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NOT SO CONVENIENT
… truths and troubles with transitions
Tuesday Feb. 25, 2014
Labour saving devices are great.
Think about washing machines instead of washboards, cars instead of horses or walking, think about chain saws instead of axes.
Improvements save time, effort and/or money, right?
With products, software and people, when it is transition time – change by another name – these are often good things. But they require adaptation and adjustment time, whether we had scheduled the time or not . . .
When I see boxes on store shelves marked ‘new and improved’ I don’t much notice or care. For many consumer products I’m brand-loyal, stay with what I’ve always bought whether it is new, improved or same-old.
If I switch it is usually because I am dissatisfied, bored or want to experiment. Or be adventurous. Most of the time when it comes to packaged goods, household products and office supplies, I don’t care a lot.
Boxes, jars, cans – they all open the same way. What’s inside is likely similar to what was there before those things got ‘new and improved’.
When I buy something NEW, a brand or product I’m completely unfamiliar with, I expect an easy-to-manage situation.
I like it when things work.
I like it when new things are improved and work better.
I often have trouble during the transition phase . . .
My website hosting company (also my mail service provider) sent a note recently.
It included, among other promotional/marketing notifications, things I might often ignore – telling my about (trying to sell me) additional services, upgrades – seemed like routine instructions for changing e-mail account passwords. I printed a copy and put it in my ‘to-do’ pile. I don’t have employees but I have, it seems, accumulated quite a raft of email addresses. Some for personal use, some for business, some are as yet un-used ones – reserved for use in connection with current or planned projects and future adventures.
I didn’t give that change notification much thought because I only actively use 6 of them.
The other thing in that notice was this term: ‘within 10 days’.
Sure, no problem – I’ll get around to it …
I came to appreciate that fully yesterday when I got a reminder notice saying ‘last day’. I read more carefully this time. Last day to change passwords on ALL e-mail accounts.
Also there was reference to a ‘conversion’ to something new. I ignored that. I wasn’t panicking, but Monday evenings are usually fully consumed getting a newsletter finished and ready for publishing Tuesday morning.
The prospect of doing what turned out to be an hour of work changing all those passwords was not difficult – just an unplanned schedule adjustment. No problem.
However …
Once I’d done that – changed all the passwords, I went into one of the accounts to check my e-mail and to send a few.
Surprise! … it’s new and improved, and very different. Where was everything? Where were my folders, saved emails, sent records. Yikes, at first I feared the worst – that things were lost. They weren’t of course, just hiding. Lurking in new places to be found and explored.
OK, another couple of hours … no problem, I was up late anyway!
What I found was a substantially different interface between me and my e-world.
No easy to find instructions, nobody to call out to with “Warren, help!”
I thought, hey, I’m good at this stuff – I can figure it out.
And I am.
So far, most things are taking me 2-4 times as long as usual to get the hang of the new system.
I like the parts I’ve learned so far. They will save me time, improve my work – they are indeed new and improved.
Some things I’ll figure out. Some will require calls to a 1-800 number call-centre in another country so that I can be coached.
I’m sure, within days, new formatting will be clear, simple and saving me time.
Right now it is costing me time I don’t really have to spare.
I’ve cancelled some planned things on my calendar so I can get urgent things done today.
I like it when things work.
I like it when new things are improved and work better.
I often have trouble during the transition phase . . .
Mark Kolke
198,808
column written/ published from Calgary
morning walk: -21C {wind chill is -27C} / -5F, continued sunny, light breeze, short walk. Gusta was anxious to get out and even more anxious to get back inside. Me too!
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