Tuesday, June 29, 2010

I understand better how Software Engineers organize their work now

I returned Sunday from 4 days of immersion into quilting at VQF (google it) and a mind full of ideas for my next quilts.  Some many ideas, so little free time and a fabric stash that will long outlive me.  BTW, if you want me to leave my fabric/yarn stash to you when I die, drop me a line.

Last night, after work and golf, I have great intentions to sit down at my machine and finish one of the projects from one of the 3 classes I took at VQF.  I looked at the 5 unfinished projects and was paralyzed.  Which one could I put 15 minutes into and move along?  Was the right thread in the machine for any of them? Are there any deliverables that I have for any of them?

A concept that we have talked a lot about at work is how much time software engineers spend actually coding.  Their ideal span of time for coding is 4 hour blocks, and our management schedule is 1 hour meetings.  So, if they get in to work at 9am, and see a 10am meeting, they are reluctant to get started because it might not be the right block of time. 

That is how I felt last night.  I needed at least an hour to get to work on something, and being the lark that I am 10pm at night is not the right hour to sit down with a sharp rotary cutter and scissors and a sharp machine needle.  Accidents happen when you are tired around sharp instruments.  SO, I did nothing on the projects and tried to organize my fabric stash so that when I am ready, I can grab the right fabric. 

Maybe tonight I can find a 1 hour block of time.  I entertained getting up at 5am to put an hour in this morning, and actually almost did get up and do that.  My excitement for finishing those projects and starting up some new ones might actually get me up at 5am one of these mornings.  For now, I am admiring my unfinished projects, and planning my new ones and strategizing to find 1 hour blocks to sew.

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