Life
Katherine Delaunay
Memories of Dan

I’ve kind of been avoiding writing this stuff down. On one hand, I want to always remember Dan and how amazing he was, but on the other, writing it down forces me to sit with it. To remember all the good things, the sad things, and the things I can’t do anything about any more. As vibrant as my memories of Dan are, as admirable his passion, dedication, and talent were, he is gone and the future will give me no new memories with him. 

Memories of Dan
Katherine Delaunay
Seeking Sustainable Change

We’re creeping up on 2 years since I broke my leg. It’s a little frightening to think about how much time has passed and how quickly it feels like it went by. Even though the bone was mended well enough for me to walk without crutches or a boot in about 4 months, the rest of the year felt lost to pain and physical therapy. The past two years have been a series of ups and downs, but they’ve helped me define and refocus on what makes me happy.

Life
Katherine Delaunay
Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

I’ve come to the moment that every pet owner avoids thinking about. I avoided it so hard that I developed a mythology in my head that my cat was some kind of vampire who would live forever because he always looked so damn young and healthy. But over the past month or so, my cat Midnight has been telling us that he’s ready to go. 

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend
Katherine Delaunay
Reaching out
Katherine Delaunay
Kaizen

I really like the word "Kaizen". It is a Japanese word that means "Good Change" or "Change for the Better" and represents the idea of continuous change to improve all functions of an organization. It is a popular business philosophy that helps increase productivity using increased awareness and action informed by that awareness. The idea is that when changes (great or small) are made over time they can result in great improvements on productivity. While this is most often used as a business strategy, it's easy to apply this idea to one's personal life. It's been an helpful tool for me because I can easily become overwhelmed when I try to change too many things at once. This weekend, my Kaizen focus was cleaning and organizing my studio/office. 

Kaizen

mind/body

Clearing my head with Paradox

Now that summer has finally shown it's face after a looooooong and somewhat painful winter, some of us at the EatonGolden office have been making the effort to enjoy every drop of Vitamin D we can eek out of the sun by going on 30 minute walks through the neighborhood or walking around Normandale Lake. I feel like Ms_Rezai has had a lot to do with this little culture shift because she is usually the one to burst out of her office, FitBit and RunKeeper in tow, trying to wrangle up people to go with her. Usually it will be Zach, Mahtab and I, which gives the three of us a chance to talk about UX on the road. Ideas flow a bit more freely when you are influenced by events outside of your office's walls. Although the conversations almost always stray from our current projects, it's funny how we usually end up right back to the root of what we do, Experiences. These meandering collaborations of thought help us to connect as coworkers, peers and friends. Mahtab's mentorship is already helping me to discover where I want to grow as a professional and I'm excited to work on a project with her because I have seen Zach benefit so much from the experience.

The office culture has been evolving in such a way that we are encouraged to invest this time in ourselves, to recharge and connect and I feel so fortunate to be part of a company that is on the forefront of what is being called The Productivity Paradox. I read this article today and it just reinforced my feeling that going for these walks in the middle of the day is pretty much vital for my work and mental health.

By the end of our walks, I feel revitalized, inspired and ready to dig back into the work I was doing before we left. There's nothing like knowing the work I do provides meaningful experiences for people doing tasks that aren't generally the most fun to do.

@NikkiPilkington's #30DayBlog challenge: Day 1 - "Are you ready?"

Note, these should be daily blogs but this weekend will be an exception because I'll be out of town and without internet. Not a great way to start a 30 day challenge but at least I got one done and scheduled...I promise I'll catch up ;)