ElectricLawyer

Simplicity in the office

I know there are people out there who can work in the midst of absolute chaos. I am not one of those. My working area has to be pristine. Piles of paper distract, confuse and stress me out. So even though I have a tiny office -- actually a Victorian "fainting room," it provides the soothing, paper-free environment I need.

Note the wallpaper on the iMac, which matches the DecalGirl skin on the iPhone. The wallpaper came free with the iPhone skin, and I tiled it for the iMac. I love my DecalGirl skins, by the way.

The other side of the room, with my trusty Fujitsu ScanSnap and the MacBook receiving scanned documents. I use the second computer because scanning tends to slow down computers. Yes, that's a paper journal next to it. About the only paper you'll find in the room lying around.

This area is to the left of the iMac. The top shelf contains a camera tripod (the weird black thing), perfume, a photo of the Dalai Lama throwing rice at reporters (what could be more soothing than that?), my multifunction machine, and charging stations for my Dell Mini 9 and my Kindle 2.

The Peaceful Practice: Share the Wealth

I am fortunate in many ways, but one of them is that I have a secure living and some money in the bank. So I'm running my own economic stimulus program. After putting a decent amount into savings, I am spending my money. I am spreading around my little bit of wealth. 

I realize that my little expenditures are a drop in the bucket, but after all, what is rain but a bunch of drops, all individually tiny and weak, but when gathered together powerful enough to wash away mountains?

If you are lucky enough to have some money left over at the end of the month, join me and spend it.

Dressed up iPhone and Kindle 2

Just in case you were wondering if I was a girl, this will prove it:

I dressed my toys in DecalGirl skins. This design is called Pink Tranquility, and the iPhone one comes with information for getting a free matching wallpaper. There are dozens of skins on the DecalGirl site. Some even guys might like.

I also got one for my Dell Mini 9, which is on order. More about that when it arrives.

The skins are $6.99 and $14.99 each. A pretty inexpensive way to put some beauty in your life.

The Peaceful Practice: Rainbow over the Castro

Every day I take one photo from my back window. Today it's raining and sunny at the same time, and the result is this "Rainbow over the Castro:"

The Peaceful Practice

I've decided to start a new category on this blog, where I plan to write about what works and what doesn't work in my life. That is to say, the Crazymakers, the Timewasters, the Stuff that gets in the way of getting things done.

Started out the morning well. Cup of coffee, journal, and my favorite spot on the couch. Made my first entry in the journal (a lovely one from Cavallini), and wrote out a long list of tasks. An over-ambitious list, but today I'm using the madeleine approach: a little nibble and I consider the task done.

So I decide to email a friend to tell her about the Dell Mini 9 I just ordered. Walk to the home office, and before I know it, I've spent a half hour answering non-critical emails and looking at web sites. Realize my coffee, which I left behind in the living room because I thought this task would take a minute, must be getting cold. It was. And I didn't even write the email I wanted to write. Back to the living room to re-assemble the mental troops.