Well, the cool thing about the digital age is that it takes only a short time to get a badge done. And, honestly, the picture doesn’t look that bad.
Now for the practical issues.
The badge is different from the cardkey to the building and fire stairs entrances. So both need to be carried together. I normally keep my cardkey in my wallet, since it means it’s always with me. In theory, the ID badge should always be with me, too, but in practice arriving at work without my cardkey had a lot more impact (at 6 a.m.) than arriving at work without my ID badge.
How, then, to ensure that I never come to the office without it, in as foolproof and braindead a fashion as possible? Because I know I will run into problems with this, sooner or later, unless I make it that simple.
Current thinking — ID card (on a belt clip) and cardkey stay together. They get clipped to my briefcase when not in the office. That keeps it from being automobile-specific (since I know that will fall apart as soon as I need to take Margie’s car), but it does add the element of risk to having to remember to do it (or, if I get home and am changing clothes and realize I didn’t transfer it over, having an equally foolproof plan for making sure it gets brought to work the next day).
We’ll see.
Since I am not offically awake until like about 9am, My badge is one of the things that I tend to forget (along with belt, wallet, watch, and correct colored shoes. Yes, I am a mess in the morning before my brain boot up).
Best thing is to just come up with a routine and stick with it.
Yeah. My problem exactly. If I have to *think* about it in the morning, it doesn’t get done (as Margie will attest re any number of little “Before you go into the office, can you …?” tasks over the years.
Heh…
Yes, I have been known to put post-its on the door reminding me that I need to do/bring “X”.
Quick poll:
How many readers would say that Dave is smiling in that picture, and how many would say he’s smirking?
BD: We frequently put PostIts on the door to the garage to remind us of stuff.
Of course, much of the year, it’s dark in that hallway. And unless it leapt off the door and battered me about the head and shoulders, I might not notice it at 5:25a anyway.
Avo: It does look a scosh smirky, doesn’t it? Probably because I didn’t have my mouth open. It was meant to be just a small smile.
Maybe I’m just a smirky kinda guy.
It’s the eyes, too. 🙂
Fortunately for me, I have a calendar next to my bedroom door, so I clip my ID/workbadge, Guard License, and First Responder badges to it each night. While they don’t -quite- leap on me and slap me around the head and shoulders, they bright red of the FR badge does clash with the grey/blue wall enough that I have yet to grab it and clip it to my shirt.
As for all other items, I lay them next to my cell phone, which I set the alarm on, for just before time to head out the door. That way, I remember to shove things into various pockets, clip to belt, etc.. as I grumbingly make my way out of the house to go to work.
As far as the picture, as someone who looks at ID badge pictures 40 hours a week, Dave’s looks very well done.