Digital Hitchhiker

If you’re flipping through the most recent issue of Screen Magazine, you might notice a familiar face. Earlier this year I had to chance to chat with Andrew Schneider about my creative past and how I’m building my production company LooseKeys, here in Chicago. It was great to be included in Screen Magazine and under a very cool article title of “Someone You Should Know.”

This past week I spent most of my time working away from the home office. I know I’ve talked about the value of getting out of your home office and working from coworking spaces but this was something totally different. Two of the days this week were spent working in the air on an airplane. You have limited space and most of the time no access to the internet. The limited space on the plane was the number one reason I picked up a MacBook Air late last year. I knew I was going to be traveling more, not only around my home city but out of town as well. The MacBook Air doesn’t have the power of the MacBook Pro, but for space available on the plane, it killed it. I’m rocking the 11 inch and it fits perfectly on your tray table with room for a drink or notebook. On the flight I was able to tweak some animation and get renders ready for once I landed; as well as having a chance to finish up some blog posts. I could’ve used the flight for down time but when you’re used to working during the day, it’s difficult to shut that off just because you’re trapped on a 757. All the work this week wasn’t done in the air, it was done wherever and whenever. I think Maeve and I sat and worked in six different coffee shops over the course of two days. We would rock out an hour or two of work here and there and then move onto the next location. Either in search of better coffee, better chairs, food or just a location with enough power outlets. There was something about this constant movement the really kept me on my toes. You’re working somewhere new all the time and it’s fun but at the same time exhausting. Since I was on the move so much I didn’t find myself getting sucked into hours of web browsing. Anyone who works at a computer all day knows how hard it is to stay productive when the allure of a funny YouTube video or news article is just a click away. I knew when I sat down at one of these coffee shops I only had a fixed amount of time and I needed to use that time to get the most I could accomplished. Kudos to all the people that travel for business every week because doing this one week really pushed me and at times made me glad I have an office to work in back in Chicago. But I did find some value in not knowing where I was working at that day or in trying to figure out what I could accomplish in a short amount of time before my laptop battery died. It forced me to get out of my typical routine and made me have to work smarter. By getting out of my comfort zone it gave me a good idea of how I work and how I can work more efficiently once I’m back in the home office. I’d love to do more work traveling in the future; the constant movement and the energy of a new location really helps breed some creative ideas.

With winter setting in here in Chicago it’s easy for our moods to turn negative. I know for myself, when the weather outside is cold and gloomy that can be reflected in how I feel about the work I’m doing. It’s a lot harder to get excited about a project when you aren’t in a great mood. I’ve found that an easy way to improve my day quickly with little effort is just to remember to smile. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood. A smiling person brings happiness with them. When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that says, “Life is Good!” Sometimes its just a simple way to just slow down and take a moment to enjoy life. You’d be surprised smiling doesn’t just make you feel better but makes everyone else think differently about you. Smiling people appear more confident, they are more likely to be promoted at the office, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.

So stay away from those winter blues and see how a simple smile and a positive mood has a huge out come on your day.