So, taking inspiration from some good friends, it’s time I give it a shot: I’m starting weeknotes as a way of both keeping track and reflecting what’s going on in my life, and of sharing it with those it might be relevant for. Depending on what I can share, I’ll included either personal or business-related things, or maybe just what I’ve been thinking about. Think of them as status updates for both you and myself. Feel free to ignore them. Also, I’ll try to get a regular rhythm into the week notes, but I’ll kick it off on a Thursday just because enough has piled up it seems.

media attention

I’ve been baffled by the media attention we’ve been getting recently. I’m saying “we” as most of the time it wasn’t like I was the only person interviewed, but just happened to be where the action was and was thus also interviewed or filmed. (I think six interviews in about four weeks even though nothing of note was released or announced…) Certainly there is a strong and still-growing interest in coworking and the future of work, italic here because it’s of course not the future of work but rather the state of work as it is for many of us. But that’s mainstream media framing for you, and it’s part of the deal, so “future of work” it is if you use a laptop and like good coffee.

future of work and social security (mini study)

As both journalists and politicians have hinted, there’s quite a bit of interest regarding the social security of us knowledge workers, or “digital nomads”. Since data seems rare and we seem to be seen as those living said future of work, Christoph Fahle of Betahaus and I noticed that some data to back any claims about social security might be useful and conducted a mini study within Betahaus. We’ll crunch the numbers and publish the results very soon. I’m really curious about the results myself. After all, if the Betahaus is any indication we should be able to draw quite a few conclusions and recommendations from this data, even though the data set is limited and drawn from a very particular sample.

planning a conference

Too early to really announce, but we’ve been hinting at it before: This fall there will be a conference in relation to the topic “smart cities” and all that might entail; we’ve been talking a lot about this recently, so it seems only logical to have an event as a point to focus the discussion. More soon.

taxes, clients, time management

Over the last couple of months I’ve come to realize more and more how important it is as a freelancer to plan ahead. Like seriously plan ahead, as in: when do I want to meet which revenue, when do I have to pay which taxes, when do I finalize projects with clients etc. I tend to be very relaxed about this kind of stuff, but it certainly pays to keep a close eye on both your financial planning and your schedule as projects tend to be drawn out towards the end, and you’ll want to write your bills in time etc. Also important in that regard, I think, is to keep track of how much time you’re spending on what. It’s important to be able to show to clients when the time you can invest is up. After all you can’t really blame them for asking for more of your time, and it’s part of your job to draw the line at some point. This is the way to go. I’ve been trying recently to track that even for not-for-profit projects just to get a better feeling for the amount of time I should be planning on for the future.

slow week

Besides – and despite – all of the above, it feels like a kind of slow week, even though it’s been kind of hectic. Doesn’t really make sense, but that’s what it feels like. I guess it’s a side effect of having quite a few small side projects. Hopefully have some more announcements to make soon. Plenty of stuff happening.