Quiet Time

First endurance race I ever drove in was also the first time I'd ever used a radio system--one that connects the driver with the crew. Critical for endurance racing--you have to be able to tell the driver when to come in for tires, gas, etc. In this race I was on an unknown track in an unknown car in truly appalling conditions--all my focus was needed to keep on the track and not hit anybody. But the crew chief felt the need to be a cheerleader, so he kept up a constant stream of talk in my earpiece. "Pass that car! Get after him! Gun it!" stuff like that. It was a horrid performance on my part (I was way too much of a rookie for that race) but his diatribes in my ear certainly didn't help. (Later when I ran a radio in my own car I made dire threats against anyone who dared tell me anything that wasn't on the order of "John, there are flames coming from the back of your car. Suggest you pit soon.")

This all came up in my memory because I'm sitting here in the office all alone and it's amazing how much I can get done without all the interruptions from clients, staff, phone, email, etc. Today is Quiet Time--at least for a little while.

When I was at Microsoft in the 80s and 90s lots of developers didn't come in until late in the day and then worked until late at night. You didn't think twice about it, just worked around it ("Andy doens't get here before 2, so that project review meeting will have to be rescheduled.") It wasn't so much that they weren't morning people, although this stereotype of the nerd is probably true. Rather, it was that they were engaged in work that--like driving a race car--required an enormous amount of focus. Distractions were death to the work they needed to do. They found that working mostly at night eliminated most of the distractions.

Today we have more opportunities for distraction than back then. My IM window just honked at me with a message from someone. The phone is sitting here, ready to ring (I have a new set and haven't figured out where the Do Not Disturb key is yet--who's got time anymore to read manuals?). I have to force myself NOT to check email every three minutes. It takes work to stay focused, but the rewards are worth it. Perhaps that's why I find myself looking forward to weekends--when I'm in the office on Saturday or Sunday (which is frequently) most of those distractions just seem to vanish and I can get Real Work Done.

Even writing this blog was a distraction--now I have to get back in the metaphorical driver's seat, go out on the track, and get focused on good lap times. See you.