brianfending.com

I've been working from home for a couple of months now, and feel great about the move from daily commutes to monthly visits to the mothership. There have been challenges, though - pitfalls both anticipated and not - that came with the transition.

1. You're always at work.
Well, you are if you take the laptop out of your office. And you need an office. I repeat: You need an office. With a door. It takes the edge off to work from the couch sometimes, sure - but get a comfy office chair and invest in some ergonomics. You won't be sorry and it makes those Thursday mornings - that's my schedule to have Norah playing in the family room while I have my coffee and catch up on email - more special.

2. "It's just one more night away from home..."
I have the great fortune of a well-defined travel schedule, and a great team with which to work. If "periodic travel" is the only stipulation you have, expect more than you want. Not-to-exceed percentages or day counts per month are the way to go. Staying over a friday night to catch a first-thing Saturday flight involves (a) another hotel night and (b) maybe a little cheaper flight. I did this my first time in this arrangement and it was, well, not the best plan ever. No sleep by virtue of the screaming guy outside my door and I had to leave at 5:15 to have enough "line time" at the airport.

3. Instant Messenger is your friend, but it doesn't replace the phone.
I love IM'ing. In particular, using our Jabber server. Instant access, quick audio chats, pretty-good video chats - it's almost like you're there. But there will be co-workers you don't like headphones, or aren't comfortable with their webcam, well, LOOKING at them. For those rarities, the phone is your friend. And once you're in the routine with the bulk of your coworkers, there's nothing like a phone call to place importance on a conversation. It may sound corny, but this really works. Talking about your healthcare benefit with a busy HR person? If you need the answer, pick up the phone - there's no substitute for a crystal-clear conversation.

4. Staying present back at the ranch is hard.
It's work you have to do every day, making sure you're privy to some of the watercooler conversations to make sure that your priorities are inline with gentle shifts in direction. Still, you'll be on video conferences and inside jokes will be flying - don't let it get to you. It's just what you lose out on by having all of this new flexibility. I've gotten around that by having a few minutes of "so what else is going on this week" with people before or after the substance of my original reason for talking to them. It's another really small point, but you can't afford to be all business all the time - that's not how most offices run.

5. Overcommunicate.
It's hard to find the balance on this, as in "how much is too much," but I've erred on the side of caution and give unprompted updates on my own schedule and project statuses until told to stop or at least back it down. Does that frequency change anything for me? Not often. But I also use a few automated systems and make suggestions to make better use of large-group meeting time. What do I do with the extra time? Work. Another part of that time: Individual follow-ups. It works - call it The Warm Fuzzy, whatever you like - to put your message forward to the right people, and even better to do so to the right person.

Any gray areas? Sure there are. But as long as you err on the side of availability when your employer expects it and drawing a line at the office door when they don't, it'll probably work out.

• Personal
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• Telecommuting

I use a lot of stuff in my daily life, both at work and play, that allow me to do otherwise impossible things. If you've heard of them all, pardon the intrusion - you may go back to pondering the cover of The New Yorker or whatever it is you do with your extra time. I could do without some of them, sure... But I'm pretty sure it would suck. Stuff I Use...

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• Telecommuting

It's been a while since I made reference to New Zealand's own Flight of the Conchords. A recent conversation in which I tried to describe the David Bowie episode, featuring three dream appearances of David Bowie (played be Jemaine) to Bret followed by an inspired song in tribute to the man, fell flat in need of examples. All four are worth watching, I think.

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I met up with a couple of college buddies this weekend in Rochester for what we called a Beer Tasting. What it was in reality was three guys splitting eight beers evenly while eating greasy food and playing Star Wars Battlefront II. For six hours. In any event, it was the kind of fun I don't often have and the beer selections (I only brought numbers 1 and 7) were predominantly Dogfish Head seasonals and limited releases with some really surprising variety - and, on average, high ABV. In recollecting over the last day or so by email, slots 5 and 6 were a little blurry for us but here's the rundown of a really, really fun lineup.

1. Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA
   My second-favorite IPA ever - lots of hoppy body and soapiness
2. Lagunitas IPA
   A really nice change-up; certainly not an Imperial, but not too light on the tongue, either.
3. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
   The standard. Wow.
4. Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir
   They bill it as the, "oldest-known fermented beverage in the world!," featuring ingredients found in King Midas' tomb: barley, white Muscat grapes, honey, and saffron. It. Is. Amazing.
5. Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre
   A bit heavier, very malty to my pallet after the Elixir.
6. Dogfish Head Immort Ale
   This May seasonal has peat-smoked barley and is brewed with juniper berries and vanilla. It is a flavor explosion.
7. Southern Tier Crème Brûlée Imperial Milk Stout
   Wow. I've had another since. Wow. Need to try it with vanilla ice cream. SOON.
8. Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra
   ABV: 18%+. We MAYBE should have had this before the dessert beer, but t seemed fitting that the rarest should be last on the tongue. This is a limited release and MAN can you taste the raisins. Good pick!

I cannot WAIT to do this again. The carpal tunnel symptoms will have subsided by then, I hope. :)

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