GREETINGS!
Thanks for taking a moment to read this month’s update. The photo featured above is from a December 11 visit to Willow & Stock on Linn Street near Market Street in Iowa City. There are quite a few nice shops and restaurants in that area which makes it a nice place to visit.
New work Practices
In 2021, my tech consulting involved more requests for remote support as pandemic-era practices have not only continued but increased. Every day, I receive tech questions by phone, text message, and email which are replacing longer sit-down tech sessions. Often a quick screen-sharing session can solve problems.
In the past my work would involve sit-down visits for an hour or two, and then I would receive a payment for my work. But now support is more impromptu and projects can be spread over weeks or months.
My billing process has adapted to this new work environment. Invoices now include emails, text messages, phone logs, and typed notes from work done. It can take several hours to assemble the fragments of many micro-support sessions spread over a month or more, but I want to make sure I’m not over-billing anyone, or getting underpaid for my time and work.
I create a unified timeline of events for the billing period, which can help provide a picture of what was accomplished. The timeline shows what might begin as a text message exchange, then continues as an email exchange, then results in a phone call, and possibly an in-person meeting, all represented chronologically. This gives me and those I serve a sense of satisfaction, and also provides some reference.
For more involved tech problems, people continue to drop-off computers for me to work on which fits well with the remote support sessions by giving me more work that can be done from home.
TECH ADVISORY — SIMPLIFY IN 2022
In November, I issued a tech advisory, encouraging people to simplify their use of technology for the coming year. [Read]
I shared some additional tech-related news in December that you’ll want to read if you’ve not done so already. [Read]
Subscribe
You can subscribe to be notified of these monthly newsletters [Subscribe] or scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your email address where indicated to be notified of every post to this site.
THANKS!
Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.
Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 21 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and public interest efforts. This is based on the Life Map presented on the Resources For Life website. [View]
