Do you feel odd around writers who crank stuff out?

Just pray to God that guy, or that type of person, doesn't become your ASE or SE. We had someone like that at our office. He would take an hour to do something that would take a normal person 10 minutes.

He became ASE and expected the same from everyone. Total nightmare.

It's about being efficient. There's a difference between working hard, and working smart.

 

Sorry, but that's pretty bush league. Unless you're my supervisor, or I'm doing something that's preventing you from working, mind your own fucking business. If I don't get the job done in a timely manner, that's on me. Not you (unless, of course, it's tab work, or some other sort of staff project).

 

I am all about bottom-line efficiency, and I don't care if my guys work at 3 a.m. to get it done. They are pros, and if they crank, they can do it on whatever timetable they want. Expect 'em to be pros, and they tend to be pros.

rb

 

Aren't you the same dude who bitched about writers being on SJ while in the press box?

 

We were an odd little family, I guess you could say.

 

Re: the previous post about RB being the guy who moaned in the press box.

It would seems he's learned his lesson

 

Pringle,

The guy is making you uncomfortable with his work habits. Possibly making you look bad in comparison and -- hell -- maybe even stealing a percentage or two of a raise that could come your way.

You need to stop, take a deep breath and deal with it.

I suggest accidentally slamming his hand in a draw or dropping a very heavy book on it. You break a few knuckles, and it tends to slow down Mr. Workaholic.

 

Man, you're taking it wrong.

I guess it just seems like some people are, like, manic and anxiety-ridden when they're working. Perhaps that's what flusters or distracts me.

Now, I admit and have admitted on threads here, even began them, that I'm not the world's most relaxed person. But when I'm at work doing my work, deadlines and such don't seem to phase me the way they seem to throw others into this state of permanent agitation ... so that's when I start thinking, "Should I be more panicked than I am???"

 

I'm just messing with you. I was always one who didn't like to get started writing stories, but once I'm started I'm cranking.

I have heard people complain about noise or distractions or whatever when they are on deadline. I don't even notice.

 

At my first post-Navy rag, we had a reporter who was easily the jitteriest MF I've ever known. He'd stare intently at the screen, as if trying to divine the secrets of the universe from an eight incher about tax abatements and suddenly his face would light up, he'd vigorously smack his palm with his fist and start slamming the keys frenetically.

The guy went through multiple keyboards in 18 months there.

Even funnier was when his phone would ring. He'd literally jolt like he'd been hooked up to a live car battery.

 

This topic came up in a press box I was in last night, and that was the consensus of the assembled hacks. I'd be terrified to read a minute-by-minute breakdown of a typical workday for me (I cover a BCS college)...it'd look something like this:

11:30 a.m. -- Arrive at media workroom; gossip with fellow beat writers.
11:35 a.m. -- Turn on computer.
11:35-3:30 p.m. -- Surf Internet; continue to gossip; make personal phone calls; occasionally wander the halls and chat with coaches, administrators, etc.
3:30 p.m. -- Interview session
4 p.m. -- Interviews end
4:15 p.m. -- Begin transcribing 30 minutes of tape
6:30 p.m. -- Finish transcribing
6:30-7:45 p.m. -- Surf Internet; continue to gossip; make personal phone calls
7:45-8:30 p.m. -- Write three stories
8:31 p.m. -- Unplug computer, go home

Come to think of it, I'd love to see a breakdown of how I spent my workday, just to see how close these ballpark figures are. And I'll bet they're close.

 

I am, and I stand by the sentiment that I danced around with that entire godforsaken thread -- which was, while my guys do what they do in their own process, I don't think that during a game is the time to go dicking around. Like mighty_wingman detailed above, that sounds like a decently productive (scattershot, but productive) way to go about his process. Because he wrote three stories. Lord knows if I detailed *my* day like that, it would be scary. But I am productive. All about your process and the results you get.