Or, what your friendly neighborhood Remote Blogger has been doing in her copious free time.
Happy Thursday everyone! The snow from last week is gone, and we’re back to our usual soggy winter. This post is more of a ‘Where’s Waldo’ remote work roundup of the things I’ve been up to in the last two weeks. My current work/life balance resembles a kid who just learned to ride a bike–as long as I keep moving, everything’s fine.
Somebody Said They Liked the Book
Book Authority named ‘Working Remotely’ as one of ‘11 Best New Remote Working Books to Read in 2020.‘ I am beyond chuffed. I tried to play it cool when I first found out, but I was definitely more Sally Field at the Oscars than Will Smith in MIB.
I Was On The Radio
Four times in 11 days. Business Lunch is a numbers-driven live radio program that broadcasts out of Chicago. My analyst heart loved the excuse to let my nerd flag fly. I really appreciated the way Ji Suk Yi kept things flowing. That’s a real art. Last Thursday I did a double header. First I talked with Alyssa Carpenter of Humanize Your Workplace. That episode will air in the future, but if you like quality programming, check her out. She has a lot of interesting guests. An hour after that I was on live radio with the Frankie Boyer show. Once I get a link to that interview I’ll share it here.
For those of you who are counting, that’s three episodes. There’s a fourth one, but the conversation was wide ranging and we’re still figuring out what the end product might look like. I’ll talk about that one more once we know what it’s going to be.
As an aside, it’s been interesting seeing the differences between pre-recorded podcasts and live radio. I’m not sure which I like better. Podcasts give you a chance to really dig into a topic–and if the host thinks you go on too long, they can edit you down. There are no do-overs on live radio. When your time is up, you’re done. It’s a little stressful, but it’s also a grand opportunity to be succinct.
I Wrote a Manifesto
Porchlight Books asked me to write a manifesto about getting along with your boss and others in the remote work space. I didn’t know until that moment that writing a manifesto was a life goal. Part of me wants to take the article and nail it to a door or something. The part of me that is older than age of three voted that down. Sometimes I’m really no fun.
I Shared a Book Excerpt
Forge, a publication on Medium, just published an excerpt from my book ‘Working Remotely,’ and they gave it the best title ever: Questions to Ask Yourself Before Marking Your Request Urgent. I’m beginning to wonder if everybody but me can write great titles. Thank you, Forge editors!
…and I Talked about Gender Equity in Remote Work
Naomi Cahn writes about women and gender issues on her Forbes column. We traded some emails back and forth about how remote work can both help and harm gender equity. That resulted in an article she published Wednesday called Getting the Most out of Telework.
If this sounds like I have a lot going on, I do. And I need to give a special shout out to my publicist Valerie, who knows how to find thoughtful places for me to talk about remote work. You’re awesome Valerie! I wouldn’t be this happily busy without you.
What’s On the Go Now
I just wrote a draft of another article that’s due at the end of this month. Once that’s done I have two other articles to write in February. Other than that, I’m trying to take brain breaks by practicing my guitar and knitting socks. And running. I restarted my couch to 5k nearly three weeks ago, and it was the best decision ever. I run because it’s hard and I play guitar because I don’t have to be good at it. It works for me.
Have a great week everyone!
