Familial Privacy, and Why I Never Launch Websites on a Friday

I wonder at times how personal I want to make these journal entries. I don’t want my blog to become a completely transparent window on my life. I value a certain level of privacy and I don’t feel I need to bare absolutely everything in order to write something of merit.

I do want to be open and honest about as many things as possible, though. I don’t really want to talk too much about my family specifically, so I’ll simply allude to them at times. So, apart from saying I went for coffee with my mum yesterday, nothing else to report!

It was a beautiful day. In the afternoon my car said it was about 26 degrees. Not quite as hot as the 30 degrees from earlier in the week but the sky was still dazzling, a rich hue of pure blue. Perhaps “azure” would be the appropriate literary descriptor.

I was working from home yesterday morning. I generally find it easy enough to have sufficient discipline when working at home. Normally, I’m driven by (perceived) necessity. For example, I feel like people are relying on me, and “mission critical” (corporate speak) websites I’m looking after for clients have the tendency to be temperamental at the most inopportune times. So I have to keep an eye on things, and when issues come in I “have to” jump on them. It can be a bit of drain, but I do enjoy the overall flexibility of working outside of a rigid schedule. And it’s pleasant to feel needed.

One benefit of being able to work from home and not being tied to a strict schedule is that I am fortunate enough to be able to spend time with my family during the week and I value this highly.

My mobile phone is never far away, and I’m normally checking emails most hours of the day. This helps me keep on top of the daily work clutter, but it is a perpetual distraction. I normally look forward to the lower risk of digital “fires” on a Friday afternoon. It tends to be a time of the week when everyone is winding down anyway (if, of course, they haven’t checked out mentally altogether). I can normally afford to check emails a little less frequently as the weekend comes into view.

I’ve also learnt to reduce the risk of Friday afternoon stress by never launching a website on a Friday. That’s the valuable tip I offer up to clients and budding techies in the hope of making everyone’s life just a little bit less stressful. I hope this will become a universal rule one day. It’s my humble opinion that it should be taught on day 1 of all Computing degrees. Maybe I’ll get some T-shirts printed.

Reduce Stress. Don’t Launch Websites on a Friday