Products Used
- Printable adhesive vinyl from Expressions Vinyl
- Cricut premium vinyl in white
- White board and magnet from Target
While simple, this project was much more about the functionality. Because of the current world events, my husband Robert is working from home for the foreseeable future. Big tech in Silicon Valley is not playing when it comes to the health of their employees. There have been times where he will be own a conference call/meeting and me, not paying attention, will start talking to him, singing with some music playing out loud, cleaning, etc., which causes distractions to everyone in the meeting. To help avoid this, we devised a sign with three modes, each with their own distinct meaning:
- Load Meeting – I’m in a meeting, so don’t be loud or try to talk right now. I have to pay attention to what is going on here.
- Easy Mode – I’m working, but feel free to talk, do housework, make noise. It won’t cause any trouble.
- Hard Mode – I’m not on a meeting, but am very immersed into the current task at hand, requiring all of my focus. Don’t effing talk to me right now.
The modes were derived from Robert’s favorite game, Final Fantasy VII. The remake of FFVII was released recently, so Robert has been playing it during some of his down time. The image is a take on the game’s load screen from an artist on Reddit (original image post). and printed on printable adhesive vinyl from Expressions Vinyl. The white board is magnetic and came with the nice little magnetic circle, so I added an arrow made from white vinyl to use to indicate which mode he is currently in throughout the day.
The two biggest things for me is: 1) I know now not to use the Cricut while he is in a meeting because EVERYONE in the meeting can hear it and 2) not to be on the phone in the same room at the same time because EVERYONE in the meeting can hear it…and then start asking Robert about what they can hear of the conversation. LOL The sign is now perched on the end of his work station and has helped to keep his work flow steady and me to avoid interrupting that flow. Believe me when I say that if Robert is happy, everyone is happier as a result. Yay for progress as we continue to navigate uncharted waters during a world-wide pandemic!
