| Author | Message | ||
     Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 591 Registered: 7-2002  |
Reuters, 2/23/06 Most U.S. workers say they feel rushed on the job, but they are getting less accomplished than a decade ago, according to newly released research (Day Timers, an Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of organizational products). Workers completed two-thirds of their work in an average day last year, down from about three-quarters in 1994. The biggest culprit: the technology that was supposed to make work quicker and easier, experts say. "We never concentrate on one task anymore," said John Challenger, chief executive of an outplacement consultant, Challenger, Gray and Christmas. "You take a little chip out of it, and then you're on to the next thing. It's harder to feel like you're accomplishing something." Unlike a decade ago, U.S. workers are bombarded with e-mail, computer messages, cell phone calls, and voicemails. "We think we're faster, smarter and better with all this technology at our side and in the end, we still feel rushed and our feeling of productivity is down." (Maria Woytek, Marketing Communications, Day-Timers, a unit of ACCO Brands) "The irony is the very expectation of getting more done is getting in the way of getting more done." Your reaction. Reject all these silly, useless, distracting high tech gadgets in 2006. Embrace Ligeti's ingenious low-tech solutions. Do it now. | ||
| thegoodsgt Citizen Username: Thegoodsgt Post Number: 926 Registered: 2-2002  |
As I've gotten older (in my late 30s now), I've found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. (In fairness, that might be a personal problem unrelated to my age.) The last thing I need are more distractions that break my concentration. I refuse to use a Blackberry or instant messaging at work. I rely on "old fashioned" email and telephone. This way I control what I'm working on at any given moment, not the technology. I can't say whether I'm more productive than anyone else in the office, but I generally feel little anxiety, which is an important measure of happiness for me. | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 592 Registered: 7-2002 |
Email is a trap, and extends the duration of almost every process. Office workers in the 1940s got far more done than their counterparts of today, primarily because they were not slowed down by voicemail and endless, inconclusive loops of email. Nothing - repeat - NOTHING -- is as effective as an actual conversation or face-to-face meeting. People who compulsively email are trying to avoid confrontation or the necessity of action and real work. Individuals who are addicted to cellphones and Blackberrys are likewise seeking distraction from actual human contact. They operate inside fussy little wireless bubbles, and venture out into the real world of communication only when necessary. | ||
| dave23 Citizen Username: Dave23 Post Number: 1377 Registered: 5-2001 |
I'm always amazed how email is often an impediment to effective communication. A problem that could be solved by a ten minute phone conversation often get stretched out over days because of miscommunication. | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 593 Registered: 7-2002 |
Also, the 1940s office worker was not constantly yapping nonsense into their cellphone, which can take up most of the day for some people. | ||
| Case Citizen Username: Case Post Number: 1182 Registered: 2-2005 |
Personally, it was more amusing when he was stalking the guy at the health club, challenging people to gun battles, predicting the fall of the Internet and writing letters to Jodie Foster. This is good, though.... just not as funny as last year. At least he's still focused on cell phones - remember the 'research project' he did about cell phone conversational topics? That was a good one. | ||
| Wendyn Supporter Username: Wendyn Post Number: 2748 Registered: 9-2002  |
What is slowing me down is reading all of Ligeti's posts. Must...stop...MOLing... | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 2409 Registered: 5-2004  |
Hmmm... Wendyn - post number 2748 Ligeti - post number 593 Methinks it's not Ligeti...  | ||
| Wendyn Supporter Username: Wendyn Post Number: 2749 Registered: 9-2002 |
 As I said...must...stop | ||
| Purplebug Citizen Username: Purplebug Post Number: 59 Registered: 10-2005 |
Tell me about it. I went through six emails, what could have been solved in a 1 minute conversation. Also, not everyone knows how to communicate via email. The minutia non-relevant information. UGH!!! | ||
| dave23 Citizen Username: Dave23 Post Number: 1381 Registered: 5-2001 |
Purplebug, people don't stop to think about the best way to say something. And they don't edit. And, worst of all, they start cc'ing people, which leads to the inevitable clusterf**k. | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 594 Registered: 7-2002 |
Worse, they think electronic and wireless is always better. I just kicked the IT guy's ••• --AGAIN -- with my black Manhattan Diary. We had a contest to see who could come up with the date and time of the next department conference call. He was still clicking furiously with beady-eyed intensity as I triumphantly announced the details. I'm telling you: watching me and my ingenious low-tech solutions in action is a sight to behold. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 12653 Registered: 1-2003  |
My PDA calendar goes back to 2001. How far back does your PAA (personal analog assistant, aka Manhattan Diary) go? | ||
| Case Citizen Username: Case Post Number: 1183 Registered: 2-2005 |
I'm surprised there wasn't a gaggle of hot women watching the "battle"... many of whom threw themselves at your feet when you looked up the conference bridge number! Maybe that's coming in a later version of the story? Incidentally, congratulations on your 'triumph'. It sounds like a big day in your life. | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 595 Registered: 7-2002 |
My Manhattan Diaries, dating back to 1994, are kept in an acid-free, archival-grade storage bin. | ||
| Carl Thompson Citizen Username: Topcat Post Number: 191 Registered: 4-2003  |
I've resisted the Blackberry. I already carry a cellphone and reading glasses, along with wallet, keys, etc. If I add somethinmg else, I'll have to start wearing cargo pants to work. | ||
| ess Citizen Username: Ess Post Number: 1215 Registered: 11-2001 |
I am actually reeling over Thegoodsgt's comment that age might be related to lack of concentration. I mean, um...what were we talking about? | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 12657 Registered: 1-2003 |
Yeah, I have that problem. I wear my PDA and my cell phone on my belt. I recently got an iPod, and I keep it in my jacket pocket, but what will I do when the weather warms up? I keep a multi-purpose knife in my bag but it would be handier on my belt. And I just got a nifty camera. I think if I put all these things on my belt, it would weigh about eight pounds. Oh, the knife really is useful, since I have some mechanical work on my job. OK, so now you know my willingness to carry tons of stuff on my belt and look dorky, but my point about the PDA is that I can search back five years without going to a storage bin. It's always with me. Those lookups have come in handy at times. I, too, have resisted a portable email device. I'm already sucked in too much. I need to let go sometimes. Good thing my company doesn't require me to have one. It does require a cell phone. | ||
| Purplebug Citizen Username: Purplebug Post Number: 61 Registered: 10-2005 |
Man Purse time. HAHAH. That will be interesting to see. What is the finger condition similar to carpal tunnel? There has to be something, pushing all those little buttons all the time. And the text-messaging. SHEESH!!! You can lose feeling in your fingers after the first paragraph. | ||
| Case Citizen Username: Case Post Number: 1184 Registered: 2-2005 |
Tom, I'm jealous. I use a laptop backpack... I carry cables, small mag-light, even a small pouch with contact lens stuff, etc. Sometimes I even carry a laptop. Total man-purse, even though it looks like a backpack. I can't have a knife or even a toolkit, though, because I fly a lot and I just know in my heart that sooner or later I'd show up at the airport with a deadly screwdriver or a lethal pair of wire strippers... and I'd be really, really pissed to lose tools. I can't deal with the portable email device either. Strangely enough, I can't even cope with the PDA - I'm pretty sure I'd lose it or break it sooner or later. Getting back to the jealous rage, I'd LOVE to carry around a leatherman... but like I said, something bad would happen sooner or later. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 12659 Registered: 1-2003 |
What's to be jealous of? My willingness to wear tons of stuff on my belt? I did get a man-purse (aka murse) for xmas but am not used to it. Being a dorky guy, I like being able to draw a gadget out quickly, as if it's a gun. I don't like fishing around in the bag. I did have the leatherman in my jacket pocket while trying to get on a plane. Oops! But now Newark Airport has a machine for mailing stuff back to yourself, just for that reason. So it was a $12 mistake. The PDA isn't so bad. I've broken them. I was lucky that my employer replaced it, and I didn't lose the data, either, since I sync it every day. And they're not all that breakable. The way I broke it was particularly boneheaded. | ||
| thegoodsgt Citizen Username: Thegoodsgt Post Number: 928 Registered: 2-2002 |
Tom, remember all those cool devices that Batman would use to fight crime? Well now, whenever my wife and I see someone with more than one gadget on his belt, we call out, "Batman!" Oh, and good call there on leaving the murse at home.  | ||
| Case Citizen Username: Case Post Number: 1185 Registered: 2-2005 |
I think I could take a $12 gamble. It would be worth it to have a small toolkit with me (though I have to say, the flashlight has come in handy at least 4 times already). | ||
| LilLB Citizen Username: Lillb Post Number: 1334 Registered: 10-2002  |
I don't think Technology is slowing us down at all. More is expected of us (which may have more to do with career advancement than downsizing) so we feel like we can't accomplish as much as we used to . I think the perception of being slowed down has more to do with inept project managers and executives who don't have a clue than anything else really... The ineptitude slows everyone down because they don't have effective leadership/strategy. People then end up being ineffective in the way they do their work and projects are haphazard. This may not be true for everyone, but this is what I see at my workplace as slowing everyone down. It's a disaster... | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 596 Registered: 7-2002 |
The point of the Reuters article is that, yes, more is expected of us, but we are handicapped by all these silly electronic distractions (voicemail, email, cellphones, Blackberries, surfing the Internet at work). The result: we are not accomplishing as much as the pre-gadget generation did. | ||
| notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 3084 Registered: 5-2001  |
I'll tell you what's slowing us down.... DOCUMENTATION. Thanks largely to the schemes of criminals at the top of some of America's larger corporations, a lot of industries now have to be Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX - I pronounce it "sucks") compliant (in addition to other pre-existing requirements). SOX is so complicated that an entire industry has sprung up of consultants who can help a company deal with it. You have to be able to show exactly who said what to whom, and how a change to a system was requested, and what authorization was gathered to perform what task, and how well it was tested beforehand, and what happened afterwards. Follow the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) at all times, or be fired! Does your Request For Change (RFC) need a Data Modification Request (DMR) and changes to the Functional Specification (FS)? Perhaps even an official Problem Ticket (PT) and modification to the User Requirements Specification (URS)?! Does the Technical Specification (TS) update jibe with what's in the Application Manual (AML) or the Server Design Specification (SDS)?! Can you accurately track all the time you spent on various tasks against the 95 poorly-named Projects in your online timesheet, and how does that compare to what your manager said was needed on the original Project Plan? I swear, it's feeling as though I have to get sign-off from 8 people just to go to the bathroom. Nothing has killed productivity and morale more for me and my colleagues than paperwork. We are way past the point of diminishing returns. Whatever happened to responsibility? You know... workers being responsible for quality and timely results, and managers being responsible for understanding what their workers are doing and making sure they have the right resources and information? ARRRGH!!! | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 2421 Registered: 5-2004 |
notehead, Try working in the pharmaceutical industry, where software not only has to be well documented, but everything has to be validated. And software validation means something completely different in the pharma world than anywhere else. Though it sounds like S-OX is trying to create the same nightmare for finance weenies. LilLB, I completely agree about project managers. Being one (and having been a developer at one point), I totally know what you mean. They basically get in the way of real work. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 1834 Registered: 8-2003  |
 he does work in the pharma industry!!! | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 2426 Registered: 5-2004 |
hehe... so S-OX is just one more set of processes that need to be validated, and documented, and maintained, and ... no wonder so many companies outsource. | ||
| Wendyn Supporter Username: Wendyn Post Number: 2752 Registered: 9-2002 |
I f'ing hate SOX. | ||
| Eponymous Citizen Username: Eponymous Post Number: 117 Registered: 6-2004 |
Didn't the late 90s see an upsurge in productivity? And wasn't that attributed to computers finally kicking in as productivity tools? I'm still a "we work too much" kind of guy. More vacation means more work gets done when we're actually working. | ||
| Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 12675 Registered: 1-2003 |
Yesterday morning, Brian Lehrer (93.9FM at 10am) did a fascinating segment on whether we have more leisure than before or less. He had a guest with each a yes and a no perspective. One reason we feel we don't have enough leisure is that there are more possible things to do in our leisure time, leaving us with the feeling that we're not keeping up. Another is, of course, that we work when we should be goofing off and goof off when we work. You can probably download this segment as a podcast. Email me if you have never done this and want help doing it. thegoodsgt, I do carry the murse sometimes. My fashion consultants, aka my daughters, tell me that if I wear it diagonally across my chest, I don't look quite so feminine. Actually, it is a woman's bag. The removable tag said "women specific" right on it, but you can't read that any more. So are you saying it's better to be a batman than effeminate? | ||
| thegoodsgt Citizen Username: Thegoodsgt Post Number: 929 Registered: 2-2002 |
Hmmm, to be geeky or effeminate? Fortunately, either one is acceptable in this part of the country. | ||
| drewdix Citizen Username: Drewdix Post Number: 1139 Registered: 7-2001 |
email, like some other tech innovations of the 20th century (see: TV), I simply view as a good servant but a poor master. Split attention on tasks(or "mutli-tasking" as we now say) has always been thus. My work life began pre-email & internet, and was then (1980 or so) predicated on moving along multiple objectives. It might just be specific to media & publishing, where I have made most of my bread & butter (that and bartending--talk about multi-tasking with no tech support!!) | ||
| Purplebug Citizen Username: Purplebug Post Number: 68 Registered: 10-2005 |
Must one make a choice? Be an effeminate geek. They have a party side to them that you wouldn't believe!!!! I am sort of the opposite: if it doesn't fit into my pockets, I don't take it with me. | ||
| Case Citizen Username: Case Post Number: 1186 Registered: 2-2005 |
I admit that I abuse the laptop backpack. I got a great one last year out at a Cisco convention... the thing is huge, which is NOT a good design feature - sometimes I swear it weighs 40 or 50 pounds when its crammed full of 'essential' stuff. | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 598 Registered: 7-2002 |
Tom, who says I can't put a belt loop on my archival-grade storage bin? Memo: join my low tech cabal. Our weapons: pencils, dictionaries, Manhattan Diaries, scholarly journals and LPs. We want to live life, not push buttons. | ||
| Pippi Supporter Username: Pippi Post Number: 1844 Registered: 8-2003 |
I recently gave up my much-beloved Manhattan Diary for a cheapo Palm Pilot. Now I miss all those great subway/rail/street maps in the back!  | ||
| Ligeti Citizen Username: Ligeti Post Number: 599 Registered: 7-2002 |
Spot on, Pippi! Never needs batteries, either! | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 2457 Registered: 5-2004 |
Pippi, you can download those maps for your Palm Pilot. |
