Working from home; where to start?

left to right: unimpressed peacock, distracted pigeon, vulgar vulture,  squawking seagull, critical crow, and off-key song bird.

Working from home today? Not sure where to start?

Get to Work

Well. First, you really need coffee. Okay. Got your coffee. Now get to work. You see that thing in front of you? Looks like a disorganized mess? Yeah, that's what it thinks when it looks at you. Its okay. Mornings are hard, with all the birds congregating outside just to mock you...

Next Step: Get to Work

Get yourself somewhere in proximity of your work area. You can stare at it for a while. Its the existential version of looking at yourself in the mirror—a thing anyone rushing to an actual workplace (and not staring at the bedroom desk in their pajamas) might do every morning. You're working from home today; you get to bypass the actual mirror, and all its superficialities. You see that amorphous shape slithering away from you? This is also you. Now stab it with a fork to keep it still, and get to work.

Where to start? Anywhere. Just get to work.

Anywhere is not a place. Start at the beginning? Eh... not again. Not today. Start where you left off. Where was that again? Somewhere in the mess. Actually, its on a list somewhere. There's a list. Find the list.

The Infamous List

Okay, got it? That place where you left things off last time? Good. Perfect. That's all you needed right? Except your coffee is cold. But its okay. Cold coffee is the sign that you're getting warmer... closer to actually getting something done.

If you feel lost staring at your imaginary list, draw a square somewhere, anywhere (on the wall even). On the right-hand-side of the square, write the following: “Get to work.” Now, put an x in the box, and rejoice. One thing done. The first task is always the hardest. “X” marks the spot of where to start, its a process, not a destination. This is not a treasure map... although... your plan could deviate, you could spend the day designing a treasure map, for the children you'll never have if you don't get to work.

The Random Number Generator

Now, if you still feel lost, build a random number generator, put a number next to each task on your list, and let the system choose (or google “random number generator”). You'll find that your mind quickly comes to focus when a piece of code tells you to put socks on after it tells you to put on your shoes (or, in my case, to put a number of bird icons into my game before they exist).