Joblog on the Lintels: Work Summary for the Week ending Friday, 28 November, 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008

Work Summary for the Week ending Friday, 28 November, 2008

3 days summarized below


Time at AMBS:			27h 44m 43s
Time Working:			23h 58m 32s
	Planned:			2h 42m 6s
		Projects/Tasks:			0h 7m 34s
		Meetings:			0h 0m 0s
		Reading/Research:			0h 34m 1s
		Communication:			2h 0m 31s
		House cleaning:			0h 0m 0s
	Unplanned:			16h 46m 49s
		Distraction:			0h 0m 0s
		Interruption:			3h 39m 33s
		Projects/Tasks:			13h 7m 16s
	Other Work:			4h 29m 37s
		Non-work Work:			3h 15m 13s
		Community Life:			1h 14m 24s
	Unspecified:			0h 0m 0s
Personal/Break:			3h 46m 11s
Average Daily Time at AMBS:			9h 14m 54s
Average Daily Working Time:			7h 59m 30s


Time Working:			86.41%
	Planned:			11.27%
		Projects/Tasks:			4.67%
		Meetings:			0.00%
		Reading/Research:			20.98%
		Communication:			74.35%
		House cleaning:			0.00%
	Unplanned:			69.99%
		Distraction:			0.00%
		Interruption:			21.81%
		Projects/Tasks:			78.19%
	Other Work:			18.74%
		Non-work Work:			72.41%
		Community Life:			27.59%
	Unspecified:			0.00%
Personal/Break:			13.59%

*** Raw Data ***

11/24/2008 8:26:20 AM,ar,"",0
11/24/2008 8:33:54 AM,tk,"remote backup troubles",454
11/24/2008 8:59:33 AM,up,"sophos not updating",1539
11/24/2008 9:11:07 AM,iv,"asst",694
11/24/2008 9:53:03 AM,em,"",2516
11/24/2008 10:30:47 AM,cl,"monday",2264
11/24/2008 10:57:45 AM,up,"acct creation",1618
11/24/2008 10:59:45 AM,ps,"spankleague",120
11/24/2008 11:12:32 AM,bk,"d",767
11/24/2008 11:51:20 AM,up,"new acct creation",2328
11/24/2008 11:52:01 AM,ip,"spouse",41
11/24/2008 12:10:53 PM,up,"acct creation",1132
11/24/2008 12:57:52 PM,bk,"lunch",2819
11/24/2008 1:13:14 PM,nw,"ad fac stuff",922
11/24/2008 1:28:38 PM,iv,"av installation",924
11/24/2008 2:18:27 PM,nw,"chapel prep",2989
11/24/2008 3:25:55 PM,nw,"adfac mt prep",4048
11/24/2008 3:32:26 PM,re,"rss",391
11/24/2008 4:49:38 PM,up,"that bloody account creation script ... inching closer",4632

11/25/2008 8:00:05 AM,ar,"",0
11/25/2008 8:10:43 AM,up,"backup check",638
11/25/2008 8:49:08 AM,up,"foxit update that doesn't fully work like expected",2305
11/25/2008 9:39:23 AM,iv,"lounge arrangements",3015
11/25/2008 9:50:58 AM,iv,"gp install",695
11/25/2008 10:27:38 AM,cl,"break",2200
11/25/2008 10:28:19 AM,iv,"consult",41
11/25/2008 10:36:16 AM,ip,"copyimage",477
11/25/2008 11:01:05 AM,up,"great plains",1489
11/25/2008 11:03:35 AM,re,"rss",150
11/25/2008 11:13:47 AM,hr,"document opening (abortyed)",612
11/25/2008 12:16:21 PM,nw,"chapel",3754
11/25/2008 1:16:04 PM,em,"and some ph stuff",3583
11/25/2008 1:42:57 PM,ps,"tmq",1613
11/25/2008 2:28:59 PM,iv,"projection and copier replacement",2762
11/25/2008 4:54:19 PM,up,"new laptop setup",8720
11/25/2008 5:32:43 PM,up,"acct recreation stuff",2304

11/26/2008 7:21:53 AM,ar,"",0
11/26/2008 9:07:13 AM,up,"figuring for ats",6320
11/26/2008 10:05:06 AM,ps,"cares",3473
11/26/2008 10:10:36 AM,up,"ats",330
11/26/2008 10:27:02 AM,up,"seek super",986
11/26/2008 10:30:28 AM,em,"",206
11/26/2008 10:34:18 AM,em,"",230
11/26/2008 10:40:25 AM,ip,"runaway process?",367
11/26/2008 10:44:50 AM,em,"",265
11/26/2008 12:17:08 PM,up,"ats stuff",5538
11/26/2008 1:12:21 PM,bk,"lunch",3313
11/26/2008 1:34:34 PM,up,"acct creation",1333
11/26/2008 1:41:28 PM,ip,"monitor black",414
11/26/2008 1:48:39 PM,em,"",431
11/26/2008 2:09:05 PM,up,"acct setup",1226
11/26/2008 2:29:33 PM,iv,"projection mounting",1228
11/26/2008 3:04:47 PM,iv,"projection mount",2114
11/26/2008 3:11:28 PM,ip,"phone number question",401
11/26/2008 3:35:19 PM,up,"acct creation stuff ... too many too many tooooooo maaaany interruptions to concentrate",1431
11/26/2008 3:59:45 PM,ps,"retrieve spouse",1466
11/26/2008 4:04:08 PM,hr,"update maintdb",263
11/26/2008 4:29:08 PM,re,"rss",1500
11/26/2008 5:10:40 PM,up,"acct creation script",2492

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

Monday, December 1, 2008

Work Summary for the Week ending Friday, 28 November, 2008

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