Stuff that has transformed your workload

[Tradd]

I’m in international shipping. Mine are several online payment services for airlines, cargo handlers, freight warehouses, etc. We used to have to cut checks, get them signed, and send out via UPS. Cost was $15-18 for one overnight pouch. The online services charge $5-10 for each payment. Plus it’s often same day release. Awesome! So much more efficient as well as being less expensive.

[catherine]

I remember working with colleagues, trying to get out bound proposals and presentations in time for the final FedEx pick-up. While a couple of us raced to get it done, we would assign someone to stand guard at the FedEx box and to not let the guy go without getting the package.

I remember real paper memos, that I would hand-walk around the office and deposit in people's in-baskets.

I remember when people couldn't reach you if you weren't near your office landline.

I remember overhead projectors and having those plastic things gum up the copier.

I remember looking up drug information in huge volumes of the PDR (Physician's Desk Reference).

I remember being the one to type letters. None of the managers could type. I remember training people on the new "word processors"

I remember working at NBC and there was one fax machine--called a "dex machine" (haha--auto-correct kept changing it to "sex machine"). We had to ask the news department if we could use it, if we had something SO important it had to be faxed.

I remember at NBC when the HUGE computer mainframe was installed and we were trained to enter data, we secretaries boldly asked our boss for a raise, which she politely turned down.

I remember publishing newsletters on 256KB Mac SEs, using PageMaker.

I'm starting to feel old. :)

[Gardnr]

I'm a Registered Nurse. No change since 1980 has lightened the workload. It's all been additive.

[Yppej]

Computers. No more using correcting tape or retyping, just backspace. No carriage return at the end of each line.

[LDAHL]

When I was a kid reading Heinlein and Asimov and Clarke, I figured we’d have flying cars, jet packs and cities on the moon by now. But I did replace my slide rule, mechanical typewriter and road atlas, so that’s something.

[iris lilies]

I am sitting on the couch today reading and correcting a student’s work for flower show training. If we didn’t have the Internet, I would be behaving like Catherine suggested —-looking for paper copies to come in the mail, reading and correcting in print form, probably using red pen, sending them back to the student With revisions via post office.


So turnaround times are much shorter because we can send communications instantaneously.


It is interesting to me that the system National Garden Club has set up for this process – it is still a paper based system. I don’t think that’s wrong necessarily – the final products of everything must be produced in paper and go to the graders and final authorities in paper form. As the keeper of state records I am keeping paper forms. That means that if I drop dead my spouse can hand a box of records to the next garden club lady.

[JaneV2.0]

Certainly computerization transformed nearly everything, but retirement transformed my workload.

[Tradd]

Actually I was thinking of more RECENT things. We’ve only had the online payment services available for maybe 18 months.

[oldhat]

Anyone who works in any aspect of publishing has seen huge changes in technology that have resulted in huge gains in productivity.

The worth of what we produce is a separate question:

“We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate... We are eager to tunnel under the Atlantic and bring the old world some weeks nearer to the new; but perchance the first news that will leak through into the broad flapping American ear will be that Princess Adelaide has the whooping cough.” --Henry Thoreau

[Tammy]

Online bill payment has caused my checkbook to be continually balanced. No more monthly balancing.

[JaneV2.0]

I remember checkbook balancing; I even did it once. I never saw the need, as long as my balance was roughly in the ballpark and I had a surplus. I certainly didn't inherit the CPA genes.

[Zoe Girl]

Recently, such as in the last month, we had our parent registration system go online!! Oh I love it. It wasnt easy because of the way our parents have choice in scheduling care, that seems like it was new for the company, but it is so awesome. Through the summer we were still using a paper attendance book and a lot of highlighters to keep track of kids. Now they can schedule online, pay bills, print tax statements, everything I used to do for them.

The other awesome thing has been that parents cant complete registration with any blank spaces. So that means less proof reading for me, that was a lot of time with 135 kids. I can print a list of kids with medical needs easily, a list of who uses our sunscreen or can have their picture shared, etc. Ahhhhhh, more time to spend on programming

[Tradd]

ZG, that sounds fab!

[beckyliz]

Google

[mschrisgo2]

Zoe Girl, that is an awesome improvement!