The lowest of the low. Holy God, is Data Entry boring. It’s repetitive, mindless, tedious, and just plain dull.
I kinda like it.
On a very short term basis, and I’m talking about maybe a week, tops, Data Entry can be a nice diversion from the average office job. I mean, you come in, you sit down at a computer, and you hit buttons. You don’t have to learn much beforehand, you don’t have to answer phones or meet people, you don’t have get caught up in the strife and confusion and politics of the office… you just hit buttons. The only drawback is that this will slowly and surely drive you completely insane, which is why I would only do it for a very short time.
When you first begin, you will have to pay close attention to what you are doing, as with any other sort of job. You will be overly cautious, making sure you are in the correct field, you have the correct number or date or whatever you are entering, and you will have to concentrate a great deal. This is the "good" phase of Data Entry. It’s still new to you, and therefore, mildly interesting. You will not be bored or confused, and although you are working slowly, you will probably not make any mistakes. This will last for about two hours.
As the day goes on, you will begin to work faster. You will have memorized how many times you need to hit the tab key to get into the correct field, and will spend less and less time on each entry, and you will even be able to think about other things. This is the "great" phase of Data Entry. You know what you are doing, and although it may start to get boring, you can now let your mind wander to other subjects, such as sex or guns or whatever you violent perverts like to think about. You may make a few errors from time to time, and have to rein in your thoughts, but this is perfectly normal. This will also last about two hours.
At some point during the day, you will realize that you have been staring at something, such as a number seven, for approximately three hours. You will have no idea what this seven means to you, or to your job, or to life in general. It may seem slightly familiar, and you may suspect is has some personal relevance to you, but try as you might, you will not be able to figure it out. Around the same time, you will find that your eyes are burning, your head is swimming, you will notice a sharp pain in your back and a dull ache in your arm. On the up side, you will make no errors, because you will not be working, you will just be sitting there in a stupor.
This is the "really crappy" phase of Data Entry, and it will last for the remainder of the job. Sure, you may experience the "good" phase briefly in the mornings, and on Mondays, you might even slip into the "great" phase for a few minutes, but you will find that the crappiness overwhelms you quickly. So, like I said, only accept Data Entry if it’s a short term position, if you really need the money, or if you are some sort of mindless drone who can deal with this sort of thing.
Another tip I can give you is in regards to your breaks. Usually, you will get a fifteen minute break in the morning, and then one in the afternoon. My suggestion is this: Instead of taking a full fifteen minute break, take several five minute breaks. And by several, I mean about two hundred. Seriously, it might help to take your eyes from the screen every hour or so and focus on something far away, such as a tree, or a distant building, or the exit sign that points the way out of this place forever run run run!!!
Jeez, did I actually say I kinda liked Data Entry? Just goes to show, never believe what I say at the top of a page.
