Productivity Experiment: Day 1

Having just moved house with my mom, there is one slight problem. The place that my mom is moving into isn't complete (carpet isn't laid down, sinks aren't installed, etc.). That means that in the meantime, we are holed up in the Sandman Hotels. Without a constant Internet feed, I am typing this up on a public computer in a nearby library.

So, with deadlines looming for my new article for Fangoria magazine (due early in July), that gives me the excellent opportunity to try out an experiment in increased productivity.

Working at home, there are lots of distractions. A computer with ADSL allows me to look up information on upcoming movies and chat on MSN with my friends, which keeps me from completing my article. Six full boxes of comic books dating back to 1992 provides near limitless reading material, again, keeping me from completing my article. A home entertainment system with a sizeable library of DVDs and CDs provides hours upon hours of diversion, again, keeping me from completing my article.

So, with all of those things packed away in storage somewhere (and I have no idea where they are...I assume that it's in some sort of storage facility), I am essentially forced to focus on nothing but my article.

But there are severe pitfalls to these kind of working conditions. The lack of an Internet connection means that I can only submit my material by fax, or hopefully have a friend lend out his or her internet connection. As most of my friends are NOT closeby, this necessitates a 15 minute car ride. Also, I am supposed to have a PHONE interview with someone, which will be difficult as I would ideally like to have a speaker phone to make for easier recording of conversations.

Sure, I do have a working computer in the place I am staying, and I should be able to get a lot done. I have about 3 weeks, so I should be able to get this article completed with two or three weeks left in deadline, even before the new place is completed.

As I write this, it's Saturday afternoon and I have about an hour of transcriptions on tape, which has to manually typed out (I don't have any vocal recognition software). This is a severe pain in the ass as most people do not talk the way they write. Hence, speech will be constantly peppered with "uh", "um", "like", "so basically", and "y'know". While these words will not appear in the article, I am still required to transcribe every single word, including the "uh", "um", "like", "so basically" and "y'know."

Making it even more fun is the fact that it was a 3-way conference call between myself and a twin-brother screenwriting team. During the initial phone conversation, I could tell that one of the voices had much more static from the phone, but it's likely going to be much different on playback. There's a significant chance that I'm going to be attributing a few quotes to the wrong brother.

Next week, I am finally going to be getting on set to interview the cast and crew. This could be a potentially interesting visit, as I am scheduled for eye surgery the day before.

Sphere: Related Content