Andrew Schwartz—Information Adept

Making the complex simple

I must admit...

First and foremost, I have to say that I am a rather "old-fashioned" person. What does this mean? Well, to me it means:

• I am not au courant with all the latest trends in music, television or mass media, including so-called "social" media. At one time, I spent much too many hours playing games and socializing on FaceBook, and after a couple of years doing that, I decided that it was more of a time-waster than anything else.
• I take a great deal of pride in the work I do for my "employers," whoever they may be. I am meticulous, sometimes moreso than is strictly necessary, as I will spend what some may consider more time than needed fixing little details.
• I try my best to be nice to everyone.

OCD or Magnificent Obsession?

One of my greatest faults, I believe, is that I obsess over details. Sometimes that means that I go back over my work too many times, making sure that my meaning is clear, that all my eyes are crossed and my tees... Well I think you understand.

I am not perfect—I am human, after all—and I certainly have made mistakes, and will likely continue to do so, in my imperfect way. I think I make up for this failing by being careful when I first create my documents (or whatever), and then super-critical when I do my own reviews. It helps to have other eyes look at my work, for sure.

So, I do the best I can to do my best, given whatever circumstances under which I have to work. Sometimes this means being quick, if under a deadline, and I will often spend extra time—on my own nickel, as it were—to get things done under pressure. Other times, it simply means that I may exasperate whoever I report to by spending more time than I might to ensure accuracy.

I also have a tendency to want to use the right word for the sense I want to convey. Since I have an abhorrence for using the same word twice in the same sentence or paragraph, I often go to the thesaurus to gain insight and finer shades of meaning in my writing. This is my way of being a creative, while remaining a technical, writer.

Is this OCD? I don't think so, but that's only my opinion. Is it a bad way to do things? I don't think so, either. Is it worth the effort? Absolutely, IMNSHO.

 

 

 

If you've gotten this far, you may be interested in reading my personal blog, for more insights, excuses and explanations of who I am and how I came to be me.