Re: boredom vs.burnout

Subject: Re: boredom vs.burnout
From: "Karen E. Black" <kblack_text -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 08:26:17 -0400


Oh, yes. I went from a full-time, long-term job (lone writer or one co-worker) to a 9-month contract on a big doc team to another full-time job with a big doc team. I was fired there because, with almost nothing productive to do at work, I surfed the 'net half the time. I spent every evening on my way home talking myself up, and had myself more than half-convinced I was burning out after 12 years. Naw -- just bored out of my skull. I could weep when I think of it now.

I must have the attention span of a gnat; I love multiple tasks, being able to shift quickly from one mode to another. This week I'm moving from one short training module to another <stitch - for newly hired CSRs>, as fast as I can crank them out, edited a service level agreement for my VP-CIO, re-wrote a hiring announcement for my director, and edited and reformatted a technology white paper for Sales. I have a meeting to review functional requirements, and we may go out for lunch on Friday. I also have my work cut out for me for the next 5 weeks (new training doc, technical doc, reporting doc). This is not to say that by Christmas I will not be surfing the 'net half the time again, but at this job I can put it on my time sheet as research or internal education.

Some writers like, and thrive in, a team environment, the stability of writing up a single product or system, or a steady pace with little pressure. Others like the boiling-point deadline stuff, ever-new technology demands, and some even like time or staff management and prioritizing tasks. The feeling of burnout might be a symptom of boredom, or it may indicate a need for a change in lifestyle or jobstyle.

My "therapy" was the choice, among several job offers, of the one that offered the most variety. It HAS taken a while, but I'm doing the work I really like to do, and I am finally beginning to feel appreciated. Yippee ki ay.


From: Matthew Donovan <mdonovan -at- stavanger -dot- oilfield -dot- slb -dot- com>
Very interesting point from Anita Lewis:

In my previous position as a lone tech writer, I started to experience the burnout (more accurately, boredom).

I had burnout, and I was far from bored in that job... it was the opposite.

Can TW's get boredom that implodes into burnout?


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