In my quest to create the perfect home office I've arrived on another crucial component: The Cat. <img src="/attachments/59/jasper.jpg" alt="Jasper" style="border: 5px solid #eeeeee" /> This is Jasper, chief morale officer and warmer of cold laps. (This is part of a series, here's "part 1":http://myersds.com/notebook/2006/05/19/creating_a_home_office_part_1) h2. The Upsides Surprisingly having a cat around does a lot for me, especially when you're the only one in the apartment during the day. Just having him around makes the place much less lonely, which I find to be one of the biggest problems of working at home. He also puts me in a much better mood, he's still a bit of a whiner (which I attribute to getting used to the apartment), but the fact that he's completely agreeable to frequent behind the ear scratching just makes me smile. h2. The Downside Jasper can be a bit of a nuisance, and does prevent me from getting work done some mornings. But usually he settles down and takes a nap, and I find myself just as productive then. h2. Final Notes If you work at home and like cats this is a no-brainer. Even if you're not a big cat person you should give it a shot. Pets just make working a home much more tolerable. 2006-08-30T14:08:06+00:00 0 <p>In my quest to create the perfect home office I&#8217;ve arrived on another crucial component: The Cat.</p> <p><img src="/attachments/59/jasper.jpg" alt="Jasper" style="border: 5px solid #eeeeee" /></p> <p>This is Jasper, chief morale officer and warmer of cold laps.</p> <p>(This is part of a series, here&#8217;s <a href="http://myersds.com/notebook/2006/05/19/creating_a_home_office_part_1">part 1</a>)</p> <h2>The Upsides</h2> <p>Surprisingly having a cat around does a lot for me, especially when you&#8217;re the only one in the apartment during the day. Just having him around makes the place much less lonely, which I find to be one of the biggest problems of working at home.</p> <p>He also puts me in a much better mood, he&#8217;s still a bit of a whiner (which I attribute to getting used to the apartment), but the fact that he&#8217;s completely agreeable to frequent behind the ear scratching just makes me smile.</p> <h2>The Downside</h2> <p>Jasper can be a bit of a nuisance, and does prevent me from getting work done some mornings. But usually he settles down and takes a nap, and I find myself just as productive then.</p> <h2>Final Notes</h2> <p>If you work at home and like cats this is a no-brainer. Even if you&#8217;re not a big cat person you should give it a shot. Pets just make working a home much more tolerable.</p> 59 1 1 notebook/2006/08/30/creating_a_home_office_part_2