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A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

theregister.co.uk

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Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#41

Post by mkopinsky »

mcantor wrote: post #39
jbail wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there really work environments so distracting that 8 hours in the office equals 1 hour at home? That seems crazy. If so, there's is something seriously messed up at that office. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for telecommuting and did a 100% telecommuting gig for 3 years straight, but there's no way to get a days work done in 1 hour.

You have a daily stand-up at 9:30, so even though you get in at 9, you don't bother starting anything because the stand-up will cut it short as soon as you get rolling. The stand-up is supposed to be 10 minutes, tops, but regularly balloons into a half-hour behemoth. You make your daily sojourn to Starbucks with the other developers and get back to your open work area at 10:15. There's a business user waiting for you…

Until 4PM, you've also been working on things that are value-adds on some level. Your choice not to make use of the small time windows (which aren't actually so small) is your own choice, not a direct function of the office.

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#42

Post by mcantor »

mkopinsky wrote: post #41
mcantor wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a daily stand-up at 9:30, so even though you get in at 9, you don't bother starting anything because the stand-up will cut it short as soon as you get rolling. The stand-up is supposed to be 10 minutes, tops, but regularly balloons into a half-hour behemoth. You make your daily sojourn to Starbucks with the other developers and get back to your open work area at 10:15. There's a business user waiting for you…

Until 4PM, you've also been working on things that are value-adds on some level. Your choice not to make use of the small time windows (which aren't actually so small) is your own choice, not a direct function of the office.

You're right! However, it's inefficient for a developer to always be doing that much non-development work. And it is possible to get real work done during the small windows, but only certain types of real work. Occasionally you can fit in a bunch of good bug-fixes. Other times you're able to organize things into discrete small tasks up-front, and you can get a few of those things done with each small window. But, it's impossible to really achieve flow in those circumstances. The lack of flow is really the gist of my argument.

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#44

Post by mkopinsky »

mcantor wrote: post #42
mkopinsky wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until 4PM, you've also been working on things that are value-adds on some level. Your choice not to make use of the small time windows (which aren't actually so small) is your own choice, not a direct function of the office.

You're right! However, it's inefficient for a developer to always be doing that much non-development work. And it is possible to get real work done during the small windows, but only certain types of real work. Occasionally you can fit in a bunch of good bug-fixes. Other times you're able to organize things into discrete small tasks up-front, and you can get a few of those things done with each small window. But, it'…

With the schedule you described, it doesn't sound like you're purely a developer. Either a lot of this stuff needs to move from your plate to someone else's, or you need to accept that you do a lot of non-development work.

Note that of the distractions you describe, a lot of them are things that you would have still had if you were working from home. The emails and the IMs are still there, although I guess they might be more ignoreable since you don't have the threat of the person showing up at your desk. :-)

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#45

Post by Retric »

mkopinsky wrote: post #41
mcantor wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a daily stand-up at 9:30, so even though you get in at 9, you don't bother starting anything because the stand-up will cut it short as soon as you get rolling. The stand-up is supposed to be 10 minutes, tops, but regularly balloons into a half-hour behemoth. You make your daily sojourn to Starbucks with the other developers and get back to your open work area at 10:15. There's a business user waiting for you…

Until 4PM, you've also been working on things that are value-adds on some level. Your choice not to make use of the small time windows (which aren't actually so small) is your own choice, not a direct function of the office.

Depending on what you are working on 15 minutes may be enough time to make some progress, but anything with a moderate level of complexity is going to take longer than that before gain enough context to start.

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#46

Post by mkopinsky »

Retric wrote: post #45
mkopinsky wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until 4PM, you've also been working on things that are value-adds on some level. Your choice not to make use of the small time windows (which aren't actually so small) is your own choice, not a direct function of the office.

Depending on what you are working on 15 minutes may be enough time to make some progress, but anything with a moderate level of complexity is going to take longer than that before gain enough context to start.

If you take notes, you can gain context from 9:00-9:30, and rev up again quickly from 10:00-10:03. The time doesn't need to be wasted time.

(Not that this is necessarily easy to do, or perfect, but I think we can accomplish more than we think in this manner.)

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#47

Post by Retric »

mkopinsky wrote: post #46
Retric wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on what you are working on 15 minutes may be enough time to make some progress, but anything with a moderate level of complexity is going to take longer than that before gain enough context to start.

If you take notes, you can gain context from 9:00-9:30, and rev up again quickly from 10:00-10:03. The time doesn't need to be wasted time. (Not that this is necessarily easy to do, or perfect, but I think we can accomplish more than we think in this manner.)

Notes like all other forms of documentation is suspect. If it's a complex problem that you don't already have a solution to you really do need to sit there and think "Why did I think this when I wrote it." otherwise it's easy to create flip flopping bugs. AKA fix bug 357, fix bug 372, hey wait bug 385 looks like 357 ahh that's right I need to set the flag to X, hmm wait bug 392 looks a lot like bug 372 etc.

PS: And when you have 15 minutes to work it's next to impossible to figure out how to fix 392 without also creating 357 yet again.

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#49

Post by m0nastic »

corin_ wrote: post #14

"Stay-at-home workers also said getting dressed for the day was far too strenuous" As someone who has spent a few years working from home (but doesn't now), that's a horrible assumption. Sure, there were days when I'd be working in my boxers, but there were also days when I would be wearing trousers and a shirt ready to go out for a meeting. And when I wasn't properly dressed, it wasn't that it was "strenuous", or ev…

I definitely think it's a matter of someone's personal ritual.

I've been working from home for the past four years, and I have definitely slipped into a habit of being lazy with my clothes/appearance.

I sit around the apartment in a pair of track pants 90% of the time (which makes me look like either a washed-up, out of shape footballer, or possibly a mobster), only putting on real clothes if I have to do something later that night (and even then I don't get dressed like a real grownup until just before I have to leave).

I also haven't gotten a haircut in about 8 months. I don't particularly like long hair, I just haven't gotten around to it (in spite of the fact that the ridiculous mane I have grown makes me look like one of the Thundercats).

In fact an observer might look as the way I live and conclude that I've been in a horrible bout of depression for the past four years (doesn't put on clothes, doesn't shave or deal with their hair, is a shut-in), but I can attest that I'm quite pleased by this situation.

Re: A Fifth of Telecommuters Work Less Than An Hour Per Day

#50

Post by jff »

Wow, a lot of you guys are getting really defensive here.

I can get some good work done at home, but only if I've remembered to bring home all materials I need. And if I don't need to face-to-face with somebody. And if there are no meetings scheduled for that day.

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