How I work
Location:
Near Paisley Park, MN
Current Gig:
The Producer for 4 different podcasts on the Solitaire Rose Network. I also have two real world jobs, one in an office and one in a group home from developmentally disabled adults.
One word that best describes how you work:
Stories
Current mobile device:
LG G4, which is already out of date, I hear.
Current computer:
A trusty old PC and a bare-bones laptop
What apps, software, or tools can’t you live without?
Open Office – I need a word processor for everything I do it seems. I also rely on Skype and Audacity for creating podcasts. Everything else is browser based.
What’s your workspace setup like?
I have an old rolltop desk my Aunt gave me ages ago, and I need to go through the drawers and start getting rid of the things in them, since I rarely open them. The top of the desk is cluttered with notes, tsotchkes, a shot glass of jelly beans and a glass of soda.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut or life hack? Do you automate something that used to be a time sink? Do you relegate email to an hour a day?
I treat mixing a podcast the way a chef puts together a meal: Mise en Place I have all of the sound file I need open and ready to drop in. I listen to the audio, cut out what needs to be cut out, tighten things and drop in the extra sound stuff. Usually while multitasking on writing up episode descriptions, website tweaking and answering e-mail.
The other big time saver for me is to do the up front planning. My co-hosts do things seat of their pants, so I am the one who has the show format, keeps people on track and does all show prep.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
Remember the milk. EVERYTHING is on it.
Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without and why?
My tablet. I read a lot of comics, and moving to digital has made my life easier because I can read them pretty much anywhere. Plus, I have videos on it for watching at the gym, my to-do list and all of my other electronic crutches.
What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?
Empathy. I think I am a good interviewer because I have a good read on what people want to talk about and what they are uncomfortable about, and knowing if what they are uncomfortable about is something that will make it a good interview or not.
What do you listen to while you work? Got a favorite playlist? Maybe talk radio? Or do you prefer silence?
If I am mixing a podcast, I have to listen to that. Otherwise, if I am writing, it’s music, and usually movie soundtracks, which is a horrible cliché, I know. For anything else, I am listening to podcasts. I am an information junkie and am always feeding my brane.
What are you currently reading? A novel, comic book, website, magazine?
LOTS of comics, and am still on a Atlas kick now that so many of them are on Marvel Unlimited. When I was in my teens and 20’s, I was a big EC guy, and EC fans trash the Atlas stuff, but while the Atlas stories are pretty much what you would expect from 50’s horror/western/monster comics, some of the art is incredible and I am enjoying learning about that era. I am reading the Travis McGee novels again and the magazine I adore that isn’t comic book related is The New Yorker.
How do you recharge?
Science documentaries and the like. The damn things are like crack to me. I don’t watch a lot of TV anymore, but I actually like to watch professional wrestling for fun. I also enjoy going to the gym because I HAVE to concentrate on what I am doing. I also am a self-taught meditator.
What’s your sleep routine like? Are you a night owl or early-riser?
Terrible. I have been grabbing a lot of “sleeping overnight shifts” at the group home I work at, where I sleep on their couch, wake up if the awake staff needs help and then rush home to clean up for my full-time job. Left to my own devices, I go to bed around 2 am and get up around 8 am, but that’s not hwo the working world works.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? Doesn’t have to be work or productivity-related.
“You need to love her unconditionally.” I was starting a relationship and it was the first one I had been in for a long time and I asked a friend what I could do not to screw it up. Why is it the best advice? Because I didn’t just apply it to that one person, but in all aspects of my life. Love unconditionally, forgive constantly and remember that every day above ground is a good day.
