Four Steps to Keep your Productivity from Freezing to Death this Winter

by Scott Steele in DONOVAN WORLD, FUN

13

Feb
2012

FILED UNDER

I’m sitting here in my chair on the coldest day of the year staring longingly at my computer screen, waiting for the sun’s comforting rays to beam through the skylight like the second coming of Christ. No good, the frost from the frigid -30 degree morning has covered my glorious sky-hole and created a kind of darkness vacuum in my general vicinity which has shrouded my soul with a blanket made entirely of icicles. It’s not that it’s cold in the office, not at all, in fact, it’s a balmy 25 degrees of natural gas-powered warmth. No, it’s knowing how cold it is outside that has turned a generally spritely me into a steaming pile of frump.

Why am I so frustrated with this weather? I’m a Canadian and I’m “supposed” to be used to these harsh conditions and ball-shriveling cold temperatures. I’m “supposed” to be able to trudge through the mountains of snow like some ancient arctic adventurer on a quest to find absolutely nothing of value in a freezing white wasteland. Put simply, winter is not my cup of tea. And right now I could really use one.

I’ve got work to do, it’s busy and there are clients to please, type to kern and nipples to smooth out (client request) and god only knows what else is going to come down the pipeline, but I just sit at my desk gaping wide-mouthed into my computer screen waiting for some magical computer genie to grant me three wishes.

I snap back to reality from my comatose state and wipe the drool from my lower lip. “I’ve got to find a way to beat this damnable cold, darn tootin.” I hunker down in a small ball in my chair with pen and paper on my lap and start scrawling the start of a list. The list to end Jack Frost’s devious reign on my productivity.

Step One: Find a “Hot” Picture

Oh yeah, baby. So hot. So cheesy.

Find a picture of something hot. This doesn’t have to be the stereotypical day-at-the-beach type baloney. It can be anything that makes you think warm thoughts. Find anything that will thaw that frozen idea lodged way up in your brain. Then print it and put it on your wall. Or if you’re like me, set up a second monitor where you can stare at it throughout the day when you start feeling blue. Or put it in your wallet and sit on it. Just knowing it’s warming up your buns on a cold day can make all the difference in the world.

Step Two: Drink Tea

Shudder

If you have tea at the office, make it. Nothing warms the blood and soul like a cup of tea. I enjoy a nice warm cup of the classic Earl Grey, where as you can enjoy any number of other types of tea that I personally don’t care for. Oh, and put honey in it. If you drink this glorious nectar, I guarantee you’ll be on your way to putting the gloomy weather out of your mind and allowing all your creativity to flow through those once frozen chasms of brain.

Step Three: Bring Your Lunch to Work

I am not capable of making something this good.

Ok, those last two may have seemed like obvious choices, but there are so many of us out there that never bring lunch to work. In the summer, I call those people my friends. In this type of weather, I just call them brave. Packing my own lunch A) Keeps me indoors, so I don’t have to go to some crummy fast food joint, and B) Saves me crap loads of money and C) I don’t have to look at snow and I can stare at my beautiful grilled cheesy goodness on my dual monitor setup.

Step Four: Listen to Heavy Music, All Day

Obviously this is going to be super heavy.

If there’s anything that will get your mind out of a frozen gutter and back into the creative space, it’s music. But don’t just put your headphones on and shuffle your iTunes. You can get so much more out of your music on a cold day. Make yourself a playlist for these chilly times. Play songs that are pulse pounding, the heavier the better. If you’re into Nickelback – go for it. If you’re into hopefully anything other than Nickelback – go for that instead. All your icy woes will melt away with your playlist from the bowels of hell (has a warm vibe, doesn’t it).

So, now I’ve got my picture of warmth, I’ve got my tea that I’m sipping on like a British royal. I’ve created an amazing lunch for myself and I’m rocking out to some Every Time I Die. And would you look at that! The nipples have been smoothed out, the type has been kerned and the work that’s coming down the pipeline, it’s no big deal. My mind is off the weather outside, and I’m back on track.

These are just some of the ways that I’ve personally found to help me get through the bitterly cold days. You might not be a wimp like me and can handle the cold weather, but for those of us who buckle in fear at the sight of Jack Frost with his Warhammer of Just-ICE (who let me write this?), just remember these four steps and you’ll stay productive during the worst of it.

Scott Steele is a Senior Designer at DONOVAN. Comments on this post or suggestions for future topics are welcome.