Combating the Vacuum, Part III
New Office (365.11 Outtake), originally uploaded by kpwerker.
Here I was yesterday, earplug-like earphones piping my shuffled iPod contents into my head while I got real, wonderful work done.
For many, many months I have considered finding a place outside of my house to work. I’ve found it increasingly difficult to relax at home and to tease apart domestic work from work work from play. This latest and most severe bout of inertia I’ve had finally prompted me to take action.
As of yesterday, I rent a desk in a shared office on Granville Island. It’s an easy bus ride from home, which is part of the allure. I love riding the bus, and a short commute on either end of my day is a much-appreciated transition between home and work, and vice versa. My new officemates seem fun and friendly, and interacting with people should also help me to feel productive and energetic during the workday. Watching tourists out the window is fun, as is seeing the underbelly of the Granville Street bridge. The only immediately apparent downside is the pan flutist.
I’ll work from home for part of the day today, as I need my stacks of color cards and I don’t want or need to take those into the office. And then I’ll pack up my laptop and head over. I have a good feeling about this new arrangement. Phew.
Humongous Pom Pom = Warm Head
365.10 (After the Cold, Rainy Camping Day), originally uploaded by kpwerker.
I always forget something when I pack hastily to go camping for the weekend. I know you do, too. This weekend I forgot a toque. Yeah, it’s summer, but this is British Columbia. It was supposed to be a rainy weekend (and it was), and that means chilly nights. And I like to sleep in a toque or a hood when I camp—keeps me nice and toasty. So I slept in my hoodie on Friday night, and got said hoodie drenched in the rain on Saturday. And I couldn’t let go of having forgotten a toque, so we drove into to town to find one. And the only ones left that had any wool in them at all (it was raining! I needed some wool) were these. Given what I do for a living, note the significance when I say that’s the biggest pompom I’ve ever seen on a hat. And my head was warm when I slept. And it was good.
OMG! I Forgot the Pirate Goose!
Serves me right for rushing to write my weekly roundup in only twenty minutes. Perhaps the very best part of my week: 300-word fiction about pirate geese!
I really did receive an email asking, “Do you have a crochet pattern for a pirate hat small enough to fit a goose?” I seriously nearly hemorrhaged when I read it. And now five people have written very short fiction using that line. So polish up your word skillz and go over there and share your tale.
Absurdity is my favourite (yes, my top-of-the-list favourite) thing in the world.
3rd July Weekly Roundup (Speed Version)
This week I’m going to write my roundup in less than twenty minutes. Ready? Go.
- I was unable to fully combat the vacuum this week. I was surprised by this. And not just a bit twitchy over it. Close to freaking out, actually. But one, single, good thing has come from it. It’s put me over the edge on an issue I’ve contemplated for many months: I’ve gone and rented myself a desk in a shared office on Granville Island. So come Monday, I’ll be out of the house. Surrounded by loud tourists, but out of the house. I really, really need to get out of the house. So I’m excited. And a little freaked out. But mostly excited.
- I’m heartbroken because I’m principled. I will not be buying an iPhone next Friday, as I already mentioned. I just don’t feel right about locking myself into a bad contract for three years. Also, I feel very strongly about voting with my dollars. Or withholding my dollars, as the case may be. The phone will still be around after the 11th, and we’ll see if my gut feeling changes.
- I really, desperately, want an iPhone.
- I don’t know what to do for my birthday next week. Fun but low-key. Hm. I’ll be 32!
- This is how distracted I’ve been:
- I’ve also been concerned about this, but first thing Monday morning I’ll have all the documents to send out for it.
- MAN, I’m looking forward to getting away this weekend. We’re going camping with a bunch of friends. It might rain. I’m bringing knitting and a couple of books and a bathing suit. And I’m most certainly going to avoid things like long hikes and ultimate frisbee, in favour of sitting on my bum and relaxing. I mean, I like hikes, but I just want to sit and relax. For the record, I hate team sports.
- A fun moment this week:
- I’m really enjoying the 365 self-portraits challenge. But it’s given me even more reason to contemplate myself this week, which I really could have done without. Still. It’s a fun creative project.
- OK, kids. My next weekly roundup will be of a less whining sort! It will be about more interesting things than my own silly woes! It will have more entertaining links! And I’ll be 32. Probably. Unless I write the next roundup before next Wednesday.
A Canadian iPhone Dream
Wouldn’t it be awesome if Rogers prepared its stores for an onslaught on July 11th, and the news agencies made sure they sent a reporter to the busiest, most central store, and nobody showed up to buy the iPhone? The news reports would be so much more interesting than the same old lines snaking for blocks, shelves empty, dozens of staff running amok story we’ve seen for other Apple launches.
At the end of the day, my civic duty comes before my selfish desire. I won’t be buying an iPhone next week. I’m a bit heartbroken, but it’s the only decision I can live with. After all, they’ll still be around the following week, or whenever Rogers makes me want to sign a binding contract with them.
(It’s very, very good news that Bell has just announced a wicked inexpensive unlimited data plan for a Samsung phone to compete with iPhone. If it isn’t important to Rogers to, you know, attract and keep customers, perhaps it will be important to them to compete with one of the few rival cell carriers out there.)
UPDATE (8th July): Looks like Apple is going out of its way to distance itself from Rogers, and—by design or in consequence—squeeze Rogers painfully. I wonder if it will entice Rogers to change its offerings. I also wonder if Canadians will end up screwed in the end, either by lack of product if Rogers comes through, or by Rogers changing for the worse instead of for the better—say, by ditching the iPhone altogether.
iPhone in Canada: Zoiks!
We know I’ve wanted an iPhone heartily. I’ve blogged about it, Twittered about it, talked about it, dreamed about it. We know it’s coming to Canada two days after my birthday. What we didn’t know until last week was how Rogers (the only company in Canada that supports the network the iPhone uses) was going to price its plans. In short, the plans are fairly appalling (even more so in light of AT&T announcing they’ll offer the phones in the U.S. for a higher price without a contract).
I’m severely bugged by this. On one hand, the plans are outrageous and Rogers’ insistence that they designed the plans with their consumers’ needs in mind is a patronizing load of crap. I wrote to Rogers to complain last week, and received a response this morning that included this paragraph (the emphasis is mine):
“Please be aware that the plans unveiled were designed specifically for the iPhone. At this time, all pricing and plans that will be available for the iPhone have yet to be finalized.”
I can only hope that in the next ten days, Rogers will finalize some plans that include the following: An unlimited data option, an option for new customers that allows them to add unlimited data onto a voice plan of their choosing (as is now being offered to existing customers, if I read reports correctly), a voice plan that includes long distance (especially long distance to the U.S., which might be required by business users, and by me so I can phone my parents when I’m out and about), call display included in all plans ($7/month extra, seriously?), and an option for one- or two-year contracts. Actually, they should follow AT&T’s lead and offer the phone at full, unsubsidized price with no minimum contract. I’d happily pay full price for the phone if it meant I wouldn’t be screwed up, down and all around by my service provider.
So. Help me out with some friendly advice, eh? Should I put off getting the phone until Rogers comes around? Should I put off getting the phone as part of a collective effort to help convince Rogers to come around? Should I just get the phone because I want it so bad (as one old friend reminded me, we do have universal health care, after all)? Should I just get the phone because it would be unrealistic to think Rogers would ever come around?
ETA (2 July): I nearly forgot another factor. Part of Rogers’ plans is free wifi at all Rogers/Fido hotspots. Which is cool, from what I understand, if you live in Rogers-dominated eastern Canada. But out here in the west, it’s Telus land. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Rogers hotspot. This is one of the things that lead Canadians to refer to our cell phone situation as monopolized. Grr.
Combating the Vacuum, Part II
Happy Canada Day, y’all! It’s a workday for me, but I’ll be off on Friday for the 4th (and specifically, I’ll be off camping. Psyched.)
So, a bit more on combating the WorkFromHome Vaccuum.
Step 4: Tackle email. After that iced soy chai on Sunday, I started going through my email, having finally decided to read the oft-bookmarked Inbox Zero posts on 43 Folders. First, I moved all the messages from before June 1st into a new folder. Then I sat shocked at the 198 messages just from June. Starting at the bottom, I went through them one by one. Most needed filing. Many needed to be deleted. A good bunch needed my attention. After an hour, I’d whittled it down to 98 messages, and I needed to call it a day. It’s important to note, though, that just doing that added to my feeling of relief. I started to feel far more on top of things, and just as important, I started to feel like I was accomplishing real work.
Yesterday I went through the remaining messages in my work inbox, and although I’d be kidding myself to think that means I’m caught up, I do feel poised to get real work done. The power of that feeling should not be underestimated.
I discovered I don’t need my inbox to be empty. Like David Pogue, who wrote about this last week, I use my inbox as a to-do list, and it works for me. What I need to improve on is moving stuff out of there when it doesn’t need my attention. And you know what? After I finished going through the old messages, I had an easy time quickly processing new ones. I answered those I could reply to quickly, filed those I needed to archive, deleted those I didn’t need, and left alone the ones that need more involved attention. So now there are 51 emails in my work inbox, and I’m okay with that.
And so yesterday I went back to my in-laws’ house and spread out and got some work done. Thank. the. gods.
Combating Work-From-Home Vacuum
[365.4, originally uploaded by kpwerker]
It’s kinda nice to know I’m not alone in my occasional submission to inertia. In an effort to further the conversation about it, and to experiment with some strategies, I’ll update this post as the day progresses.
Today is all about combating the vacuum. It’s a hot hot Sunday, and I’ll have a lot to catch up on this week, so I want to start off tomorrow in tip-top shape.
Step 1: Get something (anything) done. I started the day by tackling a much-put-off domestic chore: I repotted a few plants. I made a total mess on our back deck. And I’m very happy to have gotten that done. Minor feeling of accomplishment = a good start to combat the vacuum.
Step 2: Change of scenery. Next, I loaded up my bike (see photo [the fourth of my 365 self portraits]). In the basket are the winter IC submissions I need to pay much attention to. On my back is a bag containing my computer, a notebook, a peanut butter sandwich, a sweatshirt, and my iPod. I’m writing this post at my in-laws’ house while they’re out for the day. It’s totally quiet save for my music, and the solitude is good for my soul.
I’m going to eat that sandwich now, and will let you know what I’m able to accomplish, and how. Fingers crossed!
Update 1 - Step 3: Alleviate Guilt. One of the relatively small tasks I’ve had at the top of my to-do list for far too long is to submit my expenses. I’m a disaster when it comes to this. These are the most significant deadlines I fail to meet, and I brow-beat myself every time. This past week, I had quite a list of expenses that were overdue, and I let the guilt over not having already submitted them stress me out. Guilt is never productive. Although my expenses are only the tip of the guilt iceberg, having just submitted them has resulted in immediate relief of some of the pressure. Now I’m going to take a short nap (hey, it’s Sunday. And it’s hot), and then I’ll start on the next major source of counterproductive guilt: Email.
Update 2 - I totally just rode back from Starbucks with a grande iced soy chai strapped into my egg crate with the bungee cord.
Remote
This week I suffered from what I’ve come to think of as the WorkFromHome Vacuum. From what I understand, everyone who works from home experiences this from time to time. I used to succumb to it more frequently before I started working on the magazine, and I’ve gotten better at both avoiding it altogether and at cutting it short should I fail to avoid it. But this week I was hit hard.
WorkFromHome Vacuum involves the utter failure to to be productive in any useful way. One of the reasons I stopped experiencing it when I started with the magazine is the sheer amount of work I have to do. Also, I usually need to be in touch with a lot of people. That high level of activity keeps the vacuum at bay.
The Vacuum is different from the everyday temptation to be distracted by home-related things. It’s more dramatic than that, and I have much less control over it.
I was unable to combat the vacuum this week, and I’ve learned over the years that there’s little I can do once it’s settled in. I just need to wait it out till it passes, and I’m sure by next week all will be well.
Still. If I owe you an email, please know I’m on it. I’m sort of banking on the vacuum departing by Monday morning. For now, I’m trying my best to enjoy this gorgeous weekend so I’ll be rested up in time to fire all engines come the workweek.
What challenges do you occasionally face in your work life?
Cleo & Jayne Amigurumi = Defenders of the Yard
[Cleo & Jayne Amigurumi = Defenders of the Yard, originally uploaded by kpwerker.]
It arrived! My early birthday present to myself. Geek Central Station is a genius. She paid such amazing attention to detail! That there gun is the only one I’ve ever liked. Every crafty geek should pay her shop a visit.
In an attempt to clear my scattered brain of late, I’ve succumbed to decided to take the 365 self-portraits challenge. We’ll see how that goes…
