TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
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> Here is a list long of Friday TECHWHRL questions. I hope they spur some
> input.
>
> 1. What newsletters do you subscribe to (technical, language-related,
> misc.)?
If you mean periodicals and not online sources, I am a member of the STC, so I get the Intercom on a monthly basis, the STC Journal quarterly, and a monthly newsletter from the Orlando Chapter (online PDF distribution). I don't currently get any other work-related journals or newsletters, but I may start to in the summer when I begin taking classes for an M.A. degree.
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> 2. What sites do you bookmark and access regularly?
>
> 3. What diversions do you subscribe to or regularly access? How much
> time a day do you feel is justified in accessing/reading these kinds of
> things? (A former team leader suggested 5 minutes for every hour.)
TECHWR-L -- I classify it as a "diversion" because 90% of the posts are not immediately relevant. I spend about 30 minutes in the morning (starting around 7:15am) reading overnight and older posts; then a couple of times a day I skim through the accumulated posts. I delete most, archive a fraction for future / ongoing reference, and respond to even fewer. In all, I would say I spend about an hour on this.
Pandora Internet Radio (www.pandora.com) I have a battery of about 20 stations I've created, and I usually set one in the morning when I log on and change the station after lunch to something else. Total time is about 1 minute, though the music plays in the background all day (speakers or headphones if the area gets really noisy).
At lunch time I usually will spend 15 - 30 minutes working the puzzle on my NYT 365-day Crossword Puzzle calendar and post the finished puzzle on my corkboard in my cube. Sometimes I will work on older puzzles when I'm vexed with trying to work out a solution to a documentation issue or my eyes just get tired of focusing on the screen. Maybe I'll spend a total of 45 minutes a day on this, including the time during lunch.
I'm taking a ballroom dancing class, so I sometimes practice steps in my cube when I need to stretch my legs--maybe 10 minutes a day.
I don't think I spend an excessive amount of time on these items.
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> 4. And perhaps to put everything in proportion, how many hours a week were
> you hired to work and do you actually work?
I am salaried--so I'm hired to do 40 hours of work. However, I'm usually in the office 45 - 50 hours on a normal week--significantly more when crunch time comes on a big project.
>
> Thanks for sharing and TGIF,
Thanks for asking.
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