Technology | At Home with Tech

October 16, 2022

The Secret to a Happier Commute

Rushing through Grand Central Terminal is a tell-tale sign that your early morning hours could have gone better. Here’s what I always do to help ensure my commute to New York City gets off to a smooth start.

The last couple of times I met up with a group of colleagues after work, someone was in desperate need of a battery to charge up one of their digital devices. I was happy to offer a quick fix by loaning them my handy-dandy Anker Power Bank, which I always carry in my work bag.

Now, you might be saying, “Wow! Barrett… you’re so organized.”

Well no, not really.

My well-placed battery back-up solution is simply an example of an organizing process I put in place many years ago for my Metro North train commute to New York City, because I knew I needed it.

Mornings can be Rough
To be fair, commuting can be stressful and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that trying to catch a specific train in the morning can be difficult when you’re also juggling family responsibilities.

All of those variables can create the perfect storm of having to rush through your early morning. And that’s where mistakes get made and forgetfulness bleeds into your experience.

And with hybrid work models, occasional commuting days can be even more challenging, because your morning patterns are not consistent.

It can get pretty crazy.

Plan Ahead
So, to neutralize the morning ‘commuting crazies,’ I realized long ago that I simply had to minimize as many decisions as possible in the early morning and time shift them back to the night before.

Choose what you’re going to wear and stage all of your clothes for the next day in an easily accessible place. (Rushing about in search of a matching sock the next morning always feels like amateur hour.)
Make sure your work badge/ID is positioned in the exact same spot in your work bag .(That way, you’ll never misplace it again.).
Replenish any snacks in your bag that you’ll want to munch on the following the afternoon. (My go-to snack is a mix of almonds, cashews and cranberries.)
And of course, pack that portable battery and charging cables for your thirsty tech. (Make sure you don’t forget to charge up your battery after a couple uses!)

What’s for Breakfast?
Breakfast planning is another variable that you should never have to think about in the morning.

If you choose to wait until you get to work, that’s fine, but if you’re fueling up before departure, know exactly what you’re going to do and how long it will take.

Boiling an egg requires eight minutes. Trying to shave off a couple minutes, because you’re rushing will actually take you longer in the end. (Have you ever tried to peel a shell off a partially-cooked egg?)

Keep it Simple
The actual traveling part of a commute can be unpredictable. I can’t help that (though noise-cancelling earbuds on a train are always a joy).

But better preparation can do wonders for your pre-flight checklist as well as the rest of your post-commute day.

Even if you are the most organized human this side of the Milky Way, I think it’s a waste to invest unnecessary brain power on commuting prep when you’re trying to get out the door.

Remember
You don’t need a Vulcan mind-meld to help juggle your morning complexities. The secret to a happier commute is obvious. Eliminate the rush by organizing yourself the night before. When you wake up in the morning, there’s nothing left to forget.

Then, you’ve just got to move your body around a bit, as your brain is now free to focus on other challenges in your day ahead. (Just don’t run yourself into any walls!)

October 9, 2022

How to Keep Track of your Tech while Traveling

If you sometimes worry about losing your gear on the road, you’re not alone. Here are five ways to help lower those odds.

My family and I have happily returned to vacation travel across this past year. We started in February with a little skiing at Bousquet Mountain in Massachusetts, then visited New Orleans over spring break, relaxed in Maine in June and of course, we just got back from our great trip to the Southwest and Grand Canyon.

And while it’s not too complicated to throw some clothes in a bag and board a plane, it is important to remember that bringing your tech along requires more attention if you want it all to come back with you.

If you misplace a shirt, that’s probably not deal breaker. A missing piece of gear can really ruin your day.

What are the Odds Some of Your Tech Won’t Make It Back?
Let’s face it. Losing your gear on the road is surprisingly easy to do. There are plenty of ways to inadvertently part with your expensive gadgets and their accessories.

Chargers and Power Cables
How many times have you left behind your smartphone charger or laptop power cable plugged into the desk in your hotel room
Lens Cap
And if your DSLR’s lens cap is not tethered to your camera’s lens, it’s constantly pulling a Houdini, right?

You Won’t Lose It If You Don’t Have It
Much like over packing clothing for a trip, we also have a tendency to travel with too many gadgets. (I surely do.) So, one solution is simply to leave the tech behind that you can do without.

Don’t take that laptop if a tablet will do.
Don’t take the tablet if your smartphone can handle the job.

Sure, many hotel rooms are now equipped with mini safes. And laptops are small enough these days to jam into these tiny vaults. But then you’ve got to remember to clear out the safe before you leave.
(And no matter what, isn’t it always a rush?)

Maybe you won’t forget the laptop, but what’s hidden behind it might get missed with a hurried exit.

Five Ways to Hold onto Your Tech on the Road

But if you absolutely must bring it, here are five tips to help you increase the odds you’ll come home with all your precious tech gear and accessories.

1. Use the Right Carry-On Bag
Keep your tech with you at all times. Assume an 800-pound gorilla will be jumping on your stowed luggage.

So bring a carry-on bag with distinct compartments and keep each piece of tech in its designated position. Then take a moment to memorize where everything belongs.

That way, you’ll be able to quickly scan if all your digital tools are in their right place.

2. Have Power in a Pinch
It’s always nice to bring a little backup power in your bag while you’re going about your day. That way, you don’t have to worry about where you’ll be juicing up your smartphone next.

More importantly, that also means you don’t need to spontaneously set up a portable charging station at the nearest outlet. And you don’t need to pull out unnecessary gear while looking for your charging plugs. Exposing all of your items in public is never a good idea.

These days you can store a power stick that’s not much larger than a pack of gum.

It’s worth it.

3. Keep Your Pockets Light at Security
When going through airport security, it’s always such a fire drill to get everything back on your body before rushing to the gate.

I always feel a sense of dread as all of my pocketed gear disappears down the conveyor belt in bins to be scanned. Yes, I’ve always gotten it all back, but you never know about the next time.

Reposition as much digital paraphernalia as you can into your carry-on bag.

4. Watch Your Laptop Like a Hawk After the X-ray Machine
I’m not talking so much about someone stealing your laptop from its bin while you’re putting your shoes back on. I’m referring to simply protecting it from being harmed.

During a work trip years ago, I watched in horror as a bin holding a laptop rolled out of the X-ray machine conveyer belt. It got squeezed by a bin jam ahead of it, and then it veered off the rollers, dumping the laptop onto the cold, unforgiving cement surface below.

No, the poor laptop didn’t bust into multiple pieces,
but I’m not so sure how solid its guts were after that kind of spill.

Try to position your laptop bin so it comes out of the X-ray machine soon after you’ve walked past your own X-ray body scan experience. That way you’ll be close by to rescue your laptop if a bin jam becomes imminent.

5. ID Your Gear
Sometimes, no matter what you do, fate still intervenes.
So when you end up losing a gadget like your tablet or eBook-reader on a plane,
in your hotel room, or after a lunch at a restaurant… what do you do then?

Well, you’d better leave a trail for someone to find you.
(Like simply taping a business card inside your new iPad case)

If your gear is in lockdown mode, there’s no way for anyone to know it’s yours.
Sure they can do some sleuthing based on your reserved plane seat or hotel room record, but would you want to leave your gadget’s future in the hands of an Inspector Clouseau?

Pay Attention!
It all comes down to spending the time to pack your gear properly, keeping it with you as much as possible and having a plan when the unexpected happens.

Alternately, just don’t take it. Sometimes, less is more.

Good luck!

October 2, 2022

How to Improve your Zoom Background at Home

Making sure you’re properly lit in your Zoom shot isn’t always enough. What about the supporting cast in your webcam’s view?

It’s clear we’re at a point where participating in Zoom meetings is a permanent part of home life and a necessary tool to communicate with our world. So, it’s important to create a ‘remote video communications’ home set-up that really works for you and your viewers.

I hope most of us are beyond the chaotic experience of working from home and participating in meetings all day. During those early pandemic months, simply finding a quiet spot to open up your laptop for a Zoom, Skype or Teams meeting was a challenge.

How your shot looked understandably may not have been your priority.

Keeping it Real
But as we’ve settled into our new routines, many of us have improved our Zoom look.

I’m sure you know the basics by now:

Make sure you’ve got enough light on your face.
Don’t sit with a window behind you.
Position your webcam perpendicular to your eyes, not looking up your nose.
Declutter your background.

I know many folks are fond of using virtual backgrounds. While that’s okay, I like to keep my shot as authentic as possible.

I’ve tried digital and blurred backgrounds, but I always felt like I was in a science fiction movie.

Can you See my Robots?
So, even though my home office is hardly an ideal space to create the perfect video shot for my Zoom meetings, I’ve continued to tinker with my background throughout these many months.

Recently, I moved the furniture around in my home office, and to a certain extent I’ve created something of a blank canvas to work with.

I repositioned a short bookshelf into my Zoom background, and I used the top shelf to display a few robot statues I’ve collected over the years. (R2D2, C3PO, Robby the Robot and Robot from the original “Lost in Space”)

They’re also nice ice breakers as people sometimes ask about them when they spot my metal robots in my Zoom shot.

The only problem is my robots looked like shadows in my background. That’s because my back wall didn’t have a lot of light hitting it.

Time to Add More Light
Like any professional studio TV set, you’ve got to properly light your entire space, and that includes the background. Otherwise your environment will look drab, no matter what it contains.

And webcams are usually happier if your lighting is more even throughout the entire shot. That means you’ll look better and not over exposed.

So, I needed to figure out how to throw more light on that back wall and my little robot display.

Vertical LED Table Lamp
There are any number of ways to do that. A floor lamp next to the bookshelf would be an easy solution. That said, I didn’t want to clutter my background (or my home office). Instead, I looked for a lighting solution with a smaller footprint: some sort of lamp that could sit on the end of the book shelf just outside of my Zoom frame.

I found a small vertical LED table lamp made by Edishine on Amazon.
It was the perfect solution. It added the background fill light I needed without overwhelming my shelf. The lamp’s cold, minimalistic look also blended nicely with my little metal companions.

Think of it more like an under-cabinet lighting solution, but designed as a self-standing vertical glow.

Now, my robots are easy to spot in my Zoom background. Plus the extra light also helps my back wall pop.

Zoom-Optimized Rooms
If you want to really show up for your close up during Zoom meetings from home, you’ve got to do more than light your face and wear a nice shirt. Your environment is an extension of you, and it’s important to give it the same attention as you set up your webcam shot.

That means your whole room (or at least the part people see) needs enough light.

I know we don’t live in TV studios (well, most of us don’t). But I think it’s fair to say that when you think about how to decorate your living spaces moving forward, it’s not crazy to plan for the creation of Zoom-optimized rooms.

It’s not science fiction. Yes, reality has caught up.

Category: Technology

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: