Digital Dilemma, Productivity

Work Life Boundaries

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After the impacts of covid, when more people started working from home, work hours became blurry. At some point they developed a work hours policy at my job. Basically, it allows us to have some flexibility with our work day, provided we’re available from 10 – 3. We’re reminded to be respectful of other people’s working hours, which may not be the same as our own. However, in a world where any hour can be somebody else’s working hours, sometimes it feels as though there are no standards anymore.

This past weekend I filled out an online form for an estimate with two separate companies for a service. When scheduling most things can happen with little to no human interaction, it felt strange to be receiving phone calls. Even more bizarre, both of the phone calls came late on a Sunday night. One was around 8pm and the other after 9pm. The date I requested was for early September, so in my mind, it felt like the phone call could have waited until Monday. And preferably happened at a more reasonable time of the day.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget about boundaries and “respectable” work times in favor of convenience when everything is available all the time. Yet, technology has also prepared us for some of these scenarios. It may seem like a small feature, but I personally love the ability to schedule messages. First of all, I can write and send messages when it’s convenient for me. Then, I can schedule when the message will arrive for the recipient. For example, when my boss is on vacation, I schedule emails to arrive after he returns. My work is done and he can view the messages after he’s settled in. This is a win-win!

I also use this in my personal life when friends are on vacation. Or if I only have time to reply to people late at night. I’m mindful to schedule messages to arrive the next morning to avoid pinging notifications disrupting sleep. In most cases, I’m not looking for an instant reply so the delayed send works well for me, too.

For myself, and my staff, I prioritize work-life boundaries. I encourage people to close computers at the end of the work day and stop checking phone notifications. I remind myself, and employees, to take breaks and enjoy hobbies. When all else fails, use the scheduling feature!

Productivity

Finding Efficiencies

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I’m always amazed at people’s resistance towards recognizing efficiencies. I experienced this first hand when I had my first will drafted about 15 years ago. I hired a lawyer to do the paperwork. However, his process started by giving me a very long, very complicated, form to fill out. The form was clunky and badly formatted. Most of the questions didn’t apply to me, yet, I still had to carefully read each one to make sure I didn’t leave anything out.

The whole time I suffered through this form, I couldn’t help wondering what the lawyer would do with it. The process was terrible. Overly manual and filled with lots of small, important details that were easy to miss in the complexity of the form. When I met with the lawyer, I asked him how he used the form. He explained that he carefully reviewed the multiple times, to make sure he didn’t miss anything. Then transfer the information from the form to the document.

I mentioned there were more efficient and less error-prone ways to accomplish this. Yet, the lawyer told me efficiency wasn’t in his best interests. If something took a long time, it meant there were more opportunities to charge the client for more work. Something about this never sat well with me. I used to be a small business owner, but I would never have used the excuse of charging clients more to be intentionally inefficient. For me, the pain of doing tedious, manual, low-quality work, was incentive enough to streamline my processes.

Similarly, learning that some people in the work place also frown upon efficiencies is surprising. In these scenarios, it’s because they fear losing additional headcount. However, in my opinion, streamlining process and finding efficiencies focuses on quality work. Nobody wants to be copying and pasting information or manually re-entering something because of a bad form. This is garbage work and introduces a lot of errors and re-works into the process.

Efficiencies can often create win-win scenarios. For example, every DIY home project results in multiple trips to Home Depot. Why? Mostly because I don’t gather enough information at the beginning of the project. The fix is easy, spend a few more minutes determining what needs to be done. Measure everything. Go to the store once and buy everything. Then save time with the repair work knowing it’s all ready to go.

Human Archives

the Majestic Monarch

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This is year two of my pollinator garden. It’s required real effort. First, I had to eradicate invasive species, mainly goutweed and dead nettles. Though lush and verdant, they took over.

I covered everything in black plastic for weeks to kill the roots. Then my mother worked hard digging up roots and preparing the soil. Finally, we planted a few native species. To be honest, it wasn’t much to look at when summer started. However, I remained optimistic and kept tending to the plants. Slowly it took a shape. Since May, I patrol the patch everyday for invaders, quickly weeding anything invasive.

Over the months I’ve added a new plants, including a milkweed that sprouted like crazy. This is my third attempt with milkweed. Previously, in a different part of the garden, the milkweed always got infested by these horrid, yellow aphids. Each time, after diligently trying to get rid of them, I faced the same inevitable outcome. The plant had to be ripped out. This year, in a new spot, I felt hopeful. However, the invaders came again.

The first bright, specs of aphids infested the flowers and stalks in the front of the plant. I ruthlessly and mercilessly chopped off the affected areas…until the Monarch visit. She fluttered along one day to sample the milkweed’s tasty blooms and lay eggs. I know because after she left I searched the leaves and discovered tiny eggs on some of them. She was elegant, delicate, and completely unhurried in her exploration of the milkweed.

This left me with an uncomfortable dilemma. Save the plant from aphids and risk losing monarch eggs. Or let the aphids proliferate and hope the eggs survive the infestation. I patrol the plant daily squashing any visible signs of aphids. Occasionally I’ll cut the infected parts off, only after inspecting each leaf for signs of monarch life.

In the midst of everything wrong and crazy in the world, the climate, the wars, the air quality… it feels good to preserve a small patch of something. Each day I feel gratitude watching a flurry of winged insects sampling the tasty offerings in my small pollinator patch. Their bodies dusty and speckled from collecting pollen.

I may not be able to save this milkweed from its aphid fate, but I’ve preserved the plant long enough for seeds. And if I’m lucky a few monarchs, too.

Digital Dilemma, Productivity

The ChatGPT Color Challenge

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As part of the renos, we need to pick out new paint colors. I’m notoriously bad at this task. Not only do I feel overwhelmed by the color samples, it’s not something I enjoy. I can’t appreciate nuance in colors and after a while everything starts to look the same. In the past, I’ve faced some harsh criticisms for my color choices, which also make me pretty self-conscious about the whole thing.

Normally I hire my designer friend who is exceptionally skilled with colors for this kind of task. However, there wasn’t time for the consult with the tight deadlines. Feeling a bit lost, I decided to upload a photo of our samples to ChatGPT for some recommendations. Within minutes, a list of 2-3 color options from different color families appeared, along with suggestions for ceiling and trim. For fun, I asked about an accent color for one wall. Within seconds a few options appeared. I tried it a few times until my free account cut off my uploads for a day.

What I appreciated about the experience was getting a few solid starting points. Within minutes, my options were reduced significantly. We still had to compare the sample paint chips with our floor and tile samples in the natural light. However, the task felt less daunting than fanning out options with the color sample book. Even narrowing down to one section in the color sample book still leaves dozens of strips to review.

I felt surprised that ChatGPT also offered to create mockups of the samples I uploaded and the paint color suggestions. However, when I tried this prompt, it took a really long time and nothing ever appeared. Equally annoying was when I reached my maximum amount of uploads, ChatGPT wiped out all the previous recommendations. Luckily, I had been making a list as I went along to see if it was making reasonable suggestions. I also discovered, it picked up too much detail sometimes. I carefully considered the background when uploading photos of the floor and tile samples.

In terms of selection quality, I think my friend would do a better job. I don’t think there’s any danger of ChatGPT replacing interior designers anytime soon. Some things still need that human touch.

Human Archives

Taking Out the Trash

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This morning I watched a hummingbird in my backyard. The lucky spotting happened leaving the garage to return to the house. I had just finished taking out the recycling and garbage for pick up. A particularly invisible task that rarely feels gratifying. Even though it was early in the day, I could feel the heat creeping up. A slight sheen of sweat already starting to pepper my forehead and collect at the back of my neck. Then I spotted the little hummer zooming around. Instantly my mood lightened.

I stood mesmerized by this tiny flyer, watching her flit effortlessly from flower to flower. The core of her form remained almost motionless in stark contrast to the rapid fluttering of her wings. They appeared as vibrating, grayish smudges on either side of her body. Her beautifully choreographed movements were precise and efficient. She zoomed from one flower to another covering an entire section of the shrub within seconds.

Ever since the Rose of Sharon started to bloom in the backyard a couple weeks ago, I’ve been watching for hummingbirds. I have a love-hate relationship with the Rose of Sharon. The flowers are beautiful and abundant. They attract all kinds of amazing creatures, including hummingbirds. But often I can hear bees buzzing in the flowers and see butterflies.

We have several mature ones in the backyard in several different colors. The ones right outside my bedroom window are so large they cover it completely in full bloom. I’ve discovered over the years that their seeds pods are as prolific as their flowers. Now I spend weeks every fall deadheading the shrubs to prevent them from spreading further. Yet, I look forward to their blossoms each year, mostly because they attract the hummingbirds.

In many cultures, the hummingbird is a sign of joy, luck, and magic. They are said to be messengers, sometimes from loved ones who passed away. Today, it felt like a small gift, just for me. Perhaps as a reward and quiet “thank you” for taking out the trash.

Productivity, True Confessions

AI’s Overreach

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Last week I attended a workshop focused on building an AI strategy. It included a road map, outlining the major considerations and a progression of steps to follow. A highlight included lively conversation with other industry peers. It was affirming and reassuring to hear about others struggling and triumphing with AI.

Usually at these events I walk away overcome by the speed, power, and magnitude AI as a presence in our lives. AI is seeping into everyday things we use. Sometimes we may not even realize it’s there. Other times, we may notice, but there may not be an easy way to disengage. This time, however, I left the event feeling different. Although AI is advancing rapidly, it’s important to focus on the real and tangible ways it’s available and useful to us.

The uses and options for AI are wide, varied, and only limited by our imaginations. However, some of the best benefits are realized by using AI as a humble, assistant. When I started my consultancy, many people advised me that the first position to hire would be an assistant. I never made the leap. If I thought back about that time, part of it was that I didn’t understand how to parse and delegate tasks. I couldn’t separate the mundane, tedious parts of my work eating away at my time and profit margin. It took effort to figure out which aspects of my everyday routine could, in fact, be handled by someone else.

I never did manage to hire that assistant, though I did try a virtual service a couple of times. The service was okay, but the research I needed took a lot of explaining and resulted in subpar results. Now, of course, I could tailor the research myself. AI is available to assist me with a few carefully worded prompts. Within minutes AI can produce similar results to the virtual service and still leave me with the same amount of effort required to review.

Now, older and wiser, I could actually use an assistant. And not for anything grandiose or fantastical. Rather I find AI useful for everyday, mundane tasks. This is especially true for ones I don’t particularly like doing, or can’t manage to find adequate time to focus. Examples include creating meal plans, shopping lists, or even routine email replies. The reach is basic and the results are real.