Ring Doorbell For the Win

Looking at my last post regarding my Ring doorbell, I believe I have a love-hate relationship with the device. Today it came to my aid and kept from interrupting me while doing important work. Of course in order for that to happen, I had to have my smartphone connected to it so I could use the camera.

Lately my neighborhood has had a string of door-to-door salespeople ringing doorbells and interrupting my work. Normally it is too much of a hassle to open the Ring app on my phone and see who is at the door so I walk from my basement office up to the door only to get upset about being interrupted. Due to large bombs being exploded out in the Utah desert this week, I have been logged into my Ring app to see what others in my neighborhood are saying about the loud noises we are all hearing.

Today when I got the doorbell notification while working on something very important, I just pulled up my phone and quickly spied my front porch. When I saw 2 people I didn't recognize nor expected, I continued working. About 10 minutes later I finished my task and checked the door to see if they left something. Sure enough they left a brochure about something I am not interested in learning more about.

My Ring doorbell doesn't always work the way I want it to. Sometimes I have to go through and extensive login process just to get access to the camera and that can be frustrating. Fortunately today the stars aligned and it kept me working when I didn't need to get up. Today I like the device. 

Work from Home Tips: Having a Comfortable Work Area

This afternoon I had a video conference meeting and one of the participants listed that this is the 60th week of working from home. Some are counting down the days until we can return to the office. I have actually thrived in the current work-from-home environment and so I thought I would share some of the things that have helped me. Not everyone will be able to use all of these tips but I am hoping that one or two of them will help you out. The one I would like to highlight in this post is that of having a comfortable work area.

I have worked from home for a large part of my career. I have always had a home office and it has evolved over the years. I originally started in one of the bedrooms but then found I needed more space. Ultimately I migrated to the basement where I have a rather large-windowless room. I lined one of the walls with bookshelves, added a number of tables to complement my desk, and good lighting. We had a rather large scrap of carpet to lay on top of the concrete floor and it is a comfortable room for me. My wife would hate it but I enjoy the not-quite finished feel of the room. One added benefit of being in the basement is that it stays very cool during the summer months. It is also cool during the winter ones but I make sure to dress for the conditions and keep a space heater under the desk.

I have a neighbor who is envious of my home office. When he started working from home, he moved into his boys bedroom while they are at school. I also notice that a lot of people are utilizing their own bedrooms for their home office. One of the people I meet with on a regular basis is using a closet as his home office. While these accommodations work, they are not ideal. 

Unfortunately not everyone has the luxury of a spare room in their basement away from the family and the rest of one's personal life. People can only make due with what they have and so that leads me to my next point: make sure you have the tools you need to do your job. Last year I wrote about having a 43-inch 4K computer monitor. This is one of the tools that helps me get a lot done. A 4K monitor is the equivalent of having 4 HD monitors on your desk. It really allows me to keep a lot of applications open all at the same time. If you spend a lot of time on the computer, I highly recommend one. I also have a color laser printer, my laptop with its screen and a 2nd HD monitor. I use all of this equipment and it helps to create a better work environment than I have in my office in San Mateo.

The final piece of equipment I want to mention is that of my office chair. Sony recognized that not everyone has a great office chair at home and allowed us to come grab our expensive-yet-comfortable chairs and bring them home. I have a great chair already and didn't need the loaner from Sony. If your work doesn't provide a comfortable chair, spend a little money and pick one up. A good chair really helps with productivity.

My home office doesn't have a door but I don't really need one. I am the only person home during the work day and don't need to worry about little children needing entertainment. I know it can be a delicate balance between being able to work from home and also caring for your children. About the only advice I can give is to train your kids that a closed door means mommy or daddy is at work and cannot be disturbed. The door won't make your office or work area more comfortable but it will keep the distractions down a bit.

Having a comfortable work area is only a start. I hope to have more tips on working from home over the next several posts. Perhaps you will find them useful.

Time to Clean the Office

Monday I will be starting a new project and so I get to spend today cleaning my office in preparation. The problem is that I am not really sure what to do with some hardware I received from an old project. I need to find space for it so I am not constantly working around it.

Last year I developed some kiosk software for the home improvement industry. I now have a kiosk at my house. The thing is huge! There are sample pieces of cabinetry in my garage with the computer part sitting in my office. The computer has two screens. One is a touch-screen that the customer uses to provide input while the other screen shows video of the manufacturing process for the products being sold.

The problem is that my office is already filled with computer equipment and I don't have room for two screens. Do I build a shelf above the laser printer and stack the color ink-jet on top of it? Nope that won't work because the color printer is also my scanner and that makes the scanner too difficult to use. Maybe I should move one of the two Playstation2's? Nope that won't work because there still won't be enough room. Besides, how will my sons be able to play video games against eachother if one of the Playstations is taken down.

I could try and find a storage place for the kiosk computer but I am still doing active development with it. Part of the purpose of actually having a kiosk is so I can see how the software runs on it. I guess I will just have to make room for it somewhere. I think if I swap locations with the touch screen and the paper cutter, everything fits. Yep that just might work. I guess I can't put this off any longer.

The Green Office

I just got back from making a deposit in the bank. This gave me the opportunity to look at the mileage on my car. My car turns 9 in a couple of days but only has 39,000 miles on it. That is still a relatively brand-new car. At the time I opted for something practical that could comfortably seat 5. Now I wish I had gotten the Ferrari. With a Ferrari I could probably sell it for about the same price I paid for it.

The reason my car has so few miles is because I don't go anywhere. Most people drive to and from work every day and that has a tendency to rack up the miles. Instead I work from home. I am a third-generation telecommuter. My Grandfather who still practices law works from home. My Dad who runs and advertising agency also works from home. This has me wondering why more people don't work from home.

Right now it is stylish to be "green." What is more green: a guy who owns a Toyota Prius but drives to work 20 miles round trip every day, or a guy who works out of his basement? Even a 5th grader would answer that someone working from home is "greener."

I don't believe offices will ever disappear completely but I do think they need to be updated. When I used to work at Oracle, they would send out surveys to their employees asking how they were being "green." This was an attempt to get people to carpool or utilize mass transit. It also had the effect of getting managers to allow employees to work from home several days a week. If you are not in the office every day, then you don't need a permanent office or a cubicle. Fewer offices save the company a huge amount of money.

With the Internet it is easy to have all your calls forwarded to your home office. With services like Skype, you can even do inexpensive home video conferencing. Technology really has the potential to help makes our lives easier.

One valid criticism of working from home is that there are the potential for more distractions while working from home. This is especially true if you have a family with small children. I used to work in an office and so when I started working at home, I discovered the importance of a door. You know that big flat thing found near the entrance to your study or office. When the door is closed, Daddy is at work. When it is open, Daddy is at home. It takes about 5 minutes to train even the most stubborn child. Amazingly I found that I get more work done at home than I ever did in the office thanks to the use of a door.

Every year I wonder when corporations will figure out that they can save huge amounts of money by not having large offices. Unfortunately I keep waiting.