How to make your space
Today’s question comes to us from Trace Meek:
Does having a dedicated space to do your work makes a big difference?
In my experience, very much yes.
In 2020, like a lot of people, we got to see what doing everything in the same place was like. My wife, my daughter, and I worked, schooled, exercised, watched TV, cried, cooked, puzzled, etc, etc, etc, inside our small San Francisco apartment. No one had a dedicated space for anything. Getting coffee in the morning sometimes meant timing our reaching for the coffee pot with the stroke of the rowing machine between the counter and the kitchen table, which was also the headquarters for a design studio during the day, and an art studio in the evening.
We were lucky to be able to do all of these things from home, we had it better than a lot of people. And while acknowledging our privilege, and being thankful that we were able to stay safe, it would also be dishonest of me not to admit that I absolutely fucking hated it.
My compartmentalized brain had a very hard time with it.
I have a restaurant that I go to when I want huevos rancheros. I know lots of restaurants that have huevos rancheros on the menu, and for all I know they may be very good. But I will never know, because my brain has decided that there is one restaurant where I go when I want these, and as far as I am concerned that might as well be the only thing on the menu. I also have a fish and chips place, a pizza place, a burger place, a bagel place, etc. In my mind, all function is geographically tagged.
So I was very happy when in the fall of 2021, we decided to rent out a little space to do our design work again. And even though it’s just the two of us at home (our daughter got her own place earlier in the year) and the two of us at home, which can feel silly because it’s two people moving between locations to tap on their laptops, it was amazingly freeing (and again: privileged AF) to have a dedicated space to do that.
And as great as the space itself is, I honestly think the space between the spaces is even more important. We both ride bikes. So having to get dressed, jump on my bike, and ride a few miles through the city is great. It reminds me of where we live, it forces me to interact with the community, and it gives me time to listen and to smell the city. I stop at the grocery store, wave at the neighbors, make friends with the other bike riders. The city’s fucking amazing. I ride through it every day. I am a part of it.
When I get to work I am at work. I do work things. When I am done doing work things I leave the place where I do work things. (One exception: the rowing machine is now at work.) I ride through the city again. I go home. I do home things.
Does this mean that I’m in favor of your boss telling you it’s time to “return to work”? Fuck no, it does not. The lesson here is that I found a way to do things that works for me. With luck, patience, experience, and privilege, I was able to carve out what I needed. Some of you may be very happy working from home, and you should be able to do that. Some of you may have medical necessities for working from home and you should absofuckinglutely be able to do that.
There are steps, and I cannot guarantee that they always reach the sky, but the first step is always figuring out what you need.
So… covid update! Thanks to Paxlovid, I tested negative four days after testing positive. That said, it wasn’t four fun days. I’m still testing, just in case I get a rebound case, but so far so good. This shit is still out there. So please stay safe, mask up, stay up to date on your boosters.
I need more questions to answer! Please please please send me questions. They can be about anything you want. The stupider the better.
Buy a zine, for fuck sake.
Also, if you are enjoying this newsletter, please feel free to let me know. It’s always nice to know that people are out there.
🍉