Category: Work

Work that Cannot Be Done As Well Remotely

Ways to Improve Modern Furniture

Make it easier to repair
Make upholstery easier to remove for laundering or changing color/style
Small pockets in couch and armchairs for tablets and smart phones
Integrated power cords and USB ports for charging devices
Built-in Bluetooth that ‘talks’ to your home thermostat
Surfaces that can heat or cool their occupants
Stylish chairs that fold flat for small apartments whose residents like to host
Lamps that adjust their brightness according to the time of day and whether their room is occupied
Mattresses that monitor your sleep quality and provide feedback via software

Use Google Calendar to outline your planting times, indoor and outdoor, as well as fertilizing schedule, harvesting schedule, etc.
Use a spreadsheet to track your current crop as well as notes from season to season. I prefer Google Drive for this sort of thing.
Communicate with other gardeners and growers across the world on message boards, social media, etc. Any question you might have is either answered, or someone out there is happy to answer it.
Check out the cooperative extensions of agricultural schools in your hardiness Zone – Cornell’s is great for Upstate NY!
Use a modern soaker hoses combined with a fertilizer system to irrigate your garden.
Use a hose timer to automate your watering schedule
Create a Bluetooth device & associated software for hose timing that takes local weather conditions into consideration and adjusts waterings appropriately – even while you’re surfing in Costa Rica
Review your hand tool options – I was astonished at the variety and quality of hand tools out in the world – Johnny’s has some good examples.
Get heating pads and proper indoor lighting for your indoor seedlings: your final product will only be as good as your preparation.
Use your phone camera to take photos of weeds, plant disease, or flowers, and then use Google Image Search to identify them.
Construct a tiny drone with an adorable machine gun to kill vermin and other pests

Eliminate it altogether. In our litigious society, the protection from reprisals that tenure once offered is no longer necessary.
Move to a more transparent model: tenure as a black-box process is terrifying and inefficient. The only thing worse than moving the goalposts is hiding them entirely.
Hire professional management to run academic departments: good management would help more folks attain tenure, and have a better understanding of why they fail, if they fail.
Cut it down to size: Offer tenure in 10-year chunks, rather than in perpetuity. This will help maintain performance and allow for regular reviews.
Standardize the expectations within departments, and state any changes to those expectations when adjustments need to be made. This should be public and on paper.
Offer a choice between a significant raise and tenure. Could be especially interesting in combination with #4.
Create databases of student ratings that can make expectations more clear, both for pre-tenure faculty and those assessing them: if Class X traditionally receives much lower student ratings than Class Y, all parties should be aware of this, and adjust their understanding accordingly.
Use database from #7 to demonstrate scores of current tenured faculty vs. pre-tenure faculty. Make this public to both students and faculty.

Find a niche, excel and delight customers who appreciate that niche.
Submit your food/drink to local competitions, show up and be sociable regardless of the outcome
Donate product and time to charity events, either in the form of food for the event or gift certificates for auction, etc.
Collaborate with other small businesses: cater their holiday party, or summer picnic
Take out other caterers for coffee or a beer: become friendly, actively pass them business that doesn’t fit your company
Charge appropriately for your services and goods: know that you’re worth it!
Become a local expert in some part of food or hospitality: write in to the paper, contact your local public radio station, let them know you’d be happy to speak on air.
Offer discounts for referrals and for the referring party.