DAY 67 - WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

Getting used to a new work environment is always interesting. Because there are so many areas at work that require “Clearance”, I tend to just stay in the Training Room and work. It’s nice and quiet, and I can just sit at the desk and get a bunch of work done. That is – until the lights go out.

   I’m all for saving the environment. I have all CFL lights throughout my house. I keep the thermostat a bit cool in the winter. I recycle. But if I get too focused on my work and don’t move enough, every 15-minutes or so the lights will shut down. Which at first freaked me out a bit – I mean, I’m in a building with Army guys running around and lots of security measures and then the lights go out. It clearly demonstrates just how sedentary my job is. So, every 15 minutes I have to get up and do a lap around the room – to wake up the lights.

   It’s also made me realize how many “automatic” things I’ve become accustomed to. Sometimes at home I’m surprised when the toilet doesn’t automatically flush. I typically shove my hands under faucets in public restrooms – and feel a little “put out” when I actually have to turn on the water. And when I have to pull on paper towels instead of them just being spontaneously thrust at me, I mean … really!

   How many of you remember actually having to get up and touch the television to change the channels? And are there still cars out there where you have to put a key in the lock to open the door? When was the last time you opened the Garage Door manually?

   Yes, I am old enough to remember TV Dinners in foil trays that had to bake in the oven – for over an hour. I have never actually kneaded bread and baked it in the oven (and rarely even use my breadmaker anymore). And using a washboard and doing laundry by hand – forgetaboutit!

   When I was a kid, I loved the cartoon The Jetsons. Wireless phones. Cars that fly. A Robot Maid. And I distinctly remember a quote by the dad, George Jetson:  “These 3-day workweeks are killing me!” Because, of course, with all the technological advances, we could get the same amount of work done faster – which means fewer work hours, right? What??? That didn’t happen for you either?  We got gypped!

   When I started working at age 16, I was the Office Manager for a Real Estate Company. Basically I sat around and typed up contracts on a typewriter all day long. We didn’t have computers back then, and they had to be TYPED up every single time – which took an hour or two, every single time. And sometimes they had to be retyped – which took just as long. Now you can just spend 2-minutes making a simple edit – and click Print. Hours and hours saved. So what happened to the 24-hour workweek I’ve been expecting?

   We keep creating short cuts to save us time – yet we all keep ending up with less and less time. For heaven’s sake, I don’t even have to flush my own toilet anymore – where did that extra 5-seconds go?

   We all have the same 86,400 seconds in every single day. When we become more efficient, we don’t “bank” that time – we just spend it on something else. For me, it is now spent doing laps around the Training Room every 15 minutes.