Procrastinating In The Heat

Yesterday was a tough day to work in. Even from my shady home office, the hot, dense air had me feeling lethargic and slow. Those of us who work from home may not have the luxury of air conditioned offices and chilled water coolers. So how do we keep motivated and cool in this climate? I just about clawed my way through the to do list yesterday by doing these things.

1. Drinking plenty of water. I had a bag of ice in the freezer and a tall glass of water by my side all day. I'm sure there's some sort research that says cold makes the body over-compensate and generate more heat, as in taking cold showers but I was in the business of kicking my thought processes into gear. An ice cold sensation down my throat to the stomach seemed to do the trick.

2. Exercise. I've been setting the alarm for stupid o'clock and going out for my morning run in the cool morning air. It controls my stress levels, organises my brain plus I have some of my more creative ideas while running. Plus at lunchtime I dragged myself up the hill for lunchtime 30 minute circuits at my well-aired gym, a good old alt+ctrl+delete for the brain (except I use a Mac, so that wouldn't really work).

3. Siesta. Those Mediterranean types have got it right. Work when it's cool, rest when it's hot. If your routine allows it, there's no reason why this wouldn't work. I didn't take a siesta yesterday but did save some particularly complex tasks till the evening, after the kids were in bed and the sun went down.

4. Eating energising foods. I made a huge bowl of fruit salad in the morning, and grazed on it all day, sometimes adding a dessert spoon full of low fat crème fraîche with vanilla essence or pumpkin seeds.

5. Only doing the vital tasks. Early in the day, I spent about 20 minutes looking at my calendar, my task list and sorting what can be done when. As the weather report showed the week would cool, it made sense to move some of the more complex tasks to those days. Apart from a few unplanned e-mails I needed to react to, the plan worked.

Procrastinating In The Heat

CommuterVille. Is it for me?

I spent last week commuting to Docklands from Brighton this week for work, you may have seen my series of posts on the experience. In my formative years I considered working in London but could I do it now pushing 40 years of age with with two young kids?

The week certainly gave me a flavour of what it might be like to work in the city. Years ago, while working at one of my post-University temp jobs, one of my older colleagues remarked about my job search, 'You wanna go up 'town', while you're young. You'll love it up there.' Soon after, I found a job in Sussex soon after and 13 years later the rest is history. But what if I had gone 'up town'?

CommuterVille. Is it for me?

Commuter #trendville

All this week, I'm travelling to London for work, from Brighton. Being a nosey, over-analytical type, I've been making a note of what commuter trends seem to be in order for ultimate train travel comfort & chic (yes, chic).

Chunky headphones. The big, colourful, over-the-ear retro types are rife. It seems that the suited masses are trying to demonstrate a bit of personal flair by donning a garish set attached their teeny smartphone. White iPhone in-ear seem to be acceptable, at least it shows you're not a luddite.

Sensible footwear. Excited at playing 'grown-ups' for a week, I wore smart but chic heels. Only to realise that almost no-one wears heels on the train, nevermind the Tube. A quick chat with a fellow office person reveals, she keeps a pair of heels at the office. That may seem old hat to those who know but I immediately took note and now have a pair installed in my office for the week.

Commuter #trendville

Commuter #Failville

This week I've been working in London, joining the ranks of the commuting masses from Brighton to Canary Wharf. It's taken my three days to get into the groove of blank stares and blissful ignorance via headphones but I'm nearly there.

Having the last year 'off' (and I say that lightly as I've been working flat out on websites and new business ventures) has meant that most of the time I don't have to be anywhere, every day. After 13 years of commuting by car to an office, arriving at the required time and not leaving before I'm supposed to, I didn't adjust to flexibility too well. I couldn't plan my diary as suddenly the boundaries between work and family were blurred. Most people wouldn't moan about that but it took some adjusting, that's all I'm saying.

Commuter #Failville