Who's Your Data?

The subject of work habits came up last week while we were taping a show on WFED Radio for airing in April. One of the panel members said that engineers east of the Mississippi were more productive than their western counterparts (people like me). I have been telecommuting since…a long time. Wine and cheese aside, my new math calculations tell me that I work on average about 40% more than you do. Let me show you the way…

6:30 a.m.
(Me) The alarm goes off. I walk down the hall, wake my youngest son, walk back across the hall and fire up the old HP Pavilion dv1000.
(You) No chance.

8:30 a.m.
(Me) I take my first break for coffee. Two minutes.
(You) Howard Stern talking smut on satellite radio in the car. You are still about 15 minutes from your old fashioned and very quaint office. If there is no traffic or late season storm.

12:30 p.m.
(Me) Lunch. Soup and a sandwich at the desk.
(You) Waiting in line at the sushi den.

3:00 p.m.
(Me) Break for a pleasant walk around the neighborhood or a brisk run around the park.
(You) The most productive part of your day. A grueling two hour stretch.

4:00 p.m.
(Me) Back at the desk. Work until dinner.

4:59 p.m.
(You) Outta there!

7:00 p.m.
(Me) Off to coach the kid’s basketball team.
(You) Second cocktail. Take out Chinese. Cursing the day.

10:00 p.m.
(Me) After watching Jack Bauer save the world I answer a few late night e-mails from other telecommuters and crawl in a warm bed with a good book.
(You) Passed out. Pissed off. Ready to do it all again tomorrow.

If Virginia is successful in pushing telecommuting they will have the nation’s most productive work force in ten years. Of course, by that time I will have been retired for five years. Now, as I write this it is getting late in the afternoon, I should go change out of my PJ’s. Enjoy your day.