From the Desk of an Architect: Le Korte, AIA

What is your favorite/most meaningful object at your workspace?

Since I wouldn’t count my beagle Harley as an object, my next favorite object in my workspace is definitely my speaker. Silence during quarantine would be terrible! You got to have the jams going. :)

What are your tips for staying productive while working from home?

• Make a list and prioritize that list of things you need to get accomplished PER DAY.
• Eat breakfast.
• Drink coffee if you drink coffee.
• It’s okay to take reasonable breaks. Pet the dog. Take a little walk. Stretch your legs. You’ll be more productive.

How are you staying connected to your team? To your clients?

• Thank goodness for 2020! There are so many different platforms for communication. There is google hangouts, Zoom, Skype, Teams, etc. Or you can just call them on the phone! I think phones let you do that now-a-days.
• Stay connected with your team by having weekly check-in’s and making sure everyone knows what role and tasks they are assigned to.
• Also, checking-in on clients and offering assistance with whatever they need is of the upmost importance for times like now. They need to know that you’re still working and are ready to assist whenever possible.

How would you manage complex projects with large teams remotely?

Global pandemic or no global pandemic – the answer is the same regardless: Good communication. I just listed about 5 million ways to communicate.

If you had a problem when the rest of your remote team was offline, how would you go about solving it?

I think if my entire team was offline, I would try my best to solve the problem myself. Then I would reach out to resources outside of my team. Fortunately, I work for a firm that has a plethora of resources and knowledge, surely there is someone online worldwide that can help.

What’s your biggest concern about working remotely?

My biggest concern about working remotely is that we are an industry that needs to interact. We express through visual. It’s a little difficult to visually communicate digitally, but we’re all making it work.

What would be on your playlist of top 5 go-to songs for work? Have a favorite Spotify playlist for work?

I listen to cheesy country love songs while I work. I’ll won’t name any song specifically…it’s embarrassing.

How do you unwind after working from home?

When I’m done working for the day, I leave my office and I plop down on the couch with my beagle. It’s nice having a separate office area because I never see my laptop or my monitors at any point in the day unless I’m in the office. It’s nice to disconnect.

How are you staying active?

I’ve been staying active by riding my Peloton (virtually with coworkers as well!) and going on runs around White Rock Lake. I start to feel guilty when I’m working during the day and the Peloton is just staring at me… (it’s in my office as well).

Any tips for maintaining balance and separating work from home-life?

If you can, try to keep a separate space for your office. It’s easy to get up and walk away from your laptop, but if its in the living room with you or your bedroom, it’s tempting to keep going back to check your email. Try to keep it in an area you don’t actually go in that often unless you are working. Also, when you’re done with your work, turn the laptop off. Don’t put it to sleep and leave the screen opened. Again, it’s tempting to just do a quick peek. REALLY shut the thing down and disconnect.

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