Early Morning Work Lights

December 10, 2023

So here’s an interesting thing: lately, I’ve gone into the office a little earlier than usual. We’re doing a hybrid schedule, with folks spending two days in the office and the rest of the time remote (I also should mention we end our weeks early, on Friday at 1PM).

When I come into the office, I’ll typically catch an early Metra train that gets me sitting at my desk around 8:40 AM.

But sometimes, I’ll drive in… and to try to beat some of the traffic, will try to get in even earlier.

A thing I’ve noticed: if I’m the first person in the office, sometimes the lights are in their “screensaver” mode – and the whole office is pretty dimmed.

I’ve noticed this a lot if I go into the bathroom – the lights are low, and my walking in activates them. An indicator that I’m the first person to walk in, that day.

On a few rare occasions, I walk in to find the entire office lights dim. An indicator that I’m the first one to have walked onto the floor that day.

Caught a bit of video, a few days ago:

I’m sharing this more as a “look at this interesting tech thing,” and not as a “look at how hard I’m working” thing. I find this type of automation intriguing, and I’m remembering the various ways the various offices I’ve worked in have handled lighting in the off-hours.

It’s neat to think that people have put time towards imagining the presence and absence of humans, in a given space. Accounting for room temperatures, if more people are present and their collective body heat will add to the warmth of a space; power consumption and needs, in the late hours when no one is expected to be around.

It’s definitely weird to think of myself as a morning person. The Felix from 21 years ago would argue against this kind of behavior, if he wasn’t so busy taking naps.