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A Day in the Life of Megan Pacella
April 9, 2009
Megan Pacella was such a great intern that we had to hire her on full-time, which we did a little more than one year ago. Besides restoring my sanity on a daily basis, Megan rocks out as an editor and writer for several of our publications now. This afternoon, I made her take out her earbuds for a minute and tell me a little bit about her daily routine here in the office.
What communications medium helps you most during the day?
Definitely IM. I work right across from Jamie's office, so I can just yell to her when I need something, but the rest of our editorial staff is a spread out through the office. Bill and I can communicate quickly through IM about one of our military clients when we're under deadline, and that saves me a lot of time. If I walked to an editor's office every time I needed something, I'd never get anything done. Sometimes I get tired of talking through text, though—I really prefer to communicate face-to-face.
What is your favorite on the job responsibility?
I love doing anything that makes me feel creative—and that changes a lot around here. I recently wrote a feature called "A Helping Hand" about small business owners who are serving their communities for MyBusiness, and that was really fun. Of all the widespread responsibilities I have, writing is probably my favorite. Call me crazy, but I also love to edit any articles that need serious help. There's something refreshing about reworking a story with a red pen and making it sound better. The newest thing on my slate is learning about video editing and production, and I really like that a lot, too. As it turns out, I really just love my job, so I enjoy carrying out most of my responsibilities (except all the fact-checking can get really old!).
Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what are your favorite artists/songs while working?
You will rarely catch me NOT listening to music while I work. Seriously, I pretty much have some kind of music pumping through my ears at all hours of the day. My favorites change all the time. Every Monday I make a playlist called "make it happen" and I listen to that all week. This week's selections: Jonathan Ammons, Gretel, Rod Stewart, David Bazan, Blitzen Trapper, Iron and Wine, The Submarines, Stephen Sebastian and Okkervil River. I could never narrow it down to just a few, but lately I've found myself putting "Furr" by Blitzen Trapper on repeat. I love words so much, and having lyrics running through my head isn't a distraction for me, it's just the opposite: Clever lyrics inspire me to be a better and more creative writer and editor. I should stop there. I could talk about music all day.
What's the last thing you do before you leave the office every evening?
I'm a little obsessive about my end-of-the-day routine. I wash out my coffee cup, declutter and straighten up my desk, and then I make a to-do list for the next day. I have to write the list on the same type of paper with the same pen (the Barack Obama pen Jamie bought me at the Inauguration) every evening. I order the list by importance and I draw a small box next to each item so I can check tasks off as I work the next day. I never leave without making that list, because it allows me to hit the ground running every morning. I never have to think about what needs to be done; my entire day is waiting for me on my mousepad each morning when I come to work. The last thing I do is find my cell phone and call whomever I'm meeting that night to tell them I'm late—I'm always late for everything.
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