I'm On The Clock... Literally

Every newsroom I've ever worked in has a few things in common. More televisions than a Circuit City going-out-of-business sale.  Day-old take out food somewhere near the assignment desk that nobody wants to touch to throw out.  A few whiners.  And clocks.  Lots of them.  Big digital clocks, usually with bold red or green numbers. And no matter where you sit, you can usually see at least two of them... if not more. In TV, every second counts.  Deadlines are (or at least are supposed to be) immovable objects.  Either your work is done on time, or it's not. And if you choose option B, there's a pretty good chance you're going to hear about it.

Yesterday... somewhere in the middle of day 82 of my job search... I started thinking... I spent 10 years surrounded by clocks at work. Unlike most jobs where you look at the clock and say, "Damn, it's only 2:00? This day is never gonna end," in television it's the opposite... "Crap, it's 2:00 already?"  Well I can be damn good and damn productive when I am on deadline.  I've done some of my best work when I'm writing something that has to go on TV one minute later.  (A few anchors and directors might have something to say about that, but we'll leave that conversation for another time).

But with no deadline... no clock to work with... I just kind of float though the day.  I'll be productive for a couple hours, looking for jobs and talking to people who might be able to help me.  Then I'll watch Coming to America for the 549th time.  Then I'll be productive for a couple more hours, until I end up back on Facebook.  Then I look at the clock on my computer and say... crap... it's 6:30?  Time to watch TMZ.  Where did the day go?  

So... I have found my cure for my unemployment strain of ADD.

20 bucks at Radio Shack and two AA batteries later... and I am on the clock.  It's sitting on the counter in my kitchen, in direct line-of-sight from where I sit at my computer all day in my dining room. It's not quite as big or bold as the clocks in newsrooms, but it gets the job done.  And it's staring at me right in the face. If this doesn't keep me focused... nothing will.

Now excuse me... I'm on the clock.