Dreaming of the Office

Dreaming of the Office

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Don’t Let It Drown: Keeping Important Emails Afloat in the Daily Deluge
You know the feeling: you’re halfway through a chaotic workday, you’ve just wrapped up a video call where someone casually threw over a task your way…
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William Spears
The Never-Now Task: Dealing with Important To-Dos That Don’t Have a Real Deadline
There’s a category of task that lives permanently in the grey zone of my to-do list. It’s important. Sometimes it’s even exciting. And yet… I never do…
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William Spears
Back to Work After Holiday – And How to Keep That Holiday Feeling Alive
I’ve just come back from a week at a family resort in Italy—think buffet breakfasts, beachy afternoons, slightly chaotic dinners with the kids, and the…
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William Spears

June 2025

Timing is Everything: How Clocks and Timers Can Transform Your Workday
We’ve all been there. You glance at the clock, see it’s 9:15am, blink a few times…and somehow it’s nearly noon and you’ve achieved precisely nothing of…
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William Spears
Designing a Home Office You’ll Actually Want to Work In
Most of us didn’t set out to become interior designers. We just wanted a desk, a chair, a working internet connection—and maybe a plant if we were…
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William Spears
Why You're So Bad at Estimating Time (And How to Get Better)
Let’s be honest: most of us are terrible at estimating how long things will take. I certainly am. I tell myself I’ll finish this post in an hour. It’s…
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William Spears

May 2025

Think Like a Project Manager (Even When You’re Not One)
May 2025: First up, I’m delighted to announce the publication of Dreaming of the Office, Second Edition! It’s been a while coming, but it nicely pulls…
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William Spears
Let’s Talk: Doing Proper Phone Calls in a Hybrid World
There’s something both wonderfully old-school and stubbornly annoying about the humble phone call. In an age of Zoom, Slack huddles, and Teams meetings…
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William Spears
Weathering the Blows: How to Stay on Track When Work Hits You Hard
We’ve all had those weeks. The kind where one thing goes wrong…and then another…and then, just when you think it’s over, something else sneaks in and…
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William Spears
Taming the Tangles: Managing Electricity, Cables, and Temperature in Your Home Office
When I first set up my home office, I was more worried about how it looked than how it worked. I imagined a sleek mid-century modern setup: a handsome…
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William Spears

April 2025

How to Organise Your Windows (and Your Mind): Screen Setup for Smarter Work
Welcome back after the Easter break! Something I’ve been paying more attention to recently has been on learning how to organise my screen. The way you…
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William Spears
“Should I Log On If I'm Sick?” — Illness in the Hybrid Working World
Yes, I’ve replied to emails while sick in bed. I’ve propped myself up on pillows, surrounded by tissues and paracetamol, and thought, “I’ll just answer…
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William Spears
© 2025 William Spears
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