At the end of the day, having the title of “web designer” means that my job performance will ultimately be judged based on how well things are, designed, on the web.
I could ramble off a list of 15 other recurring duties that interfere with this main, central duty. Blame 50% of it on lack of campus resources, and blame the rest of it on me.
It doesn’t take very long to establish a reputation as a problem solver, and before you know it, you’re not a web designer anymore. You’re a tech support specialist. You’re a videographer. You’re that guy who can update the old department website. You’re that guy who can make a powerpoint from a poorly conceived word document, who can craft an html e-newsletter, who can duplicate dvds, fix cellphones, and configure the elusive Outlook vacation message.
I like helping people. I like being useful. But I also like being a web designer. It’s what I’m good at, …what I hang my hat on, and my career. When I look back on my career, I look at things I’ve designed. Thats the measuring stick. Nothing else. If I look back a year from now and realize that I’ve spent another 12 months being a designer only 1/4 of the time, and our campus web presence still hasn’t made a sizable design improvement …I’ll be very disappointed. And it’ll be MY fault, not that lady’s fault from development who wants to get those videos put on dvd, and not that math professor’s fault who wants a slick html email for his audience of 12 subscribers. So…
This situation is manageable. I have the ability to prioritize, focus, and put down some of these hats I’ve been wearing, hopefully without upsetting a sizable number of people who’ve gotten used to me slipping them on and off everyday. Compromising. Giving in.
After uninstalling email and instant messenger, the next step involves shutting the office door and disconnecting the telephone. All I need is a browser, and photoshop.
Anybody had luck with those methods of isolation?
February 26th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Hey Matt. I have the same innate desire to help people all day. The results at the end of the day is everyone gets their stuff done except for me. I have gone to only checking e-mail at specified times and not opening IM until I have to. That is about as hard core as I can get…… I’m interested to see others strategies!
February 26th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Boy does this ring home. I definitely feel you. I love to help people too, but getting rid of someones virus or configuring their new printer is not my problem.
The ultimate dilemma is deciding to be the person that people can rely on to help fix a problem or the person who absolutely rocks at their job. Unfortunately in Higher Education there are a lot of people who quite honestly just couldn’t cut it in the business world. It turns us into troubleshooting heroes and stuns our progress in what we truly aspire to master, our job. For me it always comes down to the knowledge… so I fix or do something. Not because it’s my job, but because I want to know how to do it. If only the people with the problems would get this same itch?
In the mean time try to turn each challenge like this into a teaching opportunity. If I can teach this person how to solve their problem then next time they won’t need me. Unfortunately, this doesn’t address the individuals who don’t want to learn or do it they just want it done by someone else and that is where you have to be firm and draw the line.
February 26th, 2008 at 9:59 am
So true! My boss finally had to tell everyone that I was *not* a hardware technician, & that they would have to start calling the helpdesk for their issues (except, of course, when it was _her_ computer…)
February 26th, 2008 at 11:51 am
This is probably my biggest issue: trying (and succeeding too well) at being all things to all people. My boss was a little miffed last week when I told him the newsletter we started planning in December was just going to the printer, so I decided to look at what I’d been doing for two-and-a-half months or so. It was a nice long list of things that needed to be done, but they were all of that “give it to Mike because he can/should be able to do it” nature. The key for me, I think (that I obviously have to learn), is how to do what you suggest and shut away everything except what I _need_ to be doing, and not get caught up in the “putting out fires” (probably more accurately, the “I want them all to like me”) mode.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
DING! DING! DING!
This is so true. I have been put over our online store system, intranet portal, athletics posters, text messaging system, HTML emails, scholarship application/database, etc…
When is there time to be a designer? I feel like I have been comping the same site design for four years now to no avail.
February 26th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Imagine how boring life would be if we only designed Web sites all day. I dig the videographer hat. I claim ignorance with Powerpoint/Word (Is that available on a Mac? Oh, I guess it didn’t come with my machine). And referring people to the Help Desk actually keeps the students employed. Being helpful is good, be an enabler (the bad kind) is bad.
February 26th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
In my previous positions, this occurrence was all to common - and when I started in higher ed I quickly saw it repeating itself as I struggled to make an impression with my peers, faculty, and staff - gotta help and get your name out there.
A year later, I still have many day to day tasks that don’t directly meet my job description, but the University was always vague with the title “Internet Administrator” to begin with.
Instead, I house myself with our IT group, which serves as a filter for the technical issues, and work closely with my boss and team to prioritize the html newsletter, to grant project website redesign, to creating an InDesign mockup.
In the end, you still wear the hats - I prefer to put that hat rack on my door for all to see before they knock on it, so gives your peers some perspective and appreciation before they come through my door and gives your boss peace of mind on what your juggling.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Sometimes you do need to push those projects back, explain to people the work involved, or show them how they can do it themselves. (I love the html e-mail to 12 people - definitely been there.)
Sending people links to online directions for things is a godsend sometimes - they can refer back on how to do a mail merge in Word, for instance
Not everyone is understanding, of course, but some are. Choose your battles.
Other times you have to manage expectations. “I can get that done for you by Monday, lots of ‘gotta be done now’ projects in front of me, and this is how you could do it yourself and probably get it done today.”
In other words, try to cut the cord carefully before you become their lifeline.
On crazy busy days I don’t read blog posts, delete interesting but not critical e-mail newsletter and list postings…
February 27th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
It sounds like we all have the same job. I described mine today as “juggling cats.”
What I’ve been trying to do to reduce the number of “side projects that will just take a minute” is to prioritize them based on university priorities and the person who asks. As much as I want to please everyone, there just isn’t time. If the task is neither in support of a key priority nor requested by a VIP, then I forward it to the boss and ask whether we should fit it into our schedule or pass it along.
Of course helping campus Web maintainers is part of my job as well. Since I can’t meet with each person or fix all of their sites, I’ve taken to posting a lot of how-to advice on my blog. Now for recurring questions like “how do I upload a file to the server” or “how do I crop an image in Photoshop” I send them to the right entry on the blog. It’s much quicker to send someone instructions than to walk them through the process on the phone.
For other things, you know the techie fix-it things we’re all supposed to know because we work with computers, I try not to let on how much I know. If the copier is jammed I dare not unjam it until there are no witnesses around to see. The same goes for changing toner cartridges and anything involving cables. In my last position I got caught solving some problem with a printer and forever after all such problems became mine. It’s contrary to the desire to be helpful, but sometimes one just needs to draw the line.
Rob’s point about managing expectations is important too. I give people really long end dates because I know other things will come up and move the scheduled projects down the priority list. If you are clear about how much time it will take and let them know that unexpected priorities are likely to interfere with the schedule then they are usually pretty understanding.
That said, variety does keep the job interesting, but if I could remove the phone and ignore the email I’m pretty sure I’d have time to build some sites!
February 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Everyone of us in our office — news, PR, publications, printing — have the same problem. So do the folks in IT. It’s not just a problem, it’s pandemic! Sounds like some good solutions above. You need the tailor the solutions, including your own, to your unique situation.
I have found that when you’re a good guy, you’re soon taken for granted. What at first elicited heartfelt thank yous becomes simply expected.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I’ve just started a new job … and this post exactly describes what happened at my PREVIOUS job. One of my goals at the new place … “don’t volunteer for things”. Because you’re so right … at the end of the day … when you look back on what you’ve accomplished … all those little tasks you did for people quickly add up to taking up 90% of your time. And the important stuff … it almost becomes the “side project”. But it’s hard — we are, by nature — people pleasers. I enjoy helping people — and when i see something that needs ot be done, or someone having a problem — I naturally want to help. I’m having to suppress that part of my personality. And I’m noticing a difference in my productivity design and development-wise!!
August 15th, 2008 at 9:37 am
[...] few months back I posted an incoherent rambling string of thoughts called “other duties as assigned” that sparked an interesting [...]