Today I spent my work hours getting very little done. I attended our weekly status meeting, then I solved one bug, then I goofed off for a 2-3 hours, partly because I was delaying writing a new architecture document, which I completed by 01:30 that night.

There are a great many days when I'm not 100% on the ball and doing my job. I spend a lot of time reading, both technical books, game books, and recreational books. I spend a lot of time helping other people, which means I'm not getting my job done. And I spend time on the Internet or playing games.

In my life, there are many priorities and things that I need to do outside of work. And I don't have the time to do it outside of work. I'm at work 8-10 hours a day, commuting 2 hours a day, sleeping 8-10 hours a day. Which leaves precious little time to do personal upkeep and catch up on my campaign or reading.

So I do this at work. I'll work for a while, then I'll read for a while (2-3 different books/magazines), then work some more, then goof off some. Sometimes I do more work and many times I do less work. Depends on my deadlines. I do tend to meet my deadlines, although I've missed them too.

What kind of work ethic is that? I'm usually going full out only 2 hours a day. The software industry (and computer industry in general) demands certain things and overlooks others. Taking an hour off to play a video game is usually ok with most companies.

In return, you're asked to work 12-14 hour days, 60+ hour weeks when it comes time to meet a deadline. You're also expected to self improve, attend classes, and otherwise keep your technical knowledge up-to-date. Frankly, I don't like attending classes, for they are boring and I invariable feel as if I could have read a book and gotten the same information. And I do read a lot of technical books, magazines, manuals and such. That's how I keep my knowledge base current and I feel that's all I need.

One thing I don't do is request reimbursement for my purchases. I've bought several hundred dollars worth of technical books, taken people out to dinner and such. And I've only had to turn in an expense report once (for a week-long conference that I couldn't afford by myself). I feel that I get paid enough to be self-sufficient in this way. Kind of crazy maybe, but that's the way I am.

I've also spent a good $4000 to get a PowerBook and software to interoperate with my company network. This is a purchase that was not necessary, although I was really hating using a Windows NT workstation. And I could have expensed this, but since it was not a necessary expense in my mind I just couldn't do it.

So am I an asset to my company or a drain? I think I'm an asset, not an extremely valuable asset. But I do a good job, I think. I contribute positively to the company. I'm not a senior developer or anything that grandiose. I make mistakes and I may not have the ideal work ethic, but I try to be loyal and do my job well, when I do do it.