TCEP: Bert's Blog The Cubicle Escape Pod Blog en-us Copyright (c) 2005-2006 Bind, Inc. Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:38:33 -0400 Typography and Fonts A followup to my last installment of "Bert." Click to see samples of the classifications and links to some major online purveyors of fonts.

Here is are the classifications I mentioned in my segment of Do-it-yourself Design.

Type Samples of Classifications

 

Also here are some websites where fonts may be had.

]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Sat, 17 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0400 How the hell do they pull this off? I don't know man. This seems like it would be tough to pull off. A four-day work week? Granted I know that I don't want to be saying "Gee I wish I could have worked more" when I'm ancient but hey you've got to pay the bills.

This is definitely worth a read: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/fourdayweek ]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Wed, 10 May 2006 14:35:56 -0400 How to select the right office plant Yes you read that title correctly. How to select the right office plant.  I happened to stumble across this link today on my customized Google page and just couldn't resist sharing it with all of you: http://wiki.ehow.com/Choose-a-Good-Office-Plant Enjoy!

]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Thu, 20 Apr 2006 02:35:44 -0400 Open Season An interesting post on another blog. A company exposes the process they went through developing their identity... to the whole world.

They seem to have opened up a can of worms. Today this blog entry made it to one of Jon's favorite places digg.com. The entry talks about the process of a jewelry store developing their logo. While the post does have some merit in terms of describing the process they went through and the things they considered they really ended up with something that, IMHO, is not as strong as it could be. My reasons have to do with type choice, color and graphic solution. Here's the link. Have a look for yourself.]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Wed, 22 Mar 2006 01:04:26 -0500 It took longer than I expected. In fact it took one day under 2 weeks to get it all done. I now have everything in place for my Getting Things Done system.

This weekend I got to the bottom of my 4 inch thick pile in my inbox and processed everything. I now have an empty in basket and a very rich, contextualized list of actions to work from.

In getting started you “should” be able to do this in one weekend. Well I must admit I had tons to go through and my inbox was huge. Not to mention I have a bunch of clients waiting for their projects to move along. So I had to put off processing the inbox but now its done.

Ah bliss…
]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Sun, 12 Feb 2006 18:06:10 -0500 Cathartic That’s how I’m feeling.

This past weekend I began implementing David Allen’s “Getting Things Done.” This system allows people to practice the art of stress-free productivity and have “mind like water.” It is all about next actions, completing them and moving projects forward.

I took 10 hours this weekend and went through my entire office. I processed every item in it and managed to throw out 64 gallons (2-32 gallon trash cans) of junk that had no present relevance to my work life. I sit here now in my office typing this knowing that everything in my office has reason for being where it is. I actually have empty bookshelf space. Every file is labeled with a printed label from a small machine from Brother. All my projects are in job-jackets with labels as well. It’s very cleansing and motivating to know I have a platform to move forward. While I was at it I also re-arranged the furniture to give an even more ‘fresh-start’ feel to things. Now I’m at a place where things are organized and I don’t have to think about where things are or hunt for anything. I know where it is.

Now I move into processing my inbox and creating my digital list. In closing I would suggest to anyone who feels like they spin their wheels all day without a sense of accomplishment or anyone who feels an overload of stress about their work you should take a look at David Allen’s system. One great feature of the system is that you can customize it to how you work. You just need to decide to do it and implement.

]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:33:36 -0500 Getting Through The Holiday Season. This was my first holiday season as a business owner, not a 'bootstrapper' and I have to say it was a bit nerve-wracking. I had just finished development on a website for a client right around Thanksgiving and was enjoying the holiday when it dawned on me. I had no large paying projects on the horizon—I have plenty of pro-bono work—and I didn't have any prospects in the pipeline. Panic set in.

The first two weeks of December were uncomfortable not knowing where I would find some larger projects. Fortunately I had built up enough cash reserves to cover payroll (just me right now) for December and January but there are other bills too. The holidays are supposed to be a time of relaxation and reflection but were turning out to be a time of stress and anxiety about business on top of holiday stress—no bueno.

Well a trip to town provided a tip in the right direction. I ran into a former colleague who is now directing and producing a documentary film. She said they needed to design their movie poster and asked if I was interested. Uh, like, yeah?!!! This project got me off of focusing on worry and start working. Ever since I started my business I've been using networking as a primary source of work through referrals and this paid off, Sure enough as the next few days went by I had a few e-mails and calls to setup appointments for immediate post-holiday meetings with a client who has been dormant a while and a new client who I called upon a couple of months ago. Where I find my company right now is seven new projects in 2 days.

So now I’m busy again and have made it through my first holiday “dip” as a business owner. What I can share is that if you stay focused on making connections and getting your name out there, work will come. If I stayed in the house and continued fretting that chance encounter would have never happened and starting the chain reaction of events to get me out of my head and put me in the position I’m in now.

]]> bert@hamiltonberchman.com Fri, 06 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0500