linking the various selves

 
Sometimes when I am at work I will think of something I want to do at home… sometimes a conlang-related thing, and sometimes a gardening or housework thing…

For years I had trouble remembering these ideas after leaving work. I often wrote a note to myself on a piece of scrap paper and stuck it in my pocket or my briefcase, but those notes piled up and failed to get my attention.

Lately I have been sending e-mails from my work e-mail account to my personal account and this seems to succeed most of the time. Likewise, if I am at home and I recall something that needs to be done at work, I can send an e-mail from “at-home me” to “at-work me.” I know some employers don't permit this but fortunately my company doesn't prohibit sending an occasional personal e-mail.

So communication between at-home me and at-work me has improved quite a bit. Now I have to figure out how to improve the flow of ideas between “driving-around me” and “at-home me” and “at-work me.”

Sometimes “driving-around me” will call the landline phone at home and leave a message on the answering machine. That works well. But it is difficult for “at-work me” and “at-home me” to get a message to “driving-around me.”

I have gone back to updating my diary/journal more frequently. This is a great way for “past me” to send ideas and information to “future me.” What’s lacking (and is very much needed) is some way for “future me” to send messages to “present-day me.”

You know what annoys me? People who won't admit that they are laminated, made of distinct layers bonded together. You're not the same person now that you were 15 years ago. You're not the same person at work that you are at home. Stop trying to deceive your multi-self. You are a composite.