Beau
Originally uploaded by nengard

Everyone asks me how I’m handling working at home. Well - when you have this face next to you on the couch and a laptop on your lap - how could you not love working from home? [update] For those who are wondering - Coda is at my feet - she’s not a cuddler like Beau, but she keeps nearby as well. [/update]

In reality, I’m finding it great! Everyone was right - I’m very much cut out for this. I work from 7am to noon with no problems. I stop for lunch and then come right back to working. The only interruptions are when the pups whine to be taken out - and how is that any different then colleagues coming up to your desk to chat?

I do miss the personal interactions, but if you take a look at my calendar you’ll see that I’ll have no shortage of those over the coming months as I travel and talk with people about open source.

So, as a summary of my first few weeks at LibLime - I’m loving it!!

Jenkins Law Library is looking for a Assistant Network Administrator / PC and Database Support Specialist.

This position is responsible for assisting the Network Administrator, troubleshooting computers (PC desktops and servers) when needed and assisting with Website support. The primary focus is to support all users so they can work optimally in a networked environment.

Learn more at jobs.jenkinslaw.org.

My new Macbook thanks me
Originally uploaded by nengard

This week I’m in Ohio to learn about my new job at LibLime. First on the agenda - learn how to use a Mac … yikes!

So far, I’m pretty impressed, I keep hitting the wrong buttons and can’t figure out where the home and end buttons are (do they even exist?), but I’m having fun learning.

I also got to meet some fellow colleagues and chat with them and learn more about my job. I can’t wait to jump in and start working. For now you can listen to my interview with Richard Wallis on Talking with Talis - but keep an eye out for me to start my actual work after this week of training.

You can also see my pictures from today and yesterday.

Technorati Tags: liblime, talis

In an article about the happiness of telecommuters versus those of us who have to go into the office, Techdirt makes a great point:

Whether or not your desk sits in your house, at the office, or both, it is not the location of the desk that is important, but rather the flexibility to choose when and where you sit.

Whenever I interviewed for a job I always made it clear that flexibility was important to me. For me, my family and health is more important to me than any job - which means that I want to be able to go to the doctor without taking sick time - or leave work early once in a while because my husband needs me at home. I’m not asking for a free pass - just flexibility to work extra hours one day to make up for hours I need to take for family and health other days. I’ve been lucky in this respect - but I can imagine how those who haven’t might be bitter about those who get to telecommute.

Although studies have shown that telecommuters are happier and less stressed, the happiness actually comes not from the telecommuting itself, but from the higher flexibility and autonomy afforded by telecommuting policies. By not chaining workers to a desk for 8 hours a day (which has also been shown to stifle productivity), employees are afforded the flexibility they need to mold their job around their busy lives, and not the other way around.

Technorati Tags: telecommuting

The news is out! I have been offered (and accepted) the position of Open Source Evangelist at LibLime. It seems like only yesterday I joined the staff at the Princeton Theological Seminary, but you never know when fate is going to step in. I’m going to miss working with the amazing people at the Seminary library - some of whom have taught me so very very much, but I’m also excited about this move and can’t wait to get started in teaching librarians about open source!

I’ll keep you all posted - for now, I start work on the 4th of February.

Technorati Tags: liblime, Open Source, oss

So - it turns out that I missed a few studies that have found that multi-tasking is actually counter-productive. I always thought that being able to do multple things at once lead to more productivity - but after I posted the link to Jarina’s article, I got some links sent to me about how multi-tasking actually leads to less productivity.

From 43 Things a quote from the NY Times:

In a recent study, a group of Microsoft workers took, on average, 15 minutes to return to serious mental tasks, like writing reports or computer code, after responding to incoming e-mail or instant messages. They strayed off to reply to other messages or browse news, sports or entertainment Web sites.

From Overcoming Laziness:

You see, humans are terrible at doing more than one thing at a time, even though most of us think we're good at it. But when we multitask, two things happen:
1. We get less done.
2. The quality of what we do is lower.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Multitasking, a term cribbed from computers, is an information age creed that, while almost universally sworn by, is more rooted in blind faith than fact. It’s the wellspring of office gaffes, as well as the stock answer to how we do more with less when in fact we’re usually doing less with more. What now passes for multitasking was once called not paying attention.

So… I guess the fact that I’m a habitual multi-tasker means that I’m not really paying attention… I’m not sure how to respond. I feel like I’m productive - people are always surprised that I can manage as much as I can - so is what I’m doing something other than traditional multi-tasking?

Something to think about as I write this post and watch Law & Order … which I’m going to give my attention to now

Via Autocat:

Greetings! I am working on a research article for ALA-NMRT’s Footnotes about transitions in librarianship. If you have made a significant career change during your first decade of professional service, then please take several minutes to complete this survey.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks so much for considering!
Rachel

I think this is an interesting idea - especially for me since I did just make a major change in my area of librarianship. I can’t wait to see the results. If you’ve made a change, it’s a pretty quick & easy survey to fill out.

Well, it looks like Jenkins is looking for a new Web Assistant. If you live in Philly and are looking for part time work, this is the place to go!