mindgraffiti

I feel like an uninspired SOB. I can’t tell you the last time I worked on something fun, new or intriguing. I have been plodding away at updates and cleaning up web sites, day after day, for so long I can’t remember the last intellectually stimulating project I had.

Most of the time, I can look at my stats and it’s enough to motivate me back to work. I have deleted x number of files from website ABC or migrated n number of sites from GoLive to Dreamweaver. I have rebuilt x number of sites from tables into css-based layouts. Much of this goes unnoticed by our customers, since it’s code improvements (not design improvements).

In the past, there were a number of small projects that were interesting enough to engage me and break me out of the routine. I experienced just enough variety in work so that I would be capable of returning to the mundane and unsexy project of cleaning up the sites we have. The trouble is, I haven’t had a break from the boring work and the end is nowhere in sight.

Covering the National Junior Angus Show simply made me more morose. I thought it would be a break from the routine. I was wrong. I observed a mass of disorganized activity on behalf of the Association and the Journal’s crew. Perhaps it’s just a part of my nature, but I can’t help it: I refuse to create something (a solution, like software or a website, etc.) if the basic approach to solving the problem is wrong to begin with. Software cannot solve the problem, cannot save the day, if the basic solution is doomed to begin with! Am I the only one who sees this? Is it because I am an outsider, looking in?

Take for example, the check-in process. A Junior member wants to check-in a single animal they wish to show. That Junior member must visit three different locations to check in. Let’s forget for a moment that their entry form was filled out and submitted months ago. Let’s forget that the information is plugged into a computer. They have to verify and resubmit information on paper. WTF?! That was just the beginning. I don’t have time to give a detailed account, but I’m sure you get the impression.

I realize that putting on a show is a complex affair. I am not looking to ‘Save the [Angus] World,’ but a semblance of sanity in their processes would be reassuring. Are all organizations this big of a joke when it comes to actually being organized?

Morale is low, partly exacerbated by a lack of professionalism by my boss. The rest is attributed to the usual: upper management has no idea what we do back here. Usually, this is a good thing; right now, it’s a slap in the face. Many red flags have been set off recently. Before this, everyone in our department was making every effort to go above and beyond expectations and perform at the highest level. Now, no one is motivated that much any more. The intrinsic rewards have been removed. Should I just to the minimum required, so I have more free time for professional development (like learning JavaScript and PHP)?

What good is it, to clean up these sites, to make things better, to put forward a high level of performance, if no one recognizes the effort?

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