Joblog on the Lintels: Daily Work Log for 2007 July 11

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Daily Work Log for 2007 July 11

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


Time at AMBS:			9h 14m 59s
Time Working:			7h 53m 31s
	Communication:			1h 11m 42s
	Meetings:			0h 0m 0s
	Research:			0h 20m 40s
	Interruptions:			1h 7m 43s
		Phone:			1h 0m 42s
		Visit:			0h 7m 1s
		E-mail:			0h 0m 0s
		Chat:			0h 0m 0s
	Planned:			5h 13m 26s
		Tasks/Projects:			4h 25m 32s
		House cleaning:			0h 47m 54s
	Unspecified:			0h 0m 0s
Break:			1h 9m 39s
Personal:			0h 11m 49s

*** Raw Data ***

07/11/2007 7:41:24 AM,ar,"",0
07/11/2007 8:07:20 AM,hc,"2k3sp2",1556
07/11/2007 8:13:08 AM,hc,"server reboot fixing",348
07/11/2007 9:17:23 AM,vi,"various things",3855
07/11/2007 9:31:35 AM,hc,"email",852
07/11/2007 9:43:35 AM,re,"techrss",720
07/11/2007 9:55:03 AM,ip,"shockwave",688
07/11/2007 10:03:43 AM,re,"techrss",520
07/11/2007 10:20:39 AM,bk,"",1016
07/11/2007 10:22:37 AM,hc,"phone",118
07/11/2007 10:26:22 AM,em,"evals",225
07/11/2007 10:52:58 AM,tk,"set up lab computers",1596
07/11/2007 10:54:59 AM,iv,"phone question",121
07/11/2007 10:56:26 AM,tk,"library computers",87
07/11/2007 11:00:15 AM,ip,"home notebook wireless conx",229
07/11/2007 11:09:40 AM,tk,"lab computer install",565
07/11/2007 11:17:35 AM,ip,"spouse",475
07/11/2007 11:19:55 AM,tk,"install lab computers",140
07/11/2007 11:22:41 AM,tk,"update lab computers",166
07/11/2007 11:26:23 AM,ph,"faweb7",222
07/11/2007 11:44:15 AM,tk,"lab computer installation",1072
07/11/2007 11:46:52 AM,bk,"p",157
07/11/2007 11:54:48 AM,tk,"lab computer installation",476
07/11/2007 11:59:07 AM,ip,"printer installation",259
07/11/2007 12:19:55 PM,tk,"wds stuff",1248
07/11/2007 12:25:44 PM,ps,"espn",349
07/11/2007 1:15:50 PM,bk,"lunch",3006
07/11/2007 1:41:43 PM,tk,"pricing",1553
07/11/2007 1:45:00 PM,tk,"fax tax exempt for subscription",197
07/11/2007 1:50:00 PM,iv,"imap server",300
07/11/2007 1:57:23 PM,ip,"faweb7",443
07/11/2007 1:59:41 PM,tk,"new lab computers bginfo",138
07/11/2007 2:11:02 PM,tk,"fix mail server",681
07/11/2007 2:30:47 PM,ip,"library stuff",1185
07/11/2007 2:34:38 PM,tk,"lab computer setup",231
07/11/2007 3:17:51 PM,tk,"new lab computer setup",2593
07/11/2007 3:23:42 PM,tk,"retrieve tutor disks",351
07/11/2007 4:26:31 PM,tk,"set up lab computer",3769
07/11/2007 4:32:34 PM,ip,"library wireles",363
07/11/2007 4:50:23 PM,tk,"new lab computer installation (close to right)",1069
07/11/2007 5:07:05 PM,tk,"lab computer setup complete, perhaps",1002
07/11/2007 5:13:05 PM,ps,"slate",360

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, July 12, 2007

Daily Work Log for 2007 July 11

How to Read These Posts

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