Tag: wwpad

World Wide Paperwork and Administrivia Day (WoWiPAD) and Website Pro Day (WPD) [en]

[fr] En plus du Website Pro Day, je propose de tenir début janvier le World Wide Paperwork and Administrivia Day, consacré à régler ces histoires de paperasses (j'ai des tas de quittances à trier et à envoyer à ma comptable, par exemple) une fois pour toutes. On fait ça chacun chez soi, bien entendu, mais on est solidaires et on fait ça en même temps. Ça motive!

Faites signe si vous êtes partants.

A couple of months ago, I came upon [Chris Messina](http://factoryjoe.com/blog/)’s [Finish your %#&*@ drafts](http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/295393/) day. I thought: “what a great idea!”

Well, not the drafts thing (I have drafts in my WordPress installation right now for the first time in my life), but the “get people together to do something”. It’s not a new idea, of course. I’ve actually already used it to fight procrastination, with friends:

– oh, we’re both chatting when we should do washing up and other things. Let’s go and do it and then meet up on chat again to congratulate ourselves on doing it.
– hey, can I come and do my homework at your place?
– let’s meet up do our tax declaration together.

So, when my friend [Olivier](http://b-spirit.com/blogollie/) mentioned in passing that his professional website needed some work done, I said “oh, me too! let’s do it together” and organised the [First Website Pro Day](http://climbtothestars.org/archives/2007/10/31/une-journee-pour-bosser-sur-nos-sites-pro-website-pro-day/) (it’s bastardised gallicised English, don’t worry).

There were four of us (a fifth had to cancel at the last minute because of a sick child) and it was a great success for all those who participated. Not only did we make progress on the “professional online presence” front (I actually moved this blog over to my server back from DreamHost, a move which had been stalling all my efforts to do anything to [SB.com](http://stephanie-booth.com/)), but we also started talking about [building a local coworking community](http://b-spirit.com/blogollie/?p=2140) again.

Website Pro Day 1, Lausanne

We also decided that one day was not enough, and that we needed to organise (at least) another similar day: [Website Pro Day 2](http://climbtothestars.org/archives/2007/12/14/website-pro-day-deuxieme/) is set for December 28th.

Now, obviously, this kind of gathering is local. But wouldn’t it be great of other freelancers or small business owners, in other cities, also got together to work on their professional online presence on the same day? All you need is two people to begin with. Announce it, put it [on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6369349379) or [upcoming](http://upcoming.yahoo.com/), whatever catches your fancy. I’ll mention it here, too.

Being a freelancer is cool, but it can sometimes be a bit lonely. That’s why ideas like [coworking](http://blog.coworking.info/) and [barcamp](http://barcamp.org/) are very important to us: it’s a chance to get together with “colleagues”. Well, it can also be done in a slightly less formal way, too. Just grab a few “colleagues”, and meet to get something done.

So, another of these “get-together” initiatives I’m launching is the **World Wide Paperwork and Administrivia Day**, which we’ll call WoWiPAD from now on. Unless you’re super-organised or are already a [GTD black belt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_Things_Done), you probably have piles of receipts to sort, papers to file, expenses to invoice, forms to fill in, and various administrative things that just pile up and don’t get done, because, let’s face it, it’s way more fun to be earning $$ doing exciting stuff with clients than spending the day drowning in stuffy papers alone at one’s desk.

Obviously, we can’t really gather in one physical space for the WoWiPAD. No, you are not welcome to come to my place with your drawers, piles of papers, stapler — in short, your whole office. But what we can do, though, is decide on a date to do things together. Yes, just knowing that we’re not in this “alone” can be very supportive.

Whether you’re a freelancer, a small business owner, or just a somebody with stacks of paperwork to deal with on your desk, leave a comment here or [sign up on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=7437407283) if you’d like to participate in the WoWiPAD.

I’m going to suggest two dates, which I know are quite nearby — because I’m going to have to do this paperwork stuff soon anyway, or it’ll sprout legs and start running all over the place. The cat is enough trouble by itself, I have no need for paper pets.

As far as I’m concerned, Wednesday January 2nd would be good, as would Thursday 3rd (and even Friday 4th).

What about you?

**Update, Dec. 26th:** Date is officially Jan. 2nd, and the event has been rechristened WoWiPAD (much more pronounceable) — thanks to Greg for the suggestion.

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Website Pro Day, deuxième! [fr]

[en] Website Pro Day, first edition, was such a success that we've set the second one for December 28th. If you're not in Lausanne, no problem: grab a friend or two and lock yourselves up to work on your professional online presence for the day. Let us know, so we can send you some good encouragement vibes!

I'm also planning the World Wide Paperwork and Administrivia Day (WWPAD for short), which will be held in participants' homes (obviously): sort those receipts and send them to the accountant, pay those bills, file those contracts, purge the piles of paper lying on your desk or in your drawers... Let me know if you're interested so that we can choose a date together.

Ils y étaient, ils ont vaincu! De gauche à droite: [Anne Dominique Mayor](http://annedominique.wordpress.com), [Olivier Tripet](http://b-spirit.com/blogollie/), Stephanie Booth (bibi) et [Julien Henzelin](http://julienhenzelin.typepad.com/) sont ravis d’avoir pris le temps de travailler ensemble, loin du bureau et dans une atmosphère détendue, sur leurs sites “pro”.

Website Pro Day 1, Lausanne

La première édition du [Website Pro Day](http://climbtothestars.org/archives/2007/10/31/une-journee-pour-bosser-sur-nos-sites-pro-website-pro-day/) a en effet rencontré un tel succès que nous avons décidé de remettre ça le 28 décembre. Vous pouvez [vous inscrire sur Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6369349379) si vous voulez vous joindre à nous à Lausanne pour venir lustrer votre plumage numérique.

An Afternoon in San Francisco 85 Il s’agit donc de consacrer une journée à l’avancement de sa présence professionnelle en ligne. Oui, je sais, on a toujours plus urgent à faire :-).

On fait aussi des choses sympa comme manger de la soupe, ou discuter d’idées nommées par exemple “Coworking Léman” (plus à ce sujet dans un prochain billet).

Si vous n’êtes pas sur Lausanne, mais que l’idée vous tente, prenez le taureau par les cornes! Attrapez un/e collègue qui a les mêmes besoins que vous, et mettez sur pied votre propre Website Pro Day dans votre ville. Le même jour si possible, comme ça on peut tous s’encourager mutuellement!

Pour ceux que ça intéresse, je suis également en train de mettre sur pied le World Wide Paperwork and Administrivia Day, qui sera consacré (chacun de son côté, là) à avancer dans le triage de paperasse, le remplissage de formulaires administratifs, les coups de fils qui attendent depuis des plombes, le triage des quittances à envoyer au comptable… bref, vous voyez l’idée. Si ça vous intéresse, faites signe, et on posera une date ensemble.

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