homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4905
Whether or not you like someone you always, ALWAYS start an email or conversation in early January with Happy New Year. Awkward - Check! Tradition - Check! Do I really care if they have a Happy New Year, I leave that to you...... In my 4905 (give or take a few thousand) days of working from home and dealing with emails & calls, I've never experienced so many emails and calls that don't begin with this customary greeting. Is it a sign of the times? Are we tired of Donald Trump? Do people hate their lives & careers that much that they cannot change the typical "what's up" or "Hey Dummy" with a simple "Happy New Year"? I'm sensing a trend and I don't like it. The New Year is our once a year chance to get a clean slate via a fresh calendar year. We get chances all year, but if you are a perfectionist like me, this is it - the big show! It's a good thing I work from home because things like this have a tendency to make me bitter and say a few choice words that would normally land you in HR's office. Case in point I got an email from Scrooge (an unnamed client) on January 3 (no joke) and simply said this: status? I died a little bit when I read that. status? Seriously you sat around the entire holiday season waiting to email me with one word, status? I've got a status for you, but first it's time for lunch!
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homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4900
The uniform idea is catching on. I envision a "workfromhomearmy" of black t'shirts, dark jeans and snazzy sneakers coming to a coffee shop or more likely a bar near you. Forbes gets it! "By wearing the same thing every day, you'll better realize what's important to you" homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4898
Well you made it...another year. Congratulations. If you're like the 95% of the working world that doesn't like their job than January 2 is the most depressing day of the year. Think about it....really think about it. When is your next scheduled day off? The homeplaceofthefuture and the workplaceofthepast (my old gig) doesn't care about civil rights, president's birthday parties and even the resurrection of our Lord - the homeplaceofthefuture's next scheduled day off is Memorial Day! I hope your holiday time off was nice because that restful feeling along with the warm fuzzies has to last most of us until May 27 (145 days to go!) What does this mean for the virtual worker? If anything it's a time to get that home office cleaned and organized because you are going to be there for awhile. I tend to use the holidays as part of my bi-annual cleaning marathon where I declutter, disinfect and lay out a fresh bowl of candy in preparation for the busy season until the summer. homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4887
The homeplaceofthefuture office Christmas Party 2018 was a success! I wore my best hoodie, didn't talk about politics (real or office) and I had my favorite local pizza and craft beer while working on a 6000 piece lego set of Hogwarts. Merry Christmas everyone! homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4885
Oh those office Christmas parties! Big budgets, dress clothes, valet parking, memories that are soon forgotten in the drunken Uber ride home and what about those horrible photos of your colleagues & yourself drunk! I don't miss them at all, but a free (or not free) date night on the town is something Mrs. homeplaceofthefuture would thoroughly enjoy now that I'm 100% hermit. If you're hip, you know that the homeplaceofthefuture Christmas parties are off the hook! In preparation for the big day, we raked leaves and cleaned out perishable items from the refrigerator today - all in the name of getting ready for the big day. What constitutes a big day for the homeplaceofthefuture Christmas party? It's a private event of one where the Christmas music is playing, my favorite sandwich is on the kitchen counter, my Microsoft Outlook is "disabled" and there is day drinking. A private event such as this shouldn't be confused with other private events throughout the year because this private event includes Christmas music and most likely I'll be wearing a shirt. Sounds glamorous right? Well the emails are still coming in, clients are still "urgently" asking questions and I'm eating Monday's leftovers while wearing Sunday's clothes still - Merry Christmas! homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4883
The busy season is finally over and we're all winding down here and looking forward to the annual work from home Christmas Party, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking of a specific client that will email me on Christmas Day asking for an update on a project. You might think I'm exaggerating, but it happened LAST YEAR! If anything surpasses the LinkedIn views over the weekend or on Thanksgiving, it's people who email you on Christmas Day! homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4875
When you say you’re part of the virtual workforce there’s a lot of questions. Who’s your boss? Do you nap? How do they know you’re working? Do you drink on the clock? Let’s ignore those typical questions and go into what I call “bringing it all home” and making them jealous. Anyone that works in an actual office with actual physical coworkers knows at least these 3 things to be true. The coffee is awful, the toilet paper is a science experiment made with sand and it’s always too cold or too warm in the office. I like my sweaters in January not June! What’s it like working from home? Or more appropriately, what’s it like in the homeplaceofthefuture? Working from home is just like being the office except I’m in my uniform, I don’t see people and the coffee and the toilet paper are to my liking along with the thermostat settings. Let’s start with coffee. After years and I mean years of drinking the free office coffee that came in Flavia packets. The funny thing about the Flavia packets we had in the workplaceofthepast was that the packaging said 70% organic – almost like saying hey we tried, but it’s only 70% organic. At times it was tolerable, but I found that if I didn’t wash my coffee mug for weeks on end that the coffee got better. Fast forward to 2018 and the homeplaceofthefuture has a Ninja Coffee Bar that serves local coffee that tastes like coffee and not an experiment in a kool-aid packet. I’m no snob, I just want the coffee has God created it – black and strong! Heating and Air – this one is simple. Just turn it on. Your comfort is worth way more than the $20 you’ll save by getting the thermostat at 58 degrees in the winter. Natural Gas prices in my area have been so reasonable in recent years that I just don’t care – turn it up! Air conditioning is a bit of a tougher pill to swallow for me because it never turns off – the good news is that working from home you can do it without any clothes on (you can’t do that in the winter). My kids know that Tuesday is Topless Tuesday and yes, we have boys. Lastly the toilet paper…..oh the toilet paper! Recently at a client’s office in NYC I was appalled that such a prestigious and well-known company had toilet paper that was straight out of an elementary school! It was like the kids made the toilet paper themselves with sand and cling film and put in on an industrial roll the size of a basketball. Call me old fashioned, but the more plys (or is it plies) the better and NEVER be ashamed to have a stash in your car, suitcase or laptop bag. The homeplaceofthefuture always has the best toilet paper for their employee of the month. Such detail probably isn’t required to bring it home to your non-homeplaceofthefuture friends, but I see a lot of laughs when that toilet paper discussion takes place. homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4871
In the old days (workplaceofthepast) birthday parties were always a source of awkwardness served up with a small slice of free cake. "Hey, today is Judy's birthday -- you want some cake?" "Who's Judy?" "Who cares?" "If anyone asks who the slob is, my name is Robert Wakefield" Therein lies the free cake conversation. Yes it's free, but everyone is watching you. Does he eat all of it? Does he use a napkin? OMG he didn't even use a fork!!! Wait a second, who is that guy? Thankfully in today's homeplaceofthefuture birthdays are a little less awkward, but I still find myself looking over my shoulder to make sure that the health conscious gym rat doesn't see me cut a piece larger than everyone else and/or help myself to a second serving washed down with the free office coffee. So when it's your birthday and you're working from home -- enjoy that second piece of cake without the judging stares of co-workers who brag about going to the gym at 6 AM before coming into work and remember that entire cake is for you! homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4870
federal shutdown today and since there is no mail it looks like I won't be leaving the house at all today! homeplaceofthefuture daily log 4865
Oh LinkedIn…….there’s such a love/hate relationship there. The longer I have been virtual the more I seem to loathe LinkedIn, maybe this is a sign of getting old or comfortable in a position/field. Let’s dive into a few observations.
Whenever I have doubts about my career and winding up in the homeplaceofthefuture I turn to LinkedIn. The sheer amount of crazy people and gibberish coming from their posts helps confirm to me that I’ve made the right decision for now of staying home and focusing on doing good work in my uniform. Let us not forget to that crazy in look in their eyes on LinkedIn, are they staring into my soul??? Not yet, they’re just looking for your name badge! |
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September 2020
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