Getting Set Up

While it’s important to establish a starting point, the specific starting point is a bit arbitrary. We’re always in the middle of things, so there is always time before the starting point. To take my cafe example, I didn’t begin at the cafe, I was at home, drove here, etc. And even when I arrived, there were some technical elements of this project that I worked on before I began to write fresh material.

The specific technical work I did was relevant to how Pollen functions, as you have to put a ◊ symbol before indicating a type, for example, a link to a website is indicated by ◊link[]{}. So I figured out how to create a keyboard shortcut for the diamond symbol by typing the letters “los”. I also tinkered with how the links would be displayed. This was all part of getting set up, which I’m using here as a technical term. This is when you get things prepared for something that you plan to do.

In my work as a psychotherapist, I see all of my clients via telehealth, so getting set up for an appointment includes launching the Chrome web browser, logging into Bitwarden to then log into SimplePractice, opening Bear (where I write my initial draft of client progress notes) and getting these applications arranged on my screen in a pre-set configuration, using Moom. This way, when my client appears on the screen, everything is set up predictably, so that I can easily direct my full attention towards my client. The environment is made ready for the experience.