You can always find Digital Media Manager Megan Morris logged on to something on the Internet. With a mouse in one hand and some other gadget in the other, you can bet she’s jumping into something new for work — and for fun. I interrupted her candy-chomping and code-busting this afternoon to see how a day in the office typically goes for her.
What’s your favorite non-tech tool you use for work?
I don’t really have a lot of non-tech tools in my life, but I guess I would have to say my coffee cup. I cannot even begin to function without a cup of green tea when I first get in to the office, and it has to be out of a coffee cup (I’ve used a styrofoam one before and it’s just not good).
If you could only keep one kind of candy at your desk for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh Summer, this is like asking a mother which of her children she loves the most. But if I had to pick just one, I probably would go with Tootsie Rolls. I would have said peppermints, but I know that Natalie always has those up front. So HA!
What communications medium helps you the most during the day?
IM, hands down. I am a multi-tasker and hate to be interrupted by the phone (email is OK, but I can’t stand a messy inbox), and IM lets me answer someone or ask a question without having to completely stop what else I’m doing and get off track. Plus, being a nerd, I just prefer to converse in text rather than in person. I would probably IM my family instead of calling if they would let me get away with it.
What is your favorite on-the-job responsibility?
Lately I’ve been getting into some more involved (well, more involved for me) coding, so any time I get to work with php, javascript or CSS I get excited. I still love writing, but I’m really starting to appreciate the art of building Web sites—even the nerdy back-end part. The more I learn, the more I realize the creativity involved in it, and I love being able to see the graphical elements and the coded elements come together as a nice-looking, functional Web page. It makes me feel very productive.
How do you refocus if you’re having trouble concentrating or getting the creativity flowing?
If I’m getting frustrated and just can’t get back in the groove, I will usually get up from my desk and walk around a bit, or I might read a quick news piece online. Just something to take my mind off the task at hand long enough to refresh my brain. Then I will usually queue up some different music on iTunes (which artist depends on what I’m working on, but I can’t really pinpoint how I decide… I just kind of feel it) and try to get back to it.