Re: common time-management mistake: rack & stack

["Justin M. Streiner" <streiner () cluebyfour org>]

On Fri, 17 Feb 2012, Brandon Butterworth wrote:

> It's not a waste, it's therapeutic, breaks the monotony of a desk
> job, you get a bit of exercise. Doing something mindless can help
> clear your thoughts, engineering yoga.

Definite +1 here.  I got my start in this profession 15-ish years ago at a 
mid-sized regional ISP.  The company was small enough, in terms of its work
force, that that I interviewed with the CEO for what was largely an IT 
position.  As a result, many people in the organization wore lots of 
different hats.  It wasn't to the point of having accountants pull cable 
or IT guys doing the books, but I did spend a lot of time doing 
rack-and-stack work.  I didn't (and still don't) mind rack-and-stack, 
pulling cable, etc.  As others have said, it's a good, therapeutic 
diversion from staring at a screen and attending meetings ;)

Another good reason for getting out into the field.  When you're the 
person who defines technical deployment standards for an organization, it 
gives you an opportunity to verify that work is being done to those 
standards.

> That'd be a good idea, it's too easy to become remote from reality.
> obviously you need the right balance - s/big//

I'm sure if the ISP I got my start with 15-ish years ago was much bigger, I
would not have interviewed with the CEO, but at that time, it was the right
fit for that organization.

jms