Sam Dickie

Whenever my puppy needs to go to the toilet which currently seems to be every 30 mins. As much as it can be difficult it’s been a great reminder to take a break from the desk.

We recently bought our first apartment during lockdown last year and with us both working remotely we looked for somewhere with a generous second room we could convert into an office for us both.
For years i basically had a super stripped back setup, consisting of only a MacBook and pair of headphones. I nerded on desk setups for years, however, whilst living in London at the time we knew we would be moving back to Scotland shortly and didn’t want to buy any furniture, however, this temporary wait turned into 7 years. When we eventually moved back and bought our new place i decided i was going to create my dream setup. Creating a space that you look forward to spending time in is really important to me given the amount of time i’m in-front of a screen.

I’ve been working remotely for the past 4 years and found it so easy for the most part. However, during lockdown i struggled and some serious felt cabin fever. So when lockdown eased I decided i would try a co-working space to mix it up a little. I tend to go once a week.
I also like to take advantage of working in different locations from time to time. Be that Airbnb’s, parents houses, or working with friends at their their place.

I’m still figuring this out. At times i think i have it mastered and other times i feel i still have a lot to learn.
My passion is very similar to my full-time job, therefore, it bleeds into my life at times.
For me having a side project provides an element of escapism and a means to creatively express myself without any constraints.
Other hacks i have found helpful which i’m pretty strict about are turning notifications off at the weekend (Slack, Email), not working weekends, just my own personal projects, finding hobbies that aren’t similar to work, regularly working out and getting outside.