And The Weather Is Beautiful

There are times when living in the tropical paradise/hurricane target range that is South Florida can be quite nice, and today I’m basking in one of those times.

I’m writing this as I sit on the front porch, in very comfortable 86 degree not-too-humid weather. A soft breeze is blowing through the trees, and I have just enough shade to keep the sun out of my eyes and easily view my LCD screen. This is the perfect distraction-free environment for writing, which is my task this afternoon.

Coding and designing are things I can do with distractions; they use a part of my brain which can easily deal with ringing phones, new email alerts, or the multitude of computer screens which surround me on a daily basis, all displaying different types of information. But writing, ah, that demands a level of concentration and focus which requires complete separation from my normal collection of distractions.

It’s not surprising that I had trouble focusing on my writing whenever stuffed in a classroom. I find I actually enjoy writing when I can focus on it and nothing else. Perhaps a daily session outside is worth making time for: it will surely be healthier than staring at a CRT or LCD all day, and it may even increase the flow of information to this web site.

So, Q&A time: Where do you go to escape the distractions of work, whether for writing or any other purpose?

Comments

25 responses to “And The Weather Is Beautiful”

  1. Ryan Brill Avatar

    I’ve found that heading over to my favorite coffee shop is a nice, relaxing way to write for my site. Sitting there allows me to put other things aside and simply focus on what I’m writing.

  2. Andrei Herasimchuk Avatar

    Heh…. come live in the Bay Area and you get that great weather nearly year round without all those hurricanes! I simply escpae to my backyard to work, wireless DSL and all.

  3. Matthom Avatar

    I go for a walk down some nice quiet side streets… or sit in my car – but NOT driving – just sitting.

  4. Dan Rubin Avatar

    That sounds like a good idea Andrei — although the thought of earthquakes is slightly unsettling…

    I actually had to hook up a new Netgear wireless access point to get signal on the porch, damn concrete walls ;)

  5. Aleksandar Avatar

    Now Age of Kings. Sometime in the future I will probably turn the wheel and do some more drawings.

  6. Pramila Avatar

    hey there

    just stopped by to let you know that your templates for blogspot are REALLY nice… and thank you for your work…

    …am glad i stopped long enough to read! …and articulate artist! :)

  7. Zachary Blume Avatar

    I find that reading a new/unread Agatha Christie or Michael Crighton book and listening to music helps me write and relax. Acually, I sometimes get a song and a book linked together in my head because of this, and end up thinking about the song when I read the book, or vice-versa.

    I’m not as “ancient” as Ryan(Brill) is, so I don’t do coffee. I’m still on Coca-Cola!

  8. Andy Budd Avatar

    Sounds Loverly. So what are you currently writing then?

  9. Dan Rubin Avatar

    Andy: I’m in the process of writing case studies for the “so-close-to-launch-it-hurts” Webgraph site, as well as updating some of the bio text on this site, plus some non work-related writing. It doesn’t seem like much perhaps, but it always helps to shut out all the distractions.

  10. mrkranky Avatar
    mrkranky

    Wireless iBook on the deck in the backyard.

  11. Zachary Blume Avatar

    Wow, love you redesign, except I think you might need to tweak some of the colors neer the head. They stand out oddly; other than that, I love it!

  12. yafujifide Avatar

    Wow! Nice redesign!

  13. _Del.Real. Avatar

    Really cool redesign. This confirms that the dark backgrounds are cool also.

  14. Anne Oneimus Avatar
    Anne Oneimus

    So, you head outside, get yourself comfortable and work hard to clear your mind of all distractions in order to be able to attain the magnificent clarity needed to write… And this entry is all your could come up with?! ;-P

  15. Vinnie Garcia Avatar

    It’s days like that that make me miss living in Florida. Now I live in Philadelphia and while the autumn is nice, the 39-degree nights could use some work.

  16. Scott Avatar

    I find that when I blast my music, and just sit and think. I have the best results. Something about music inspires me to write, design, and code. Heck, music makes my day.

  17. Dan Rubin Avatar

    Del.Real/Zachary: It’s interesting to note that Didier and I came up with our respective designs completely separate from each other, and only recognized the similarities after showing our comps a few months ago (I had designed this new look for SB sometime around January, prior to the recent wave of dark background sites with similar looks, I just didn’t put time aside to build it until last month). Design trends find their way into designers’ heads one way or another…

  18. Zachary Blume Avatar

    Yeah. Right now I’m lovin’ the 9Rules.com white background thing :) Plain yet cool.

  19. jharr Avatar

    Living in Orlando I can certainly understand what you mean, makes all the headaches worth it when the breeze turns a little cool.

    Working from home means that sometimes it’s necessary to just get out and away from the machine, usually in the mornings I wak to clear my head. For my money libraries are a good place to find inspiration and relax. I’m guessing that sounds quite geeky, but oh well.

  20. Nice Design Avatar

    I sometimes go outside to a park, but most of the time if weather allows, I go to my balcony with a nice view.

    PS Nice design!

  21. David Avatar
    David

    Has this site died?

  22. Dan Rubin Avatar

    No David, the site hasn’t died — it’s just been on the backburner for too long :)

    I’m working on some better personal time management that should hopefully allow me to get back into posting regularly soon. The agency has also been taking up a lot of my time lately.

  23. David Avatar
    David

    That’s good to hear. After such a beautiful redesign, I was worried the blogs were deserted! Glad to hear you’re still home.