homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4800

Most days I only leave the homeplaceofthefuture to take my kids to school. It's a treacherous commute filled with school zones, police cameras, speedy moms in Honda Odysseys (or is Odysseys') and of course the businessmen in BMWs...regardless of the danger it's a frustrating 10 minutes each way that has the ability to dictate my entire day.

As I mentioned I don't get out much, but when I do I notice that the driving styles over the years have changed significantly. Is there a connection between mobile phones and our attention spans? I bet there is! Next time you're out driving around take a minute to notice the people behind you -- you'll see either 1 of 3 things:

1. All you'll see is their ugly face in your rearview mirror. They'll be riding you so close that you won't even know what kind of car they have.
2. In the distance a zippy car will be going in and out of lanes to pass people. If you're lucky enough to pull up next to them (or them pull up to you), you'll notice a phone and a cup of coffee in their hand
3. They'll be looking down to see their phone.
   
   

You've been warned. In later posts we'll explore some games you can play with these people in order to make your day a little more fun. 

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4791

Even the most organized & 'on it' virtual employee has problems with focusing at the task at the hand. It could be a day or a week -- this is one of those weeks for me. The Europeans are back from their summer holidays and the kids are back in school and per the usual the workload is piling up. Most days we can manage and we get the work done, this week however is not one of those weeks.

I'll say it best with a quote I heard once "When you have so much to do and you decide to take a nap instead." That's been this week, family issues, car issues, health issues and all while the emails keep coming in, the texts are pouring in and everything is marked URGENT! Like I've said in previous posts when you ignore people long enough they pick up the phone and call and well the phone has been ringing off the hook this week because the homeplaceofthefuture hasn't been as responsive to my 300 emails a day.

Nap time!

homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4788

If there's one thing that's consistent in the homeplaceofthefuture it's emails. My Christmas wish every year is to abolish Microsoft Outlook from my life. The more I try, the more emails seems to come into my life.  A zero-based inbox is a myth because once you send out those emails, eventually they come back to you. It's a never ending cycle and it's the most consistent thing in your life. Every organization, every non-profit, everything I'm involved in brings more email into my life. You are a slave to email!

Lately as I've been more vocal about email, my phone rings more. I'm beginning to think it's the cycle of ignoring email and not so much in me telling colleagues to stop emailing me. If you ignore an email long enough you'll get this call.

"Hey _____, this is Jewel did you get my email from Friday night at 11:07 PM?"

I have a set response to this person who we'll call annoying email follow upper.

"Sorry Jewel, I get 300 emails a day and yours is at the bottom of the pile. Why is your email from 11:07 PM on a Friday night so urgent? Are there lives at stake?"

I have literally said that and the response I get is yes, my client is waiting for this update. Really? Is your client really waiting all weekend for your response. I too am a client and I never wait over the weekend for my service providers to get back to me because I know that we are not saving lives here.

If there's one thing you can count on in the homeplaceofthefuture or the workplaceofthepast it's email. It's always there, it's always on your mind and it's generally not worth responding to.