Tag: work

Hesitant to use AI

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

Are you actively trying to learn to use AI to complement your work? Or are you trying to learn more unique skills that cannot be easily replicated by AI?

The regular daily prompt was something about a big risk that I haven’t taken yet, but since I answered that one a while back, I decided to fill in with my own. It did pop up in the back of my mind again, though, when I stumbled upon the one I added above while scouting for a new idea.

First, I’d like to mention that I have already dabbled with AI a bit for different reasons, but I haven’t made the leap to trying to use it for my own benefit. I’ve learned a smidge about how they work, and how they’re being used in different industries, but shelved the idea of leaning on them when what I saw was giving me an icky feeling (at the time).

One of the things I did was mess around with ChatGPT a little to try and see what kinds of information it had access to from Dungeons and Dragons so that I could try to possibly use it as a little Assistant DM (should I ever actually get a group together and play). This was early on in my research for trying to understand the hype, learning a bit about Large Language Models, and I kind of liked how things were turning out. It could pull up all kinds of information on short notice and offer explanations (to the best of its ability) on how certain things worked or where the information was sourced so that I might look into it myself to confirm.

After tinkering with it for a bit I got the idea to see what kinds of ideas it could string together to help me from a creative writing aspect. Then I got cold feet. I put that idea aside for a bit, and went on my way. Not long thereafter was when I stumbled upon an issue that was springing up in the indie-publishing world for fiction authors. Apparently, the market, especially on Kindle, had been getting flooded with stories. What tipped me off were comments and posts on different social media sites and on reddit that all mentioned how they felt similar, and were poorly constructed and almost rushed. People started putting two and two together, and realized that it had to be AI-related. This gave me some serious pause. Several months went by and I saw someone comment about how people were being caught and screened for trying to submit AI built manuscripts to traditional publishers, which caused these reviewers and some editors to start including phrasing concerning these kinds of manuscripts. So, while I didn’t get my hopes up to begin with, it did severely stifle the idea of using AI for creative writing purposes.

At least, until someone pointed out (it was probably Brandon Sanderson, since I listen to a lot of his podcasts and such) that it’s still up to the writer (me) to actually sift through the AI responses and craft things. I don’t HAVE to use exactly what is generated. Which just took me back to my original idea for the D&D stuff. I can use it for ideas, maybe throw in a more developed prompt to see what gets churned out, and then further customize everything (or even throw things out entirely!) So, I may circle back around to trialing it at a later date if I feel like I’m getting stuck. For now, though, I’m still running on my own brain.

One other area I dabbled with AI, actually very recently, was with coding/scripting for work. I didn’t actually use my work device or any sort of sensitive data, so as to avoid risks, but I was stuck trying to figure out a way to make something work in Microsoft Power BI for some reporting I work on. I wanted to try converting DAX scripting into M code to see if it might help improve processing data from a massively customized date table I had constructed. So, I plugged in the idea to a different AI service via my phone, and tried to work with what was given back. Sadly, I couldn’t make it do what I wanted, so it was a bust. I’ve not looked toward AI for work purposes since then, and doubtful I will again since I really should be developing that knowledge and skill set on my own and not relying on AI to do it for me (or else why bother having me do the work at all?)

At this point, all things considered, I still haven’t messed with AI as much as some people, and I don’t know how soon I’ll get back to dabbling with it for creative writing purposes or as a sort of Assistant DM, but I know I’m definitely not intending to use it for work again any time soon.

The start of the week

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

What’s your #1 priority tomorrow?

As of the time of writing my answer to the prompt, tomorrow is Monday. The start of a normal work week for me, since I don’t have the day off, and I don’t believe I have much special going on throughout the week to prepare for, so my top priority is just work!

Tomorrow also happens to be the end of the month, so if I look at just work I can pick out a top priority there. End of month checks to get ready for monthly stats and reports is going to be the thing that gets immediate focus tomorrow.

That may sound a little boring, but it’s important stuff that needs doing, and I happen to enjoy it for the most part. Plus, it pays the bills. Major plus.

A variety of working environments

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

What jobs have you had?

Technically I’ve been working for about 20 years now, and in that time I’ve worked in about six or seven different environments across 10 or so jobs.

I’ve done farm work, outside in the hot and cold weather throughout the year, usually at home/on-premises, but sometimes involving travel (from local hay auctions to interstate animal transportation.)

I’ve been in retail environments a few times but under very different circumstances. The static environment of a small strip mall video game store, the dynamic environment traveling to different small retail locations within a 50 mile radius of home to install display equipment, and the varied overnights of throwing truckloads of product for big box retail.

There have also been a couple food service jobs, as well as the hodge podge amalgamation of work I did at a truck stop (convenience store retail, fuel, food service, AND hospitality all rolled in one.)

But the one that has taken up the majority of my work life has been office work in IT departments. I’m coming close to accumulating about half of my time working in this area. I’ve stayed local for one job, and another I’ve traveled to locations halfway across the state.

Looking back on my work history, I’ve been through a lot, and I’m always reminded that it was through all those different jobs that I forged my opinions of how people “should” experience life and work to develop a sense of empathy. Too many people take for granted the life they have and don’t respect people they deem beneath them, especially when they’re reaping the benefits of others hard work.

Be kind to each other out there.

When I need to unwind

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

How do you unwind after a demanding day?

Everyone has their own ways of doing things, but there are only so many options. This means that there is very likely to be a way to unwind that I mention below that resonates with someone.

I guess for me it all depends on what kind of demanding day I had that determines what I feel I need to do to properly unwind. Was the day emotionally/mentally demanding, or physically demanding? What level did it get to, somewhere between fairly and extremely demanding, or maybe less?

I’m not the type to go grab a drink at the end of a tough day, but it’s not completely off the table. It just depends on the circumstances. Otherwise, the vast majority of the time I’ve spent unwinding over the years has been the same.

The days that are mentally draining are the days I choose to check out from reality to some degree. Read a book, binge a few episodes of a show, play some chill farming sim games or something of the like. I’ll probably be laying in bed already for some of these just because then if I start to doze off I’m already where I want to be for the inevitable energy crash.

If the day was physically demanding then I probably am doing two things immediately upon getting home. Eating and showering, but not necessarily in that order. Typically on these days I still have plenty of energy somehow, so I’m able to enjoy more of my hobbies. I know it might sound strange, but physically taxing activities don’t drain me the way mentally taxing activities can. Unless it was a REALLY physically demanding day like the first couple weeks of when I worked the overnight shift at Big Red Circles. Then it’s eat, shower, and pass out in bed. No energy crash like the mentally draining days, my body is just ready for sleep.

Fairly straightforward approach to unwinding, I think.

Being complimented

Taylor BurianLeave a comment
Daily writing prompt
What was the best compliment you’ve received?
View all responses

Unfortunately, this post might come across as a bit of a humble brag, but the prompt is practically asking for it.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate any and all compliments I receive, I just usually feel awkward about them because I don’t much like the attention.

A majority of the compliments I get are at work. My manager loves to sing our praises and acknowledges the gifts and talents that each of us on her team bring to the table. So, when she starts going with handing out the compliments I usually just respond in a manner that says “I was just doing what I was supposed to do.” or something of the sort. I apply myself to my job in the ways I know best and that’s all there is to it, so I don’t usually give it any extra thought.

As for an exact compliment, well, I don’t have one at hand because they’re all on Teams, my email, or in a Christmas card (or something similar) that I don’t recall where I stashed them.

I’ll paraphrase a compliment from my manager: “Taylor, I am so blessed to have you on the team and I don’t know where we would be without the gifts and talents you bring each and every day. Thank you for always being willing to jump in and use your skills with Power BI and Excel to help with creating new tools and reports to support the efforts of your teammates.”

As for whether that would qualify as the “best” compliment I ever received I couldn’t say, because, again, my manager likes to give them out frequently enough that I have a hard time selecting just one. (For the record, she doesn’t just give them out like candy, I maybe get compliments like this once a month.)

Personal growth

Taylor BurianLeave a comment

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

Personal growth is unique to everyone. What one person learns from a situation or experience is likely different from someone else, either as an entirely different lesson or sheer impact/value.

I don’t know that I can recall a specific situation that I could unequivocally say helped me grow the most, but I do have something that comes to mind every so often.

This was nearly eight years ago now, way back when we were all still office workers and nobody worked from home. I was 28 and the only other guy on my small team was probably 23. A few months in I was still fairly new at my job, but they had more or less taken off the training wheels, and I was participating in projects on my own. I ran into a situation of being double booked on my calendar and had to make a decision to attend one or the other. I felt like I had an okay understanding of the dynamics of the role and my working relationship with one particular Project Manager, so I picked one meeting and sent an email with my project updates to that PM. They responded to the email, so I knew they got the message. Come time for the meetings and I could hear over the cubicle walls my name being called by that same PM I had emailed earlier. They were asking for my update! Well, I couldn’t jump to that call and it was too late to answer. The meetings end, and maybe a minute or two later my manager comes over and asks me to come to her office to discuss something. I follow her and see the younger guy on my team waiting in her office. He happened to sit closer to that one PM, and had overheard that I had been called out on the meeting and didn’t respond, so he told our manager! Well, I was chided for the incident and told that it reflected poorly on our teams reputation. I apologized for the incident and explained what I had done and that I didn’t think it would be a problem. From then on I was more careful about meeting attendance and information sharing, but unfortunately I also didn’t trust the other guy on the team.

Over the course of that year (I had started in January) the entire original team I started with had progressively left the team. The two ladies had gone to another department, and the younger guy left the company altogether. We had new people join the team in their places as the spots opened up. The entire dynamic of the team, the collective mentality of our group, changed so much (for the better) that we are so much more flexible and nimble. My manager is more understanding now, and even occasionally encourages us to do something similar to what I did that first time. Strategically, of course.

Suffice to say, I may have been the catalyst of change on the whole team. Eight years later our team’s reputation has never been stronger.

My ideal day needs more hours

Taylor BurianLeave a comment
Daily writing prompt
Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.
View all responses

There really aren’t enough hours in the day. So, let’s change that!

My ideal day would be like 36 hours long, at least. I know the Earth’s rotation won’t allow that and our bodies aren’t accustomed to it, but that’s okay. This is all purely hypothetical.

So, 36 hours. How do I fill that to make MY ideal day? I’d start by sleeping in and getting about 12 hours of sleep. I love sleep so much, but I have to respect the order of the world we live in by having a job and paying bills.

After I wake up I would probably eat a small breakfast on the patio while I watch the sunrise, about an hour at most spent here. (I don’t currently HAVE a patio that faces East, but if we’re making the day 36 hours long then I can live anywhere I want.)

After breakfast would be some game time. Not sure what I would play, but I would probably spend 4 hours on that? Maybe 6? Followed by lunch, and then back to gaming for another 4-6 hours. Let’s say that puts us at 25 hours. 11 hours to go!

The last 11-13 hours would be running around doing chores around the house or running errands, followed by dinner, and then ending with a couple more hours of game time.

Super simple and fairly straightforward. Although, the most important part of all of this is just that I would have 36 hours in the day. I could totally spend half a day hiking, have a light lunch at the top of the mountain, and then the rest be roughly the same. If I still worked 8 hours in the day I would have a ton of time to fit in all the things I would want to do.

Wait, I forgot to include writing! I would definitely cut out one of the time slots for gaming and swap in writing for 4-6 hours. This still assumes that I have a regular job, though. If writing was my full time job then it would just replace that for 8 hours.

Either way, my body would hate me for being up for 24 hours.