How has technology changed your job?
I started on the old sit-up-and-beg typewriter you will have seen in the films of the 40’s and 50’s.
Then I moved on to the telex machine, starting with the T9 which didn’t show you what you were typing, you had to be that accurate. If the keys felt live you were sending, if they went dead you weren’t.
After that the T15, which actually had paper in it and worked like a typewriter, it also had a tape back up in the 5 dot Creed language, which was handy.
By the time I left work it was desktop word processors, and some computers. Laptops were edging in.
Obviously these things made my work easier at every stage, but I cannot say that computers have made things better.
For one thing I still relate better to words on paper. With a filing cabinet I could always open the right drawer and put my hand on the right file without thinking. Yet computer files have never resonated with me in the same way. I can’t explain that, especially as I’ve been using them for over 30 years. Odd isn’t it?
I guess some things relate to some people in better ways than others. A bit like your learning style, visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, and so on. When teachers were lecturing at school I found it easier to remember what they said if I shut my eyes or looked out of the window. I don’t know what that means but that’s the way I was.
I discovered something interesting today though, my inability to stick to a project unless I’m literally staring the deadline in the eye, is a form of ADHD. I did not know that. Apparently if I don’t have a goal and a focus I will find it very difficult to commit to anything.
I’ve often wondered why, if you put me in a team or give me a deadline, I function really well, but left alone I don’t function – there’s always tomorrow. I find it hard to keep my focus.
Wow, at my age I never asked myself why I was such a poor finisher. I just thought it was the chaos that was me. I didn’t realise that:
- Inability to focus
- Easily distracted from the task
- Loss of concentration
We’re not laziness or age – been like this all my life – they were to do with the way your mind works. It also doesn’t mean that it’s a malfunctioning mind, it just means that I have to set targets and stick with them. This blog will help with that.
Best love
Amorah – Deb
Always remember that not functioning ‘normally’ does not indicate a problem, it indicates that you need to find your own way to do something.
Deb Hawken - Amorah 