New office is a step forward in several ways

Kaity Holtman

We moved back into our new office three weeks ago.

There are still some finishing touches to be done, but these changes are so welcomed.

Our walls are a lighter color, the lights are a warm white instead of that antique yellow, and everything is open and clean.

It feels fresh and new and wonderful.

It truly feels like we’re moving forward. We’re not just inhabiting the building we moved into two and a half years ago.

This new look comes with a feeling of ownership, even if it’s just the Cobbs that actually own it.

It’s not just the office; it’s our office.

The office before was dark and dingy.

A building that housed a printing press and ink for years can only be so clean.

This is a blank new canvas.

This office represents the good that change can bring. Obviously being in the print newspaper business, we realize the importance of history and learning from the past.

But it is also obvious that processes and outlets in the news and media business are ever changing because of technology and online opportunities.

So the fact that we have new and fresh scenery hopefully gives us a new and fresh mindset to be on the forefront of the ever-evolving media world.

I love purging the old, cleaning the current, and minimizing “stuff” in the future.

Like I said, I completely understand the importance of the past, and my husband is an especially nostalgic person. But sometimes I just get so tired of “stuff.”

How do we plan ahead and move forward in life if we’re stuck in the past?

But that “stuff” isn’t just physical stuff.

It’s the processes and unnecessary stress that can clutter our lives.

Some of our staff recently attended the Northwest Missouri Press Association conference where we heard from a speaker who is an expert in the computer programs we use. He talked a lot about making our processes more efficient so we have time to move forward instead of just doing the same things over and over again.

How much time do we spend doing the same things repeatedly without thinking about how we can spend less time doing those and more time moving forward?

How much time do we spend spinning our wheels?

We can look at things even as simple as our morning routine. For those of who fight the battle between getting a few more minutes of sleep and not being rushed, looking at our process for getting ready in the morning can help achieving both.

In the daily newspaper world, we do the same things every day, with a little variance.

Every day we sell, build, and place advertising; write, edit and photograph stories; and design, layout and send off pages to be printed.

Every day we do the same thing.

I would guess a lot of businesses are similar, even if every day varies a little. How can we make those processes more efficient so we have more time to move our business forward and try new things to lead to greater success?

How can we challenge ourselves a little each day to make huge strides?

We all catch ourselves saying “Someday, we want to do this …,” or “the long-term goal is to ….”

But how are we taking steps to make those “somedays” and those long-term goals happen?

Our new office is definitely a step ahead.

We’ve already found ways it makes us more efficient. It’s a huge step in making our “someday” plans come true, sooner rather than later.