"Good procrastination is avoiding errands in order to do real work", he says.
Errands are often a big part of our work, and avoiding that may have unpleasant consequences. Like wasting time on arguing with coworkes and bosses why you do it this way and not that way or why you are not doing it at all.
"[R]eal work needs two things errands don't: big chunks of time, and the right mood". True for any kind of creative work. In particular, for many kinds of programmer's work. Definitely for science. Obviously for arts. "There may be types of work that can only be done in long, uninterrupted stretches, when inspiration hits, rather than dutifully in scheduled little slices." I think we all have observed that.
"Conversely, forcing someone to perform errands synchronously is bound to limit their productivity." This is why my work day starts and ends a few hours after everyone else's. But this is not sufficient for me; I often come to work on Saturdays or Sundays, or work at home (after regular hours). On the other hand, when I am at work with other people around, I tend to look around seeing whom I could help rather than concentrate on my own work.
However, the company I am working in is not doing anything I would be very interested in or particularly proud of or anything that would have made me want to work besides the check. I am not working on "big things" he mentions; and do not expect to, in the foreseeable future.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-12-25 02:21 am (UTC)Errands are often a big part of our work, and avoiding that may have unpleasant consequences. Like wasting time on arguing with coworkes and bosses why you do it this way and not that way or why you are not doing it at all.
"[R]eal work needs two things errands don't: big chunks of time, and the right mood". True for any kind of creative work. In particular, for many kinds of programmer's work. Definitely for science. Obviously for arts. "There may be types of work that can only be done in long, uninterrupted stretches, when inspiration hits, rather than dutifully in scheduled little slices." I think we all have observed that.
"Conversely, forcing someone to perform errands synchronously is bound to limit their productivity." This is why my work day starts and ends a few hours after everyone else's. But this is not sufficient for me; I often come to work on Saturdays or Sundays, or work at home (after regular hours). On the other hand, when I am at work with other people around, I tend to look around seeing whom I could help rather than concentrate on my own work.
However, the company I am working in is not doing anything I would be very interested in or particularly proud of or anything that would have made me want to work besides the check. I am not working on "big things" he mentions; and do not expect to, in the foreseeable future.