I’m a little embarrassed to admit it: I didn’t learn how to be organized until after college. College, though—as my wife observed the other night (as a person who did learn the essential skills of self-management in college)—is the ideal opportunity to learn such a skill. You have four classes—let’s call them projects—that overlap in … Continue reading On learning to be organized
Category: Working Life
On the relief and irritation of finally figuring out a problem that had annoyed you for years
It happened every once in a while: elements in my InDesign template would refuse to align to my 1” margin. Frames would instead snap to 0.097”, resisting my attempts to nudge them over to the 1” margin until I zoomed WAY IN and forced them over. Today, I discovered why. (For the InDesign nerds out … Continue reading On the relief and irritation of finally figuring out a problem that had annoyed you for years
On the silly term porte cochere
Why use jargon? Sometimes there’s just no other way to say something: you can say electrochromic glass or you can burn a full sentence glossing “glass that responds to an electric current by changing color.” Clearly, there’s an advantage to the first option, though it may occasionally send something scurrying for a dictionary. (But sometimes, … Continue reading On the silly term porte cochere
On typing with people watching
One joy of virtual meetings is that I get to type notes with no one watching. I am not a very good typist. My attempts at notes are pretty half-baked in the moment—not just typos but missed spaces and frac turd wordssoert ofli kethis. It’s not pleasant to look at. So, what sweet relief to … Continue reading On typing with people watching
On owning ignorance without the smirk
I’m not sure anyone enjoys admitting ignorance. I say this after a day of doing it—having attempted the only formal videography of my life. (I refuse to count the silly videos made with friends in college.) It wasn’t supposed to be me behind the camera, fiddling with focus and adjusting the composition, but there I … Continue reading On owning ignorance without the smirk
On subverting the just-do-it mentality
Just do it is great advice—most of the time. Plenty of what I have to do in my job and I’m life strikes a note of such utter banality that I have to roll my eyes. Update the CRM, schedule a meeting, find an arborist, fill out the daycare form. It’s not that these tasks … Continue reading On subverting the just-do-it mentality
On failing to not check my email
I figured on a change. I had done the research, and then started to act on it. I was working full, productive mornings without even opening Outlook to check my email. And then I went on paternity leave. I knew that 10 weeks away would leave my work mind rusty—but I didn’t figure on falling … Continue reading On failing to not check my email
On the basics
Today, I had to explain what an RFP is to a high school student—a freshman high school student. Normally, when I explain that a lot of my job is answering RFPs and RFQs, they just…get it. Not the details, of course—but they understand the premise. But I’ve not been faced with explaining it to a … Continue reading On the basics
On SMPS
Last week marked the end of my year-long term as chair of the communications committee for SMPS Colorado. SMPS, the Society for Marketing Professional Services, is a professional organization for marketers and business developers in the A/E/C industry. I have loved being so involved in the organization, but I am glad to hand off the … Continue reading On SMPS
On the stories we tell ourselves (that are wrong)
It’s a human thing: we tell stories. We create narrative frameworks for ourselves as we look out at the world from within our own heads. Why this, and why that, and how could that possible make sense. Sometimes, the stories we tell ourselves are true. (Or mostly true.) When this happens, it’s just the best. … Continue reading On the stories we tell ourselves (that are wrong)
Taylor Coe 