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A Typical Work Day In My Home
Office By James Martell I guess I set myself up when I asked Arlene to share the details on her work-at-home work day. Now people want to know what I do each day. So here goes.
I love taking the beach route because the scenery is beautiful throughout every season. Even in the winter, the waves crash on the beach and remind me of the summer excitement that’s just around the corner. What a way to start the day. Once I return home, I assume my position at my desk and check my e-mail. I take a quick scan through the new messages and read anything that looks important. The rest of it all just sits there… forever. I log in to the SUPER BootCamp forum, answer any outstanding questions and check in on my student sites. At this point, I might do some work on a site. Today, for example, I may have to make a few changes to our privacy policy because of new guidelines set by Google AdSense.
I return to my desk and speak with a friend about the new Google requirement, which has brought on a few page decreases and increases. I move on to Coffee Talk and schedule an interview for April; I’m excited about this one because I’ll be speaking with a WordPress expert. I’m starting to get hungry, so I pack up my laptop and head for a local pub or coffee house for a bite to eat. This also gives me a little break from the house and my desk. I might meet up with a friend, where we’ll click away on our laptops side-by-side. This is what’s great about working from home. If a friend calls with a last-minute lunch offer, I can usually drop everything and head out. My afternoon agenda may include working with Arlene on EpilepsyMoms.com, possibly adding new content or merchants, or dreaming up ideas for her next press release. Next, I start getting ready for an upcoming live Q&A session so I don’t forget to cover any important items or issues that students need to know about. Depending on my mood and the amount of work to be done, I sometimes take the rest of the afternoon off. If not, I’ll putt around the house and tidy up. If I continue working through the afternoon, I’ll check my Elance account to make sure our writers have everything they need to be as productive as possible. This takes up about a half an hour of my day.
An issue then arises with a coder at RentaCoder, who oversees my technical problems, so I take care of this before moving on to the next task. I invest some time in one of the other sites that need attention. Next, I work with my editor on The Martell Newsletter in an attempt to get the content finalized for the next issue. I review the status of my hosting and domain names and renew anything that is close to expiring. While this doesn’t take very long, it is extremely important. No one wants to see their site go down because of a missed renewal. It’s time to do some planning so I head to the white board and my big flip chart for my own little brainstorming session. I jot down some details, sort out a few issues, and call it a day. Now that spring may have finally arrived, I cross my fingers. If I have my way, I’ll be taking an extra-long weekend and sneaking away on a quick Cobra cruise. All the best,
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My day truly starts with a
trip to Tim Horton’s for an
extra-large, triple cream
coffee. I take the long way
home and follow along the
beach, making a few calls
while I’m at it. This drives
Arlene crazy – she can’t
understand why I would
rather pay for these calls
than to just wait until I
get home, where I can dial
for free. Simple. I like to
talk when I drive.
Shortly after, a friend of
mine arrives to show me a
few pictures he took around
town. We chat for a bit, he
goes on his merry way, and
Shelby and Justin pop in and
mention that it’s time to
spring clean their cars. I
take a break and head out to
watch the festivities,
camera in hand.
At some point, I might be
beckoned by Arlene to come
to her office and help her
with an answer to a
student’s e-mail.
