Is this a good example of Technical Writing? If there are no written instructions, just the chart and the key, could you complete the defined task?Motivation:
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them."
~Michael Jordan
~Michael Jordan
Diary:
Something calms me down when I listen to the Minnesota Twins on the radio. I can do menial tasks with ease, as long as the sounds of baseball are going on in the background. I love that I can hear the crowd, sounds of balls and bats striking and even the random "lemonaaaaaade" from a vendor. I need this diversion today. I need to clean house, wash clothes and scrape the grime off of the counters. I love baseball. did I say that already?
My current favorite player is Pat Neshek. After reading this Star Tribune article, I became very excited about rooting for this unconventional pitcher. In that article, Neshek says:
"You have to make [life changes]," said Neshek, a former Park Center High School standout.
He posted a 4.82 ERA after the All-Star break and was shut down after Sept. 16 because of weakness and fatigue in his right shoulder.
He looked at the big picture and realized that -- in addition to inconsistent conditioning -- his diet was poor.
Neshek is trying to eat as a vegan, cutting back on meats and making more healthy choices with his other foods. His wife is a big supporter and good influence on him, and his changes have already started to make a difference in his cholesterol level, weight, and energy.
He is a great example of using Kaizen in his career. He is making little changes that at first don't seem to be connected to baseball, but the results of the changes are huge. I am very happy about Neshek, and hope he becomes a role model for the other players in the Twins organization. If they feel better and more healthy, maybe they can use that to get more wins. Wins are good.
I had a good conversation with my dad the other day, and I had suggested that I was going to start a "list of rejections" in my dating life. He thought this was not a very "Chazz Vader , Renaissance Man" sort of list, and thought I should reverse the list, instead of making it the list of rejections, make it a list of small successes. I liked this suggestion very much and thought about how to format this "courage list." It occurred to me, however, that in reality, it only takes 1 success, then you sort of stop. You could have a thousand rejections, but once you have the 1 acceptance, doesn't it make all of the failures just kind of fade away? The list becomes rather useless, except for a self-demoralizing effort, which could be fun in it's own way, but in the end is not a very Kaizen sort of activity. So, I decided not to start a rejection list, and focus on the concept of constant improvement. There will be other ways, I am sure, to completely humiliate myself, so this list can pass. I am somewhat relieved by this decision, as such a list could have been a major project to maintain.... ("a joke, son" - Foghorn Leghorn.)
SIMPLE IS NOT EASY
When ideas fail, words come in very handy
Holy moley, this blog entry has taken weeks to finish - sorry for the delay. I am going to try and pound this out in the next 30 minutes, just so I can move on. More about this in the next blog entry....
I wanted to write a little bit about my work. Recently I was asked to serve on the board for the Society of Technical Communication in the Twin-Cities. This is a pretty big deal, and I am honored that I was selected to serve for this group. This was the 2nd feather in my cap this month, as I was also selected as "Member of the Month" at my fitness club. I still am not sure how I was chosen to receive this award (which was a free one-on-one fitness instruction), however I did get the opportunity to answer some great questions about why I am interested in improving my health, and share some of my goals with the other fitness center members. One of the things I discussed in my answers was the use of Kaizen in my fitness routine.
Kaizen also is part of my work as a Technical Writer. Why writing is a Kaizen-type activity? Well, maybe the best part of my job is "Editing" work of myself and of others. I am asked to review and fine-tune many different written communications going out from my current employer, and it is of many varied subject matter and tone. I am new to the company, so I am trying to find the right "voice" - a little of my voice, a little of the corporate language, and a little traditional style that is just "the way" that it needs to be done.
I enjoy this editing process, and while I do on occasion get ripped to high heaven with complaints and criticism, I try to not take it personally. If I have done a poor job on a project, i am personally frustrated with myself, but I realize that this is part of a "process" that can be improved. If you believe that Kaizen allows us to make constant improvement, we can attempt to be our best, while still understanding that we are human and imperfect beings.
One of the best things I have done at the Society of Technical Communication (STC) was to be a judge for a competition. Having to look at what is good and bad about other writer's content helps me to think about what is wrong or could be improved with my writing..
What is the hardest thing about writing? Organization! For me, at least, knowing what goes into the document, in what order, and in what flow is the first piece to master. Having lots of information is good, but if it isn't in the right context, it is unreadable and then unusable.
Technical Communication requires putting the right order to things, organizing things in the right way, and giving just the right amount of information to the reader. Enough information that the reader has all the information they need to actually complete the task, but not so much information so that it takes a bulldozer to sort through the words on the page.
This blog is not a great example of Technical Writing, as I don't always have a structure when I right, it is more just a "dump" of thoughts, information, and assorted musings. On the other hand, I am very interested in how to best use blogs, wikis, audio and video to best illustrate technical concepts. I think sometimes illustrations and cartoons could be great ways of communicating technical steps without having to use a lot of words. When traveling for instance, you may not understand the language, but a sign of caution or yield is usually evident and distinguishable. Another good example of Technical Communication is this little girl explaining Star Wars. She is accurate, yes? She didn't give us ALL the information, but what she did say was of interest, factual, and had a specific perspective. I liked it. I am going to try to experiment in the future with different ways of communicating ideas in a way that may seem outside the box, but completes the intended objective in a simple way.
One part of this blog that is important to me is that I write what I have a passion for - and sometimes it is just me - and my thoughts. It may be uninteresting to anyone, but it is what I write about best, so I will continue to do so. It makes me happy, and sometimes this is the most important thing to do.
I had a great conversation with my friend Kaptain Karl last night. I was upset that this article has taken so long to finish and is somewhat scattered. He responded that "One day in college, I was having problems finishing an essay for one of my writing courses, and the instructor asked me what was wrong. I indicated I was having problems writing the ending! The instructors response was "Maybe it is done."" That was a big revelation to Karl, and a great reminder to me. Perhaps you don't need a grand conclusion to a story, or some closure to an article. Maybe something is just finished when you finally stop typing.
more later,
Chazz
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