Joblog on the Lintels: Daily Work Log for 2007 May 9

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Daily Work Log for 2007 May 9

An imprecise, but accurate on the whole, job accounting.


Time at AMBS:			9h 16m 32s
Time Working:			8h 9m 14s
	Communication:			0h 6m 22s
	Meetings:			1h 4m 22s
	Research:			0h 52m 4s
	Interruptions:			1h 19m 1s
		Phone:			0h 48m 31s
		Visit:			0h 30m 30s
		E-mail:			0h 0m 0s
	Planned:			4h 47m 25s
		Tasks/Projects:			3h 32m 31s
		House cleaning:			1h 14m 54s
	Unspecified:			0h 0m 0s
Break:			0h 56m 6s
Personal:			0h 11m 12s

*** Raw Data ***

05/09/2007 7:49:40 AM,ar,"my candidate lost.",0
05/09/2007 7:56:06 AM,tk,"backup check and file retrieval attempt (failed)",386
05/09/2007 8:11:11 AM,hc,"email",905
05/09/2007 8:13:10 AM,ip,"arrange meeting",119
05/09/2007 8:19:00 AM,ip,"new notebook discussion",350
05/09/2007 8:27:15 AM,hc,"email",495
05/09/2007 8:38:17 AM,hc,"window dressing",662
05/09/2007 8:59:13 AM,re,"tech blogs/news",1256
05/09/2007 10:03:35 AM,mt,"campus visitors notebook troubles",3862
05/09/2007 10:24:19 AM,iv,"campus visitors",1244
05/09/2007 10:24:56 AM,re,"tiny print",37
05/09/2007 10:38:12 AM,tk,"errands",796
05/09/2007 11:17:22 AM,tk,"lacie backup",2350
05/09/2007 11:48:02 AM,tk,"reinstall xp",1840
05/09/2007 11:56:54 AM,tk,"backup",532
05/09/2007 12:01:58 PM,ip,"notebook trouble",304
05/09/2007 12:09:02 PM,tk,"more backup setup",424
05/09/2007 12:50:16 PM,bk,"lunch",2474
05/09/2007 12:54:20 PM,hc,"mail",244
05/09/2007 1:05:32 PM,ps,"lyrics",672
05/09/2007 1:17:05 PM,tk,"restore windows xp",693
05/09/2007 1:29:38 PM,hc,"email",753
05/09/2007 1:37:26 PM,tk,"complete restore",468
05/09/2007 1:46:03 PM,hc,"computer to basement",517
05/09/2007 3:05:44 PM,tk,"crontab for backup",4781
05/09/2007 3:13:03 PM,hc,"office",439
05/09/2007 3:22:49 PM,iv,"e-mail troubles",586
05/09/2007 3:48:53 PM,ip,"home troubleshooting",1564
05/09/2007 3:50:58 PM,re,"trademag",125
05/09/2007 3:53:04 PM,tk,"sub400notebook",126
05/09/2007 3:59:26 PM,em,"notebook info",382
05/09/2007 4:07:25 PM,hc,"box to basement",479
05/09/2007 4:13:20 PM,tk,"download re patch",355
05/09/2007 4:21:26 PM,ip,"virtualization call",486
05/09/2007 4:36:18 PM,bk,"water and iv thanks",892
05/09/2007 4:49:59 PM,re,"virtuozzo",821
05/09/2007 4:51:27 PM,ip,"printer installation question",88
05/09/2007 4:55:39 PM,re,"virtualization",252
05/09/2007 5:06:12 PM,re,"edtech",633

How to Read These Posts

These posts are posted by a perl script I wrote to parse the output of a text file created by a slightly modified version of quicklogger. Posts on Tuesday through Saturday cover one work day; posts on Monday summarize the previous work week.

The parser relies heavily on two-letter codes, visible in the raw data. These codes went into effect July 1, 2016:

ar = arrive (as in, "this is when I arrived at work")
bk/ps = break (unpaid) or personal stuff
mt = meeting
mr = meeting-related (preparation/followup)
bm = budget management (shame on you)
re = reading/research
or = ordering
tr = training (includes telling someone how to do something, not just student supervision)
su = supervision
pr = project (just a task, but longer -- I know them when I see them)
av = specific AV-related task or project
hr/tk = short task/project done immediately (hr = something someone asked me to do; tk = something I decided to do just right then without planning for it)
ro/on = routine or ongoing task/project - stuff I do regularly for whatever reason
tm = task I initiated (but planned to do at a particular time, not something I just thought of this moment)
to,ob = task initiated at another's behest, but something I scheduled to work on at this particular time (not an emergency or spontaneous "let's just get this done" thing)
nw = meta-work (recording vacation, registering for a conference, rewriting the joblogger, chatting with the colleague whose quick question turned into a longer discussion about unrelated things [pastoral care work])
cl = community life stuff (chapel, forum, breaks)
co,em = correspondence, consultation, email

These tasks often flow into one another, so a spontaneous task (tk) includes not only the work I'm doing, but also the three interruptions in the hallway (that would normally be categorized as hr or co) that I dealt with while completing it.

Additionally, the categories are not strict. Tasks (tk or tm or to) have a tendency to become projects (pr), sometimes depending on nothing more than how I feel about them.

And, lest you think I spend all my time at work logging what I do at work instead of actually working, I'll break it down for you: if I average 50 log entries per day, and if each entry takes five seconds, that's six minutes and 10 seconds of each day committed to logging. Not nothing, but also not massive. And each entry probably takes less time than that -- I'm a touch typist, so most of the time entering in the log is related to waiting on the quicklogger to wake up when I press Ctrl-Alt-L. And even then I'm not sure more than five seconds pass.

Now the time coding and re-coding and remembering to use my new codes ... well, that's different. Let's call it nw.

So why the change? The new codes fit more neatly into categories in my job description so that when annual reporting and job description review comes up I can be a bit less impressionistic.

*** Older codes follow ***

These codes went into effect January 2, 2008, and are now obsolete:

ar = arrive (as in, "this is when I arrived at work")
bk/ps = break (unpaid) or personal stuff
di = distraction (self-imposed interruption)
ic = interruption by instant messenger (chat)
ip = interruption by phone
iv = interruption by visit
hr/up = help request or unplanned task (something that comes up as a result of checking my e-mail or phone messages -- usually not the result of an interruption)
mt = meeting
ch = chat initiated by me (should be rare)
em = e-mail checking/corresponding
ph = phone (calling, checking messages)
vi = visit (initiated by me)
hc = housecleaning (office)
tk = planned task or project
re = reading and research
cl = community life (this includes various all campus events, special and regular breaks, forum, chapel, etc.)
nw = work-related non-work things (for those things that aren't exactly community life, but are also not exactly work -- conference registration comes to mind)

*** Original Codes Follow ***

Original code set (2007) - now obsolete:

ar = arrive (as in, "this is when I arrived at work")
bk = break
mt = meeting
ic = interruption by instant messenger (chat)
ie = interruption by e-mail (as in, "I was doing something else and an e-mail popped up on my screen because that's my preferred method of receiving help requests")
ip = interruption by phone
iv = interruption by visit
ch = chat initiated by me
em = e-mail correspondence initiated by me
ph = phone correspondence initiated by me
vi = visit initiated by me (presumably, if others were logging these last three things, there would be a corresponding "iv," "ip," or "ie")
ps = some personal task (as in, "Oooo ... I forgot to check the bank balance, maybe I should do that before I forget")
hc = housecleaning (as in, "I better check my e-mail, listen to my phone messages, and clean up this clutter on my desk, NOW!")
tk = planned task
re = reading and research

Joblog on the Lintels

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Daily Work Log for 2007 May 9

How to Read These Posts

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