Friday Afternoons in Pajama Pants
Posted on January 29, 2011 by: Craig
The first cup of coffee, the hum of CBC Radio, and a clean shave against the early morning air; I’m a morning person, and I enjoy going into the office. The fixed office is, however, a concept on decline, especially in the creative industry.
While at Ginger Design we believe it is important to have a HQ (57 Carleton St. Fredericton, N.B.), our work is mobile. A laptop and a smart phone allow us the flexibility to work anywhere our imagination leads us. The office is maybe a park bench one day, the corner of our favourite café the next.
There are many advantages to this mode of working. Being independent of a fixed location allows one to avoid the pit falls of creative block: having a tough time finding the right words? Go flip through magazines in a coffee shop. Have a cloudy head? Pack up your laptop, put on some music, and walk until inspiration hits you, and when it does, you have the tools to work instantly. No more are you chained to the desk for 8 hours a day, no more do you lose time pounding your head off that desk. You’re happier and you’re doing better work. You’re doing better work and your clients are happy.
With this freedom, however, comes a new set of rules. In order for the mobile model to work, and mesh with a working world very much still on the 9-5, one must learn to perfect a set of key skills: communication, consistency, and the ability to be self-directed.
Communication skills are important in any type of work environment, but under the mobile model, working relationships are taking place less and less on a face-to-face basis, and more increasingly through email, texting, and messaging. The ability for one to communicate clearly, effectively, and economically, in writing, is more crucial now than it has ever been. Whether you’re sending a text to a co-worker, a tweet to a colleague, or an email to a client, conveying your ideas in words is at the heart of your success.
Consistency is integral to building trust and ensuring you have a reputation as someone who can deliver. One must prove to their colleagues and clients that while they may be drinking coffee, eating danishes and listening to The Velvet Underground, there is work getting done on that laptop. Good work, and it’s going to be delivered on time. Consistently communicate, deliver on time, present stellar work, and no one will question your Friday afternoons in pajama pants.
Finally, self-direction and motivation is what makes it all happen. Take initiative. Invest in yourself. In order to fine-tune the above skills, and in order to build your business, you’ve got to start early, work late, get organized, and set an agenda…without someone telling you to.
As a mobile, independent, creative, work doesn’t start or end, it is continuous; but, if you’re living your dream, that’s not so bad, is it? It’s a great life, but you’ve got to work for it.
Craig
No comments yet. You should be kind and add one!
The comments are closed.