I like to:
- come into work early
- have my coffee blonde and sweet like me
- blast some tunes until everyone else gets there
- wear headphones when I’m not the only one in the office
- keep my desk neat, clean, and even my desk items aligned
- track my hours like a crazy woman
- keep notes filed away nicely
- sketch/doodle my heart out
- keep my computer desktop clean
- keep my computer files organized and filed away on the server
- note my schedule on the calendar or WebKit
Nothing too weird right? Well of course not. Ah…there is one last routine or habit really…that’s my stool. For all the years I have been a designer I have had the same stool under my feet. You may be thinking, “Why in the world is she writing an entire blog about her stool?”, but this little stool is my design helper. It’s important.
I didn’t realize how big of a habit I had for putting my feet on this stool, under my desk, until we moved the office around and I didn’t have very much room for the stool since my desk was not as deep. I tried for a day, ok maybe a half day, to not use my stool. I couldn’t stand it! I needed my helper. I somehow made room by adjusting my chair or the way I sit in my chair. I’m not really sure, but I am sure that my stool found its way back under my feet.
I have developed a routine and need for my stool. This was once again made clear to me when a few weeks ago bad weather was predicted. I decided to take my work home with me in case I got snowed in. Guess who came home with me too? My stool. This is a lovely heart warming story and all, but the problem was when we did not get snowed in to the house. I headed in to work forgetting my stool! That day I didn’t think I would be able to create anything worth using without it. Every time I reached for my stool with my feet I cringed. I called Sam asking him to bring the stool to my work, but he couldn’t. So I got desperate. I found a box and used it in place of my stool. Success, well kind of. I used the box for a day or two and my coworkers even started to tease me about the box saying it was my “hobo box”, but I didn’t care. The box crushed slowly under my feet until I could get my act together and remember my stool from home. When I brought my stool to the office I was back to rocking creatively at my desk and the world was good again.
I know this blog may seem a bit silly to some of you even though I keep telling you it’s importation, and maybe it is a little silly to love a stool so much. I’m sorry this little chunk of wood makes me comfortable. It’s like my design blanket. Hey…whatever it takes right?
