Work – Anthony Caruana

What the pandemic has taught us about work

Apr 6, 2021Anthony CaruanaWorkcovid-19, work, work life balance

The COVID-19 pandemic has been enormously disruptive. Personal freedom has been curtailed with many cities imposing travel restrictions locally and the ongoing limits on interstate and international travel. Science has been moved from the back room or basement into the spotlight as the world endeavoured to first understand the SARS-Cov-2 virus, and then create a vaccine within a year. All these, and many more, changes have been disruptive. But I want, for a moment, to focus on how work has changed.

Sales teams are slow to digital transformation

Feb 25, 2021Anthony CaruanaWorkcovid, digital transformation, sales

It’s been about a year since the pandemic escalated from “This could be serious” to “Red Alert” status. By March 2020, the Sars-Cov-2 virus had crossed national borders and went from a regional epidemic in China into a full international pandemic. Everyone has had to adapt in some way. But one group have struggled according to some recent research. Some sales reps are finding they are way less effective working online.

Thoughts on real, designed and perceived obsolescence

Feb 8, 2021Anthony CaruanaWorkapple, computing, laptop, Software

I’m typing this post on a MacBook Air – a pretty common device for writers, journalists and other people who need a slim, light and powerful portable computer to get their work done. But how many people do you know who use a computer that’s homing in on ts tenth birthday? My 2011 11-inch MacBook Air is still a great workhorse. Sure, it doesn’t do everything the latest models do. It passes the good enough test but keeping this laptop working has taken some effort.

Balancing structure and flexibility for productivity

Dec 29, 2020Anthony CaruanaWorkbusiness, freelancing, productivity, tools

Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at how to be more productive. I’ve looked at more task management apps that I can remember, read about many systems and tried all sorts of different tools and techniques. The problem has always been the same. They, I assume, must work for large cohorts of people. It’s just that I’m never in those cohorts. And I think I’ve finally understood why those systems and apps don’t work for me.

Consumer tech companies are terrible at user security

Nov 2, 2020Anthony CaruanaAdvice, Workgaming, Nintendo, security

It should have been the easiest of transactions. I wanted to play old-school Doom on my Switch. So, a quick look at online reviews suggested Doom 64 was the version to grab. And, sitting on my smartphone, I could see this would cost less than $8 – cheaper than coffee and a muffin at the local café when we didn’t see such things as a special treat in the days before COVID.

The iPhone SE is not a step back – more like a step sideways

Sep 9, 2020Anthony CaruanaAdvice, Workapple, consumer technology, iphone, technology

One of the privileges of working as journalist in the technology arena is that I get to use some of the coolest tech around. For the last decade or so, that’s meant having the best the smartphone and tablet world can offer. But over the last few months, I’ve taken a step back. Instead of having the priciest and most feature-rich smartphone, I’ve decided to shift to an entry-level smartphone. And I’ve discovered that having all the latest features isn’t such a big deal.

Setting a pay-rate

Aug 31, 2020Anthony Caruana3 CommentsMoney, Workcontracts, pay rates, payment

I know a lot of journalists who work very hard but don’t seem to reap the financial rewards for their effort. The write thousands of words per week but barely manage a subsistence salary, struggling to make rent or mortgage payments. My observation from discussions with journalists is that there are a number of contributing factors to this.

Thinking like a customer is critical to COVID business survival

Aug 20, 2020Anthony CaruanaWorkcovid-19, customer service, retail

I’m a frustrated customer. With the COVID pandemic, getting to the shops is becoming harder. So, last week I made three high value purchases. I’m not a retailer but it seems as plain as the nose on my face that many retailers are simply out of touch with their customers.

Does a tidy desk matter?

Jul 27, 2020Anthony CaruanaWorkcovid-19, productivity

Earlier this year, I reset my home office space. Part of it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to reorganise things with my wife working from home and with kids now doing more learning at home. And part of it was a changing family dynamic. But the net result was that I

COVID-19 could restore community

Jul 3, 2020Anthony CaruanaWorkcommunity, covid-19, urbanisation

On my run this morning, I was jogging (some might say shuffling but whatever!) past the local primary/elementary school. It got me thinking about the nature of schools. If a vaccine for COVID-19 is not found, then will schools have to change how they work to enforce greater physical distancing. If the do, will we need to think about shifting to more schools with fewer students? And what of local libraries and community centres? The more I think about it, the more I think we could see a return to a more village-like sense of community.