Notes on #WFH from #Archimom & Interview w/ Jeff Echols, Assoc AIA
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| Why we need to "Flatten the Curve" |
If you don't even read my blog, here are some important resources at these Websites regarding Architecture and COVID-19:
EntreArchitect.com: Info on payroll-protection-program-ppp-lender-applications/
"Build your Brand Podcast" with Jeff Echols
AIA California COVID-19 Resources
Architects Make PPE" by AN
"interview with Jennifer Kretschmer, AIA and the Virtual Office"
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| i can't even show the rest of the work situation... |
it isn't any different than my usual "Working out of the House"
which is what I have been doing pretty much for the last 25 years. In fact, I didn't even know what WFH was until a few days ago when I asked my youngest, now 19 year old son. And because when I saw a blog post podcast by my archifriend, I felt like, "oh well, it is no different than what I always do" and he had said that I probably found it pretty silly that everyone is complaining about how hard it is and I said, "well, it is a challenge for people who have never had to deal with it before as far as working out of the home but what makes it worse is that these people most likely didn't want to do this to begin with". Or they thought that they would and now they realize,
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| this is my view right now, talk about FOG inspo |
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| trying to finish an addition during covid quarantine and rainstorms |
"OMG! I can't work like this!!!"
And who are these people in my home???
Who is this person that I am married to that work colleagues say is wonderful???
Who are these kids who teachers have said are amazing students???
Well, remember that we are trying to live like this so that we will have these memories...
"Remember how we had to "Flatten the Curve...???"So, I know that it is difficult and I know that we have the added stress of a pandemic, which isn't exactly the best scenario for trying out this whole "Remote Working/Telecommuting thing".
But what we also have to remember is:
Everything cannot be controlled. Everything is not under our control. Everything is uncertain.
We can only control how we react to it. And sometimes we don't act the way we should, but we are human and our deep biological wiring cannot be unlearned and we lash out and we feel bad about it and we are real.
Yes, we are real.
So often we pretend to be someone who is totally put together and in reality, we are not. That of course would not be me, but there are other people out there who appear to have it all together. I mean I can as people say, "Wash up well'" for certain events, especially as a Planning Commissioner at a meeting or presenting in front of a Design Review Board, or going to the Building Department or a Conference, I am wearing a suit or nice separates (probably never stiletto heels) but if you saw me most days, including the job site which is about once a week, I would be in my typical WFH outfit which is: black Yoga pants, long sleeve tee, long sweater and clogs. I will be doing a WFH WTW fashion blog with a notable Instagram architect in the next week!!!
See my #ArchiTalks 23 "style" blog for more on this here
As a mom years ago starting my own firm, which really started from doing consulting for other architects with a 3 week old baby, with no child care because we didn't have a family member nearby and we didn't even know if we could afford it. It was 1994, we had a recession and then we had a major earthquake in Los Angeles, where we were living, so times were unpredictable.
So, I would be with her during the day and try to do work and then when my husband got home, I would meet with people, or later I would have a friend watch her for a few hours if I had to go and measure or meet with someone during the day. The thing is that fortunately for me, we were in LA and in Venice Beach "the Westside" so it was a much more relaxed atmosphere, very creative, but very freeing as far as what you wore to work, where people's offices were, whether people had their kids or their dogs at work with them, it was all very normal in Los Angeles in the 90's. Theoretically and Architecturally speaking, things in Architecture, the Arts and Culture were changing. The architecture was about "tearing down the walls that we had around us, and making new space that wasn't traditional space. " California Modern wasn't about deconstructing and random moves that were made on the computer (because nobody was even using a computer to really design back then), it was just a freer time, people's homes were opening on to outdoor space to take advantage of the climate and just the ability to have a meeting outdoors or eating at a sidewalk cafe with the office or clients.
You might want to take a break right now... Wright Virtual Visits
So now as the past two decades have been about breaking down walls, but building up the economy by making new connections virtually, digitally but less IRL (which guess when I learned what that meant??? Maybe a few months ago.) So, I think for the interim, let's look at what we can do about video conference calls in your home. As I am saying to people online right now when they are talking about video conference calls and in specific to a person who posted in our Mothers in Architecture group,
"How can I make myself look better in a Video Conference call or how do I make it seem like I have it all together in my calls?
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Photo illustration by Slate.
Photos by Carmen Hauser/iStock/Getty Images Plus
and BrianAJackson/iStock/Getty Images Plus.
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Well, one, I don't think that you need to worry about looking all together right now, because that is just one more stressor. However, here are some tips that I have noticed from being in different Zoom calls, or Skype or Google Hangouts or other Video or audio Conferencing and I will tell you what I learned from my sons during this:
You don't have to always turn the camera on.
I was asking one of my sons (who are both in college but are supposed to be "Remote or Distance Learning") if he was "in class" because to me what it seemed like was, that he wasn't out of bed yet. And as his mother, and I am pretty liberal, BUT....
I just wanted to know, Was he wearing clothes? Or was he just attending class in his undewear, bare chested from his bunk bed messy room?
He said, "I don't always turn the camera on and most of the other students didn't even show up at all. The instructor did say, "Are you there?" and I told her that I was but that I had the camera off". Of course, there is another class that he has that is taught by one of our friends who is also another mom and I thought that her class was during that time but I didn't hear anything and then I heard her say, "Are you there? Are you on your phone or your laptop?" Because I think, as a mom who has kids his age, she was thinking the same thing as I was
GET DRESSED to ATTEND the MEETING
So, wear the same things that you would wear on a "Casual Friday" Wear makeup, do your hair, or if you don't, whatever you typically do for a regular work day, do for the conference call unless you just really don't feel good, but what I have heard from a lot of people, is that they want help for working out of the home with kids. I find that concealer is your best friend to cover up the circles that you have under your eyes and a lot of highlighter on your cheeks and above your eyes will make the light diffuse lines and wrinkles from staying up half the night for a project because
THE QUIETEST TIME OF THE DAY IS FROM MIDNIGHT TO 4AM!!!!
Right about this time, you are going to hear voices asking you what you are doing and I would invite your to look at this great stuff coming out of the Kennedy Center, my kids and I have actually met Mo Willems, author of "Dont't let the Pigeon drive the bus" and "Don't let the Pigeon stay up late".
"lunch doodles" with Mo Willems
For your older or adult kids: Can't you find something of use to do on this expensive phone that I got for you that my parents would have made me work many hours a week picking up dog poop and washing dishes for???
I tend to think that if you were able to get up early and get the kids up and could get out of the house to drop them off at school or child care and then commute to work in traffic, it is probably easier to do this than on a normal day if you just treat it as normal day. Not that I was ever able to do it with three young children, but it's easier to just take them to school in pajama pants and then go home and take a shower and get dressed and do your work or go to meetings, and that's why I wear a lot of yoga pants, you can sleep in them, take the kids to school, go for a walk and then do an errand if you need to (you don't need to always be dressed for success, just dressed).
Background and how you can do some quick fix solutions:
If you want to have a background that isn't distracting and if you have a typical messy "#archimom" architect's office with kids, toys, leftover plates and food and drawings, books and building materials (that would be me as we are also adding on to the house right now so we will have more space, and it's taking a little longer than usual) and now add COVID-19 rules and here you go:
As I have said on several social media platforms, one doesn't have to have a clean house to hold meetings, just be strategic OR use the Zoom backgrounds provided,
So, I think the best way to describe this is a photo composition. I have set up a video conference area at my dining room table, A dining table is a good height for a laptop and camera angle. And here's the reason that I use a laptop even though yes, I have a desktop, it's because of the ease of setting it further or closer from you and the background. The best camera angle for most people is straight on with the light source illuminating your face. Don't have the camera looking up at your chin and don't have it looking down from above. If our laptop of other computer or device doesn't have a good camera angle that can be manipulated, try a webcam, you can locate it anywhere you want. The light is good at a dining table usually, because you have natural (preferably northern, but any natural light is good) light and diffused artificial light. Don't sit in a dark room, because you will be in the dark and it will look like you are watching the latest "Brady Bunch" episode, or for the younger set, "Tiger King". Don't sit with the light source behind you because you will just be a silhouette. I have a blank wall, a gray wall in Behr's Manhattan Mist, now I think the same color is called "Silver Shadow" which just seems to be a good color for a lot of different rooms and a bigger picture on the wall that isn't too distracting (my children's artwork which is fairly nice because they are pretty creative and talented in a black frame).
I would like to not have the partial door to the kitchen in there but sometimes it is, sometimes my adult children will walk through the door. They typically know that I am recording so they don't do anything when I tell them that I am recording, So, if you don't need to be video live, just keep your name on the screen and don't join and mute your audio if you can't for whatever reason, like your child is screaming bloody murder because he wants to have half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips for breakfast for three days in a row. Hey, sometimes you just have to pick your battles and if they want to eat like their mother, so be it ...
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| the screen image on zoom |
So, here's another tip: go on the video conferencing website early or on the day before and set up your stage. Sit down with your laptop or desktop at a desk if you don't have the software on your laptop, and look at the way you look. Make sure to move things out of view of the camera if they are in range of it. Are you happy with what you see (or at least that you won't be surprised by what you see, "who is that floating head on the screen???" (Yes, I thought that it would be great to wear black until I realized that I was sitting in a black chair) Another thing that is somewhat disconcerting is when ou are conferencing with someone and you can't really see them because their camera is high above the monitor and so you are looking down on them like a bird and they are never looking at you because they are looking at their screen but not at the camera.
And here is an interview with Jeff Echols who I initially met through the #ArchiTalks Blog Series which was started several years ago by Bob Borson and has an amazing list of contributors of Architects and Architecture schooled people and it just gives you a really good resource whether you are another Architect, a potential or past Client or another Business person or Profession that is here for you during this time.
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| Jeff Echols |
Jeff Echols is on a mission to change the way architects do business by helping them communicate Empathy (not ego) so clients see Value (not commodity). He's the President and Chief Strategy Officer at echoEngagement, the host of the Build Your Brand Podcast, and a sought-after speaker covering the topics of branding, commoditization, disruption, empathy, and relevance. His brand-new, hot-off-the-presses keynote is entitled, "ego VS empathy: How the stories you tell are making you a commodity."
Postscript: On April 6th, 2020 Jeff and Mark LePage started the EntreArchitect Community "Context & Clarity" sessions for architects to connect virtually during the 2020 pandemic. One can still view Context and Clarity on many social media channels.
"Build your Brand Podcast" with Jeff Echols
Interview with Jeff Echols, Associate AIA, click here
Jeff's Three Favorite Buildings
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| unity temple by frank lloyd wright: photo by chicago architectural center |
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| unity temple: interior: photo by flwright.org |
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| guggenheim musuem by frank lloyd wright |
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| Sears Tower |
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| frank gehry's own house: photo by archinect |
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| "the binocular building" by frank gehry: photo by archinect |
Everyone Stay Safe Out There!!! And Let's Be There For Each Other!!!
"Architecture for Life"
How to cope with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) anxiety & stress
Clinically reviewed by Amy Magill, MA, RDN and Jen Matz, MPH
7 ways to help reduce stress during the COVID-19 outbreak
1.) Connect with loved ones.
You may be worried about catching the virus, losing your job or watching your kids fall behind without school. The more you worry and think about the "what ifs", the more anxious you may feel. While you can't stop worrisome thoughts from entering your mind, you can change how you respond to them. Instead of worrying, solve the potential problems. If you're anxious about paying the bills if you lose your job, for example, think of ways you can cut costs now and take action.1.) Connect with loved ones.
5.) Focus on the facts.
While many people are becoming infected with COVID-19, know that if you do get the virus, the majority of people have mild to moderate symptoms and recover on their own. Continuing to practice social distancing and taking other protective measures, including frequent handwashing and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth, can reduce your risk of getting sick.
6.) Be productive.
If the pandemic has left you with extra time on your hands, focus on being productive and accomplishing things. Do things you've been meaning to do but haven't had the time for, such as cleaning out your garage or organizing your pantry. Or use online resources to learn a new hobby or skill, like gardening, cooking, knitting or speaking a new language.
7.) Reach out to health care providers.
If you, or someone you care about, is feeling overwhelmed with emotions or if stress gets in the way of your daily activities for several days in a row, contact a health care provider. Schedule a or call Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357).Finding the light through darkness
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