by Leigh
Can you believe it is September already? I, for one, am happy to see August go! On August 8th it rained a lot here in a short period of time. It wasn't a long drawn out rain, but instead it was 4" in 41 minutes. That was enough to do an amazing amount of damage. On the morning of August 9th I received a phone call from my mom in tears. She said to hurry and get to the office and bring some brooms to try and sweep the water out. I should probably back up and give you a little bit of history. We have a 7000 sq. ft. office which includes my mom's interior design business, my dad's architecture business, my landscape design business and our art gallery which my sister runs. The Howell Gallery represents around 50 artists that are locally and nationally recognized. Our walls are full of art. Our offices are full of hand drawn plans. Our rooms are full of fabrics, wallpaper books and carpet samples. And now it was full of water. Not a square inch was dry. Two hundred and eighty (280!) gallons of water were removed out of just my parents' two offices. But there wasn't time to panic, instead we went into work mode. We arranged with local artists to pick up their art while all of the national artists' work had to be taken to our houses. Water was sucked out and large plastic tubing was dropped from the ceiling snaking it's way throughout the gallery while 100 degree air was blown in to try and dry out the walls. All the carpet had to be ripped up and all the fabric & wallpaper books had to be moved. They cut out drywall 2' up each and every wall. A lot of progress has been made in the last 4 weeks, but there is a lot to be done before we can move back in, but business can't stop. We have to keep working. So my parents and my sister have set up shop at my parents' house while I have moved my business home. Which means my drafting table is in my dining room. Which I guess would be convenient if I needed more space for a buffet!
Working from home definitely has its advantages, but also provides some distractions. My cat Joey thinks he is my new intern, but really all he is good at is spreading cat hair and tossing markers off my table. It is nice being able to put in a load of laundry and actually be home to move it to the dryer instead of forgetting about it while I'm at work like I normally do.
But being at home makes it very easy to step outside and enjoy a cup of coffee (or two) on the back porch. And then there is that mess in the kitchen that I have to clean up before I can sit down to work! And while I'm up maybe I should clean out that junk drawer that has been bugging me for awhile. You can see what I'm getting at. I'm having to learn to be more disciplined and scheduled and it's not easy for me. What kind of worker are you? Are you able to sit down at your desk and accomplish everything in one fail swoop? I've been out of my office for 4 weeks now and it looks like it will probably be another 4 weeks so if anyone has any tips to keep me on task please let me know!
11 comments:
Timer. Set the timer. Work it like a work day. You get two 15 minute breaks and a half hour for lunch.
Bossy Pam oxoxoxoxox
Oh, Leigh! This all sounds like such a mess. But it will be put to right again and even better than before.
Listen to that Pam person! She might just be on to something. I'm at a loss ... since I've retired my days seem to have no pattern and I'm a person who needs a pattern to follow. Speaking of that, I just realized, I meant to start the laundry before I sat down at the computer so I'd better skedaddle. Good luck, Leigh! :-D
Oh! Meant to say, I LOVE that photo of you drinking your coffee! Perfect light and flare. Good work.
i'm still trying to figure out how to stay on task and i don't even have a "real" job! good luck with the clean up, sounds like a horrible mess to deal with.
Just remember in the end, you will have done what you need to have done.... so just enjoy the trip! So sorry about all of the damage and know it must feel rather devastating to all of you.
What a terrible disaster! I hope everything is back to normal soon. I've never been very scheduled, so I'm not help, but Pam's idea sounds good. I might get something done around home if I tried that!
So sorry to hear about all the damage to your office. What a mess and a lot of work to clean up. My husband & I run a consulting business out of our home so I hear what you are saying about focusing on work. It is easy to become distracted with loving pets, chores, etc. around the house. However, it is equally difficult NOT to work all the time when the work is right there in your home 24-7. Our solution is to put everything, business, personal, blog responsibilities, etc., on the calendar and set reminder alarms. We've been doing that for a year now and has been working well. Pam's suggestion to include breaks and lunchtime is also excellent! FYI - love your images. Puts me right there.
I was just thinking yesterday about your flood and wondering how things were going. Hope you'll be back there soon. I have worked from home for several years, and sadly the business I worked for went out of business so I'm down with that work at home job...but what I did was start my day early doing laundry, and any other little chores right away. By 10am I was ready to go to "work". I allowed myself a morning break, lunch away from the computer, and an afternoon break. Other than that, I was working.
i don't work at home, but i'm sure it would be challenging for me to stay on task. :)
I used to sew from my home... home decor items. I'd get in my sewing room and put the music on and lose myself in my work. Somehow singing away to my favorite tunes took my mind off laundry, cleaning, the dog, the cat, etc.. Anyway, that's what worked for me! I love your images! That coffee cup is a scream and I'd LOVE to have one!! ~ Karen
Working at home is hard, but deadlines always helped me focus. You have a great attitude about it so I'm sure you will adjust.
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