Thursday, June 08, 2006

Wasting Time

"How's work?" you ask. In three days, I ripped through about 20 new technical pages, and went through two full revs for a blind survey. Surprisingly, this kind of output was hard to come by when I was in the office full time!

A study done last year reported that the average worker wastes 2 hours a day doing personal stuff---you know, web surfing, writing/reading email, running errands, socializing, etc. Oh, and this doesn't inlcude lunch. Or breaks.

Sound familiar?

"Yup," you say.

The fact that I get more done at home underscores the fact that, even though I have a toddler and a very needy cat, I manage to escape costly in-office distractions. At home, no co-worker pops in to discuss the latest episode of Lost, Sopranos, Oprah, or American Idol. (and o how I miss this!) I have no impromptu meetings. (don't miss this) No brief chats in the hall or at the coffee machine. Of course, I have other distractions. But my work hours are not necessarily limited to 8-5; I can log on anytime without feeling like I'm staying late or working long hours.

I'm not saying in-office distrations are evil. Hey, I love socializing! I just think it's ridiculous to assume that people can't produce quality work in a home environment. By me working from home, My Corp is getting more work for less money. What a concept.

That said, I do find that the actual work, taken out of the in-office context, is much more boring. The copy isn't exactly riveting to me in the first place, so trying to get through it while Lizzy is nearby discovering the joys of emptying out our tupperware drawer isn't exactly my idea of fun. Sometimes it hard enough to try and update this blog with her doing all her tricks and generally just vying for my attention.

I'm hoping that once I've fulfilled my 3-month stint for My Corp that I will be able to do some freelance stuff that actually captures more of my spirit and real enthusiasm. Not just the lure of a paycheck.

Which is where I currently sit.
Wasting my, not my company's, time.

When's payday again?

No comments: