Re: Burnout?

[John Posada <jposada01 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

> So what's the problem? I think I'm getting burned out. Lately, the
> thought 
> of going in and sitting in front of the computer all day writing
> documents 
> that nobody is going to read is making it almost impossible to get
> out of 
> bed. I get to work and I find myself watching the clock waiting for
> the day to be over.

You think we get paid well because it is fun?

Seriously...some people will criticize us for getting paid over 100k
for "just writing". We don't ask for that money because it is "fun",
though "most times", i do have fun at mine...it is because it is
sometimes dull, dreary, repetitive work. I just spent over 14 hours
(2 days) entering two index elements for 225 help topics. Sure...I
was gritting my teeth...but I was also on the phone with a travel
agent 30 minutes of that 2 days scheduling my next 10 day vacation in
April to Jamaica.

> 
> To those of you who are long-time technical writers, is this
> common? Is it a passing phase or did I pick the wrong profession?

If you cannot figure out a way to break the feeling, yes, you did
pick the wrong one. OTOH, you might spend some time figuring out a
way around it. The way I do it (besides 2 vacations per year) is to
work as a contractor and change jobs every 6-9 months, making sure
that what I'll BE doing is different than what I WAS doing. Keeps it
fresh and just about when I'm getting bored, I'm changing jobs.


=====
John Posada, Senior Technical Writer
"How to be happy in life: Never impose your beliefs
on anyone else and never fry bacon in the nude."
 -- Anon
mailto:john -at- tdandw -dot- com, 732-259-2874

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