Re: Telecrastinating

[Jo Francis Byrd <jbyrd -at- byrdwrites -dot- com>]

Just like working solely as a contractor or a consultant isn't for everyone, so
telecommuting isn't suited for everyone, either. You have to know yourself, and
know yourself well. It takes a lot of self-discipline to work at home, especially
when it's a GORGEOUS spring day out there and your flower beds call out your name
with a siren's song. I cope with that by refusing to look outside!  Andrew knows
himself well enough to know he needs to go into an office. And that's good.

One job I had, the dress code was business casual. One guy came in, all the time,
wearing dress slacks, dress shirt, tie. Why? Because when he went home, he changed
into casuals, grubbies, whatever, and he was "off duty." He wore business dress to
make a clean break between his work environment and his home. It worked for him.
Me? Doesn't make a bit of difference.

Like I said: we have to know ourselves, and we have to be honest with ourselves.
Telecommuting isn't for everyone. Some thrive, some....well, they play Quake,
piddle around, find 15 jillion other things to do instead of work. And those
people, since they lack that self discipline, should work in an office, even if it
IS cubeland!

Jo Byrd

Andrew Plato opined:

> Andrew's statement that most people sit around and procrastinate is just plain a
lie.>

It isn't a lie. Its human nature.

The majority of Americans are lazy, selfish, spiteful, and obsessive. They will do
the absolute bare minimum required to get their paycheck.  If you run a company and
sign paychecks - you know this as fact.  Finding good, motivated, hard-working
people is very hard.  Most people simply do not want to work. And to top it off,
they think the universe owes them something for their laziness.

This mentality is undoubtedly a factor of the times.  Most people have lived for 5+
years in good times. Jobs are plentiful and pay is excellent. They forget the days
when you were lucky to have a job at all.

Another factor is the "Cult of Management" problem.  Everybody wants to be the big
shot in charge, but they are not willing to do what it takes to get there. Nobody
has a good work ethic any more. They think putting in their 32.5 hours a week and
attending 3 meetings constitutes hard work.

There is a guy who owns a sub shop near my office. Best subs the world.  He is at
that counter everyday from 9 am until 10 pm (that's 13 hours a day). I know he gets
there at 8 am and stays until about 11 pm (that's 15 hours!).  He knows every
customer by name.  I go in there and I always hear "Good day, Mr. Plato. How's that
big black Mercedes of yours!" (He has a 560SL) You can go in at 9 am or 9:45 pm and
he always has a smile, always says thank you, always says "have a nice day."

That is real work.  Attending meetings and telling people to proactively leverage
their gerunds - that isn't work. That's clerical masturbation.  Any moron with
1/10th of a brain stem can do that.

Telecommuting is great for people who work hard.  For the rest of the populace -
its just another form of avoiding work.  Everybody wants to do it, but few are
willing to do what it takes to earn such a perk.

Sure, some people do work very productively at home.  But for every one productive
telecommuter there are 10 to 20 bums who play Quake all day. Hell, I couldn't work
productively at home. There is just too many things to do at home like sleep, eat,
shave the cat, simionize the driveway, upholster the toilet...and so forth.

There is also the factor of being part of a team. You cannot participate in a team
if you're holed away at home. One of the most serious problems among tech writers
today is isolation. Writers sit in their cubes (or at home) all day theorizing how
it all works. without constant connection to the real world, tech writers get even
more obsessive. This is about when people start thinking they need some huge
process to help them handle reality.

What is my point? I really don't have one. Just don't be a lazy bum and get back to
work. You're lucky we don't fire you.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Develop HTML-Based Help with Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 ($100 STC Discount)
**WEST COAST LOCATIONS** San Jose (Mar 1-2), San Francisco (Apr 16-17)
http://www.weisner.com/training/dreamweaver_help.htm or 800-646-9989.

Sponsored by DigiPub Solutions Corp, producers of PDF 2001 
Conference East, June 4-5, Baltimore/Washington D.C. area.
http://www.pdfconference.com or toll-free 877/278-2131. 

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.