Member Profile // Buzz Osbourne
Buzz Usborne is a design coach, startup advisor and product design specialist. Working remotely from the South Coast since 2016, he helps creative professionals and design-minded businesses succeed in their craft. We recently sat down with Buzz, who relocated here from the UK 10 years ago, to talk about being a remote worker prior to Covid, and why the South Coast works for his family.
How and when did you choose life?
The reason we moved to Australia ten years ago was because we wanted to “work to live, rather than live to work”. In the U.K. it was all about you being defined by your job, where you work, and who you know. We wanted to just have a great lifestyle. When we moved over here we fell into the same track of being professionals and working, and we were just peripherally enjoying Australia.
About four and a half years ago I received a remote role with a U.S. company which meant that I could literally live and work anywhere. Then my son was born four years ago, we thought there was no reason to be in the city paying city prices. We have always loved the South Coast so we thought let’s do it!
We actually came to Kiama and Gerringong about fifteen years ago, and we were backpacking down the coast. There’s a photograph of me and my wife looking down at the Kiama bends looking down at Gerringong. I remember saying to her at the time “This is paradise” and then somehow we are back here.
I’m trying to reevaluate what my perspective is on wealth. I always kind of chased money and professional status; whereas now I know it just means options, free time, and enjoying what you’ve got and this is the best place for that. We’re living our best lives and chucking in a bit of work where we can.
What was your greatest fear about making the leap?
The main concern for me was irrelevance. There are a lot of expectations tied up with being in the city, where if you’re not in Sydney, London or New York then you’re nobody. Especially in my industry as well [design], there’s this expectation that you’re always available in person. I was really worried that if I was going to move down the coast essentially two-three hours from Sydney, that I would become irrelevant or people would forget me. That was my biggest concern, I think I maybe overcompensated it a bit by going back to Sydney heaps and taking lots of in person meetings but eventually you realise that it wasn’t necessary. Covid-19 has almost been a help because everyone’s doing that and it’s no longer a surprise that I live in Gerringong.
What’s been the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome?
I got a bit of a head start on Covid-19, I was working from home three years prior to it happening and the biggest hurdle for me was initially collaboration. I do my best work when I’m kind of bouncing ideas off of people. Even if it’s just talking through what I’m doing and face to face interactions. I really did struggle in the beginning to replicate that. You don’t get the same with endless zoom meetings, they zap you quite a lot. I try to find a good balance of mixing humanity with work, which is why I think WorkLife is so amazing because even though I’m not heads down collaborating with other people here, I still feel that creative energy which is really hard to find with remote working. That’s definitely been the greatest challenge for sure, especially working for the US. Depending on the time difference, collaborating is exceptionally hard.
How does it work for the rest of the family? What’s been the impact on them?
I went remote the same month my son was born. I didn’t want to be that guy that arrives home at 5pm says “hello” and then puts him to bed. I’ve been there for his first steps, his first words, and I’ve watched him grow up. It’s been amazing to work remotely and juggle those parental parts of life. If my wife is sick or if she’s had a bad night, I am there to do the daycare run and hang out with him in the morning. I feel like we have built a really good relationship between the three of us, soon to be four, so it’s been really beneficial.
Is there anything that’s been a surprise to you working remotely?
I think the biggest surprise has been the need for separation. It’s hard to tell this to my wife because she loves her job which is looking after the kids. Sometimes if I had a tough day or a long day and I’m in the middle of a problem that I can’t quite finish by the time I leave my desk, I find it difficult to switch off and go back into dad mode within the three feet between the office and my living room. It’s been really difficult to compartmentalise. Again WorkLife has been pivotal in making that shift, but also getting a motorbike which happened just at the start of Covid-19. It was kind of a substitute for a commute. I used to really enjoy that in Sydney, when we lived in Bondi and it would be forty minutes on a bus to Martin Place and I would read a book or meditate; something that wasn’t work related. Without that time, I would sometimes take stuff home, I would be distant, grumpy and often not fully let go of the day. It’s definitely challenging to try and manufacture that.
What’s your passion project/side gig? Is there anything that you’re hustling on?
I have been professionally coaching for the last five years on the side, kind of like a referral business. People will come to me and say “hey I have a designer who is underperforming”, or designers saying “I want to change my career path”, and i’ve always done it as a community service for free. This year, 2020, was going to be my year of doing that full time. However, we now have another child on the way so maybe that won’t happen immediately but that’s still the plan. I’m trying to find out what it is I’m offering, who it is I am, and what services I can offer. The world certainly doesn’t need another white male voice, but there are certainly things I can help improve and coach people on.
Picture your book shelf at home. What’s the one book on it that everyone should borrow?
I’m not a massive reader, thanks to being dyslexic; but The Local Project is a magazine series like an architecture digest of Australia and New Zealand properties. I love looking at these spaces and imagining them. We’ve also been investing in tonnes of books for our four year old. Any books that have a diverse or inclusive nature. Wax Lyrical in Berry stocks a lot of those books. I think it’s really important to get those messages across, especially raising two boys. There’s an artist in Melbourne called Sophie Beard, and she does a bunch of kids books and we’ve got a few. One is called Love Makes a Family, which is about all kinds of families with not just mums and dads, but with two dads, and two mums, and single parents. Another one, Amazing Australian Women, which has fifteen pioneers in the Australian Space and includes such things as the first woman to do a trans-atlantic flight. They’re beautifully illustrated so I would encourage people to borrow those books.
When people come to the South Coast, what’s the one thing they should eat locally?
There are so many good restaurants and foods down here, and this may be a cop out but my best suggestion would have to be the markets. I love the market, in Kiama or Berry. They’re so good and I would recommend people just go and graze, sample the wines. The Berry Doughnut Van is another one, good God! My Dad loves that place, and I used to eat so many doughnuts before I was a celiac.
What’s your best productivity hack to get the most out of each workday?
My hours are quite different, so when I come online in the mornings, I start work between six and seven which is the afternoon in the US. I’ll generally have heaps of emails and notifications. I will dedicate an hour to just get that done, because I used to filter it through my whole day and it takes over — so in the first hour I just clear everything out of my inbox. I then dedicate another hour somewhere to go for a ride or go to the gym, and then give myself another task for the day. I can’t carry a task from one day to the next unless it’s a big project, so I like to set myself small achievable goals and I then feel good and start my next day feeling good. That’s something I find difficult with working remotely. Being in a physical office, even if you don’t achieve anything you still went to the office five days a week. Whereas at home you’re living the same day on repeat and if you set yourself a goal you get closure, even if it’s just chipping away at a larger goal; that is really important to me. Finding a good routine is key.
What’s your go-to listen for your trips up to Sydney?
I listen to anything that isn’t the Wiggles. I’d like to say something really cool like I listen to podcasts but I don’t — I just listen to trashy dance music and then just silence.
What’s the best thing about your membership to WorkLife
Definitely the community. It’s hard to put my finger on it. I’ve tried to sell WorkLife to a bunch colleagues in the past. It’s really nice to have like minded people around. I’ve worked in co-working spaces before where there’s an assumption that you’re there to help other people, because obviously no one here is there for that, everyone is here to work. Everyone is super nice and there’s a good vibe. It’s also a place to work. I think that’s super important, it’s very easy for me to just mess around and watch youtube, but just by virtue of being here I find myself being so much more productive. It’s a great productivity hack, coming in here.
What are you missing the most about WorkLife during this COVID madness?
There wasn’t a good tangible reason for me to leave the house so I really missed the separation and transition time. I missed seeing familiar faces every day outside of my household. Having that work-life separation was so useful, because during the pandemic everyday was exactly the same — especially trying to entertain a four year old!
Imagine tomorrow is a perfect snapshot of your Best Life. What are you doing?
I think a just a good work day. I’d be getting up at a quarter to six and going for a walk in the morning before any one else was awake, just a perfect way to start the day; in silence. Then spend some time with my boy and make some breakfast, doing family stuff. Then end the day at the Kiama markets in the sun and get some fresh produce. It’s those simple pleasures.
Find out more about Buzz at yourfriend.buzz
