Re: Isolation and the technical communicator

[Melonie Holliman <mrh -at- ABMDATA -dot- COM>]

Howdy,

I am very glad this topic came up. I wil be working at home again
soon. I find isolation almost necessary when I am into a project.
Yet I do get that "I have got to have human interaction NOW!"
I take a break, which usually ends up bugging another employee
into a conversation. They are really very patient and sympathetic
with me but it does bother my supervisors a bit. In fact, that may
be part of the reason they are going to let me work at home.

I worked at home before and the isolation did get to me a bit. My poor
husband would come home after talking all day to find me dying for
someone to talk to. This time I have a plan: I am going to make sure I
get human  interaction regularly so I do not feel isolated. STC meets
once a month, that's a start. I have friends and colleagues I can meet
for lunch. If I get totatlly nuts, I can call someone. I am involved in
a support group which meets regularly--I can make those meetings.
In other words, I can find my human interaction outside of my work.

I like the isolation when I work, yet I do need interaction regularly. I
used to think I needed interaction with the people I work with. This
is not true. I just need interaction.

Melonie Holliman
The Tech Writer
ABM Data Systems, Inc.
Austin, TX
mrh -at- abmdata -dot- com