We all know what it’s like when you have too many balls in the air. You drop a ball here, forget an appointment there. You make dumb mistakes.

And then? You feel embarrassed. Maybe you get apologetic or defensive. And, of course, you try to pick up the dropped ball.

Often, even if you succeed in picking up the ball without dropping another, you end up scrambling. You try to get back into flow by working harder, which makes you edgier. And you drop another ball.

We all know what it’s like when you have too many balls in the air. You drop a ball here, forget an appointment there. You make dumb mistakes.

And then? You feel embarrassed. Maybe you get apologetic or defensive. And, of course, you try to pick up the dropped ball.

Often, even if you succeed in picking up the ball without dropping another, you end up scrambling. You try to get back into flow by working harder, which makes you edgier. And you drop another ball.

The Secret Payoff of Meetings – Karen Dillon – Our Editors – Harvard Business Review:

Having taken for granted all the informalities of office life for so long, I now have a clear understanding…

Having taken for granted all the informalities of office life for so long, I now have a clear understanding now of how much they glue colleagues together. We take breaks in our day with each other. We commiserate things that go wrong over bagels. We share jokes in those 5 minutes before everyone turns up for the meeting. They may not be the most productive minutes of the day, but they have real value. We are, in all those informally spent minutes, a team.

As a solo freelancer, every minute of my day has value, too. But in a different way. Every hour I spend working has to be toward a specific purpose, otherwise I’m wasting my time. Every hour I don’t spend working, too, has to be toward a specific purpose, otherwise I’m not taking advantage of my time. It’s required me to think completely differently about how I work.

I have to find ways to replace those informal interstitial minutes that gave me a boost throughout the day. Emailing colleagues far away and awaiting a response isn’t the same as chatting while we’re making coffee. I understand completely how Facebook has become a sort of office banter for people who aren’t physically together. I check my Facebook updates regularly now to see who’s making what witty observation or who will point me to something interesting through a link. It’s now the virtual water cooler for me.

So I’ve devised my own set of rules for making the best of my new flexible schedule.

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger:

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger:

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger:

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger:

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger:

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger:

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Robert M. Pirsig
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

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Robert M. Pirsig
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

The Life Cycle of a Business Blog Post – Know it and Maximize Your Marketing – Remarkablogger: 11
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