Comments on: The Zen State of Slog Work http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/ Financial talk for the rest of us Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:14:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Brittany http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909463 Brittany Sat, 01 May 2010 04:01:26 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909463 I think an important point that you briefly touched on was that line: “Sometimes, I’ll dread doing those mindless tasks and I’ll find anything else to do. Other days…” Somedays, I can’t get a meaningful and stimulating piece of work done to save my life, but a couple hours of slog work to some music is really satisfying. It’s all a balance.

]]> By: Kerry D. http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909382 Kerry D. Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:18:03 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909382 And the value of doing slog work well–I once got a promotion in part due to my conscientious attitude about doing one of the most seemingly pointless tasks I’ve ever heard of! In a State office, the file folders had to be measured, and totalled–those in file drawers, on desks, carts to file, and in briefcases… As a new college graduate in a professional position, this was an odd request, but I did it. A couple years later when I got a promotion, this task was specifically mentioned.

]]> By: michael bash http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909373 michael bash Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:50:36 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909373 One of the most difficult jobs is to do a simple task hundreds of times and never make a mistake, never make a mistake because if this happens just once, the whole process is called into question and that may NOT happen. The process I’m thinking of is marking the multiple choice section on the extremely competitive entrance exam to a school, hundreds of A,B,C,D questions on hundreds of exam papers. One approach is to mark each paper twice, dozens of people for very long hours all bored to death and scared to death of making a mistake. The pressure doing the same simple task is intense.

]]> By: Cynthia http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909299 Cynthia Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:14:42 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909299 Inspring. Off to do the slog work, what better time then Friday afternoon??

]]> By: Eric http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909282 Eric Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:58:45 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909282 What if your place of employment rewards those who do not put effort into slog work by taking away their slog work and dumping it on the folks who actually DO their work?

]]> By: Harrken http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909268 Harrken Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:10:57 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909268 My job is usually very hectic with multiple projects going at the same time so I really enjoy those time when I get to slow down and do the slow, repeatative tasks, i.e. slog work. It gives me a chance to tune out the hussle and bussle of the office.

]]> By: Scott http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909266 Scott Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:02:31 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909266 Seems like you are equating zen with zoning out, but actually the two are really opposites. If you really focus on exactly what you are doing during your “slog” work, what your body is doing, how you are breathing, what your 5 senses are really picking up while you are doing it, that would be close doing samu, which is zen working practice. If you did that, and tried to be hyper-aware of what you are doing, rather than trying to zone out as fast as possible, you might find that boring, tedious work that you hate, something that is fascinating or even liberating.

Work is work. “Boring” or “Mindless” are states of mind. The two are not related.

]]> By: Adam http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909256 Adam Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:59:18 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909256 You know my situation far too well. Time to slog. Thanks, Trent.

]]> By: Renee http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909255 Renee Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:49:17 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909255 Isn’t it called paying your dues?

]]> By: AmyG http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909251 AmyG Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:40:16 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909251 @ littlepitcher. Absolutely dead on. I need a little slog work now and then to balance the higher stress, detail oriented, deadline-based stuff I do for a living. It provides balance both physically and mentally in my life, so I don’t mind slogging along from time to time.

]]> By: littlepitcher http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909240 littlepitcher Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:26:53 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909240 Slog work is good stuff to have if you have stress in your personal life. Turn on the iPod and zone out…and if it’s phone customer service, get your customer talking and learn something new.

]]> By: Sarah http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909234 Sarah Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:58:32 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909234 Thanks Trent, that is EXACTLY what I needed to hear this morning. Unfortunatley your website just happens to be one of my small distractions ;-) I’ll just have to put it off until later in my day.

Maybe you’re off having a baby?

]]> By: Susan http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909226 Susan Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:27:50 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909226 @almost there – thanks for passing on the info on A Message to Garcia – very good read. And so accurate to today even though it was written so long ago.

]]> By: lisa.ray http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909223 lisa.ray Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:18:09 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909223 2 Aug 2007 … Through the use of great comments, the Simple Dollar has an interactive feel. For example, sometimes the author of the site, Trent, …I worked call center job that obviously you couldn’t zone out on. It was a job that was done by computer but it was somehow cheaper to hire thousands of people to call the installers and customers back all the time then to hire trustworthy people in the first place.
*****************************************
lisa

]]> By: Diana http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909222 Diana Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:12:18 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909222 After 25 years of it you can go a tad mad, though

]]> By: katiebird http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909221 katiebird Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:11:02 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909221 This was helpful to me. I have a ton of “slog” work that I have been ignoring…because I hate it. I have piles of stuff to slog through – both at work and at home. When I make myself buckle down and go through it piece by piece with no emotion attached, I feel so much better, but I find it hard to do. But my tendency is to just avoid it and let it build up…and then work with frenzy to get through it. On other note, I find that so many folks are really critical in their comments on this blog. I find it weird. Why read the blog if everything that is said annoys you? It’s not like you had to pay for it….

]]> By: David/yourfinances101 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909218 David/yourfinances101 Fri, 30 Apr 2010 09:12:30 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909218 As far as I’m concerned, it is the efficiency with which we complete this “meathead” work that allows us the time or gives us the opportunity to work on the exciting stuff.

That is just a tenet of the workplace if you ask me.

]]> By: Richard | RichardShelmerdine.com http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909210 Richard | RichardShelmerdine.com Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:01:28 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909210 Great points but we should avoid the boring robotic work as much as possible. We are better than that as human beings!

]]> By: almost there http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909209 almost there Fri, 30 Apr 2010 06:12:17 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909209 This post reminded me of “A Message to Garcia” written in 1899 when relating to the slog work. All would be well to read it. I had to google it to reappreciate it.

]]> By: Angie http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/04/29/the-zen-state-of-slog-work/#comment-909204 Angie Fri, 30 Apr 2010 03:29:21 +0000 http://www.thesimpledollar.com/?p=5322#comment-909204 @sewingirl – You vacuum 3-4 hours a night? This is for work, not home, right?

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