. I get great ideas from him and he references other blogs that also give great ideas. In his post titled “Beating the Top 10 Problems of Working at Home” which I read yesterday, I learned about some of the downfalls of having a home office. (you mean like quick access to the refrigerator?) I don’t have kids, but there are other distractions.

I can seriously relate to the neighbor’s dogs barking for four hours. Try ALL DAY! I did eventually learn to tune them out for the most part. There are times when I’ll be so deep in thought and writing, and my dog will hear something I don’t hear. She has a very deep, eerie bark when she’s alarmed, and it’s the kind that sends chills up your spine if she stares at a part of your home and does that bark. That’s enough to take me out of my deep thoughts.

Then, there is her need for her to lick her paws, smack, smack, smack, and the occasionally snoring she does. (like right now)

I like item #4 in the above article, where it is suggested you find a place where you can go and get some work done if you need to get out of your home office. He calls it his “third office”. I only have my home office, so I need a second office.

I’d like to introduce you to my “Second Office”. It’s the Mercer University Law Library. I spent seven hours there today. I closed out the place at 8 p.m. That’s seven full hours of working on nothing but cause of action stuff, with no interruptions. No access to the Internet (so no blogging distractions). No tempting refrigerator. No email to answer. No doors to answer.

I’ve found I get far more work done in the library than I do in my home office.

Another nice thing about my second office is the atmosphere. When I’m there, I’m automatically in the mood for getting to business on my cases. I guess it’s the idea that everyone there is learning laws in some form or another.

The only thing that’s missing is Starbucks. Do you think Mercer has a suggestion box?

There was a guy sitting behind me who must be in the same situation as me, only as a student, I think. He was looking up things in a book, and I could see his reflection in my laptop. He stood up and said BOOM! (quietly so it’s not too loud, but I could hear him loud and clear). He thrust his fists in the air and said “I got you now for fraud!”. Based on my experience when I first discovered cause of action books, I know the thrill he must be feeling as he discovers that initial feeling when a light goes off and you see things you didn’t see before, and you can piece things together a bit better than before.

He may just be a law student who has discovered an answer to his studies, or he may be a grasshopper like me who likes his “Second Office” and the knowledge it contains on its shelves.

I like looking at all the books on the shelves, knowing they contain knowledge that will help me get through this, somehow. It was a very good day at my “office” today.