eight to five

Photo credit : here

I realised one thing about myself today.

I am easily bored of stuff-- like work.  Some people might see me as having the most stable career they could imagine, but 3 permanent jobs within 4 years, with multiple part-time activities, I admit -- I am easily bored.

I've been 'complimenting' about my part time position as RA last time due to the flexi hours and very minor job task, but then, when the job requires constant follow-up via the phone and data entry kind of thing, I got bored.  It is supposed to be an easy job, but somehow, it slows me down.  I should have mountains of energy due to this easy tasks, but then, I find myself to be constantly drowsy and yawning at the office albeit the minimal moving around workplace.

Damn -- I feel so unhealthy.  Like an old man.

Following up is boring, especially when you have to deal with sneaky snakes.  Though my telephone communication skills has improved, but you simply got tired after two months of following up the same thing.  There's 80% of success cases of follow-ups, but even the victory could not diss the 'boring' sensation which is engulfing me.

I used to feel bored with my previous job.  I even felt bored in certain occasion of my current job.  Now that I'm enjoying the full time study leave duration, it's like breaking free from the bloody hours at the office.

I am definitely against the 8-5 working hours.  I don't see any point of restricting an individual at the office within the constricted time frame -- especially when the job task is very minimal.  These people will tend to fill the leftover hours at the office by facebook-ing or accessing unnecessary websites.  Unless they are in the service-based occupation, then there's no point to waste the office's electricity bill.

I am also easily distracted -- and very hard to focus on one thing -- which is not good for my soon-to-be lecturing career.  The difference between a teacher and a lecturer is the scope of job.  Lecturer requires you to be very active with research activity, and thus, to be very focused with the project, and thus, to be very committed in writing/publishing papers.  With this current habit, I can't focus to that extent.

I had a chat last week with the consultant of the workshop I'm assisting, and he mentioned something about 'mind-focusing' thing.  Multi-tasking is not the 'in' thing right now.  Study shows that people became more efficient if they are able to focus into the thing that they need to do - one by one - instead of trying to multi-task everything.

I agree on his point - based on my own personal habit.

Plan : to study for the following chapter of advanced materials class in one day.
Actual : received last minute task from the boss, executed the task after blog-hopping and fb-ing, and opened the related files in between leisure hours, completed the task, read the reference book of the intended subject to study, back to FB, and RE-READing the same lines because I forgot the things I've read just now, and ended up not having any output as per the intended plan.

Got back home, trying to read in front of TV to no success.  Hey, TV is the ultimate distraction.

I've been reading Farish A. Noor's book titled 'Quran & Cricket'.  The thing is, his writing is actually excerpt from his travelling-journal - and it is freaking amazing to read it in the sense that he repeatedly mention that every encounter to a community is part of his research job.  I love the part where he says 'i happen to be in the academic line by accident'.  For someone who happens to be an academician by accident, he definitely has an outstanding profile!  Everytime I read his book, I feel tempted to write.  But when I have the leisure
to write, I don't really have the idea of what to write.

Heck, I am even having trouble trying to choose the title for my final semester project.

Blah -- just some rantings of middle-age-crisis i'm facing.  Hopefully it passes by soon.  I have 500 sticks of dripping marshmallow lollipop to be prepared -- and that one I tell you, is the only thing I don't feel bored at.  And I feel like baking cookies for the class this weekend...