Julie White and Peter Drew
Artists
Have a designated space each; a defined work space makes the boundaries clear when you’re working and not.
Show respect for each other’s work space. Sounds obvious, but demonstrating it through small actions makes a big difference. It could be as simple as knocking on the door before you enter their space, and if no door – knock on something!
Respect each other’s working headspace; like the door knocking scenario, if you’ve got something buzzing around in your head you’d like to blurt out while they’re working, don’t. It’s polite to ask first, “do you mind if I ask you something about blah de blah blah?” But also consider first if you’re just being a distraction… if yes, you can save it for later when you’re both not working.
Set time for work, and time for each other – very important when the boundaries are invisible.
Your partner is not a human notepad. While it’s not wise to use each other to dump your working brain onto, it’s okay if you need help at times when you’re just plain stuck. Use it as an opportunity to listen, too. Maybe they might need help with their own thing too? Sharing is caring.
Have a proper lunch break together – don’t forget to break up your day, have a stretch and keep the human contact going! Meet by the pretend water cooler before you circle back to the emails.
Accept you’re not going to be 100 per cent in sync for work on and off times.
While this is all about work, make sure you check in on how each one is feeling in your heart too. Quite simply, if your heart’s not feeling great, you won’t be able to work properly. Sure, you can force it on your own but be careful… that tension has a funny, unpredictable way of breaking out!