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So this is all well and good in Pleasantville, but for the most part, people who take work home don't have a choice but to get it done. In addition, the article reads as if life consists only of work and being home. What about the 902 other things people have to do with their time, like raise a family, run errands, etc. I appreciate the idea of making a commute "wind down time," but it's harder to relax when you have do 5 things on your way home. To me the thought is nice, but it's too idealistic to be practical.
Ideally wouldn’t it be nice if we could all live that way? I mean, I’m sure everyone is fully capable of exercising one or two of the points made everyday, but what I think is even more important is to recognize the need for improvement in some of the areas…i.e keep your promises, be firm, etc. perhaps it would be more constructive to work on practicing them with out any specific goal, rather than beating yourself up about the fact that you cant be perfect.
It's interesting to look at these tactics in regards to the theatre/entertainment industry. It would be great if at 10:30 we could all go home, but then what happens when something isn't done and is left till the next day when the show opens and can't get finished in time? That is not a deadline that can be pushed back. What should have been mentioned in this article is managing your time and optimizing efficiency in the work place. The amount of time people spend constantly checking their email or surfing the internet takes away from valuable time that could be spent getting more of that work done so you don't have to leave it till tomorrow or risk taking it home.
I agree with the overarching point in this article, is that home time and work time need to be separated. This can be very difficult, especially for people in stressful jobs with deadlines such as theatre. However looking at this issue with a personal spin, theatre is unique in that in many cases you cannot bring a unit home from the shop, nor can you finish cueing the show from your living room (yes in this instance we are denying the existence of offline editors). although this often results in longer hours at work, it does allow work to be seperated from the time spent at home. This would be difficult for someone say an editor, who could review proofs from their living room. Because of the physical limitation of bringing theatre work home it becomes more important that efforts are made to think about something else at home, and do other things to relax, even though there may still be lots left unfinished back at work, thinking about it will just cause stress during relaxation time.
If the entertainment industry was a typical nine to five career, this would be a very applicable strategy to cooling off. As it is though, I don't think we can just leave it all behind for an entire night.If you can, a single hour does miracles to unwind, and it still leaves plenty of time to do work related things.
It's interesting how many of the tips presented suggested taking time to unwind while traveling between work and home. I don't know about anyone else, but I find it difficult to relax in intense rush hour traffic or in the hustle bustle of public transportation. The article has a very positive outlook on how to mellow out, but I think relaxation techniques tend to be tailored more to the individual rather than something you can generalize for all people.
"wouldn't it be nice" "pleasantville" "in other industries" Etc... Missing the point. It's about setting boundaries. Thought it may not be 100% relevant to a school experience, the point is that in a creative field your work will always be overwhelming. You have to come up with a structure that isn't.
6 comments:
So this is all well and good in Pleasantville, but for the most part, people who take work home don't have a choice but to get it done. In addition, the article reads as if life consists only of work and being home. What about the 902 other things people have to do with their time, like raise a family, run errands, etc. I appreciate the idea of making a commute "wind down time," but it's harder to relax when you have do 5 things on your way home. To me the thought is nice, but it's too idealistic to be practical.
Ideally wouldn’t it be nice if we could all live that way? I mean, I’m sure everyone is fully capable of exercising one or two of the points made everyday, but what I think is even more important is to recognize the need for improvement in some of the areas…i.e keep your promises, be firm, etc. perhaps it would be more constructive to work on practicing them with out any specific goal, rather than beating yourself up about the fact that you cant be perfect.
It's interesting to look at these tactics in regards to the theatre/entertainment industry. It would be great if at 10:30 we could all go home, but then what happens when something isn't done and is left till the next day when the show opens and can't get finished in time? That is not a deadline that can be pushed back. What should have been mentioned in this article is managing your time and optimizing efficiency in the work place. The amount of time people spend constantly checking their email or surfing the internet takes away from valuable time that could be spent getting more of that work done so you don't have to leave it till tomorrow or risk taking it home.
I agree with the overarching point in this article, is that home time and work time need to be separated. This can be very difficult, especially for people in stressful jobs with deadlines such as theatre. However looking at this issue with a personal spin, theatre is unique in that in many cases you cannot bring a unit home from the shop, nor can you finish cueing the show from your living room (yes in this instance we are denying the existence of offline editors). although this often results in longer hours at work, it does allow work to be seperated from the time spent at home. This would be difficult for someone say an editor, who could review proofs from their living room. Because of the physical limitation of bringing theatre work home it becomes more important that efforts are made to think about something else at home, and do other things to relax, even though there may still be lots left unfinished back at work, thinking about it will just cause stress during relaxation time.
If the entertainment industry was a typical nine to five career, this would be a very applicable strategy to cooling off. As it is though, I don't think we can just leave it all behind for an entire night.If you can, a single hour does miracles to unwind, and it still leaves plenty of time to do work related things.
It's interesting how many of the tips presented suggested taking time to unwind while traveling between work and home. I don't know about anyone else, but I find it difficult to relax in intense rush hour traffic or in the hustle bustle of public transportation. The article has a very positive outlook on how to mellow out, but I think relaxation techniques tend to be tailored more to the individual rather than something you can generalize for all people.
"wouldn't it be nice" "pleasantville" "in other industries" Etc... Missing the point. It's about setting boundaries. Thought it may not be 100% relevant to a school experience, the point is that in a creative field your work will always be overwhelming. You have to come up with a structure that isn't.
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