Thursday 18 November 2010

Do you call it work?


I work for an IT firm as a programmer and most of you are aware that one needs to continuously document the code that one writes. Documentation is one of the darkest bits that come as part of the bundle when you are a coder. I'm doing documentation now, filling up data into a text editor and the whole world looks dipped in Grey. You ought to do it, whether you like it or not and no points for guessing this one, I am completely not fond of doing documentation!

The likes and dislikes of any individual are mainly based on his thoughts and it is very strange to understand how the human mind differentiates one thought from another. We tend to do those things better which we enjoy or take pleasure in doing. For instance, is the difference between work and play. Work is something that's monotonous and dis-interesting (sorry workaholic folks!) whereas play is fun. More so because, work is what you are forced to do while play is what you choose to do. Well then very obviously, one would choose to be in a state of play since it is exciting and enjoyable even if sometimes, physically more strenuous or harder than work. A classic example is very much what I am doing right now, blogging. I am actually doing something very much similar to what I said I hate to do, just a few lines behind! The only difference is that documentation is work, whereas blogging is passion.

I've always been fascinated by the writings of Mark Twain. This is one beautiful short story from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer- Whitewashing the Fence where he subtly explains the difference between play and work. I remember reading it way long back when I was in school and well just maybe I should get back to work now, lest I get fired by my employer.