Punching Out

Years ago I was a member of the UAW union and I made cars, Jeeps. This was a good paying job that paid by the hour. In order to keep track of the hours there was a time clock at the entrance and every morning when I entered I took my own personalized time card and inserted it into this machine which dutifully, with a loud clank, recorded the time I officially arrived. This was called “punching in”. It was not uncommon to witness some workers punch in more than one card as they were helping their friends be on time officially even though it was not literally true.

As I was part of the summer relief squad – college students brought in to man assembly line stations for the regular workers which were on their 4- 6 week summer vacations – my job could be anything on any given day. Some jobs were hard and others were easy. I was lucky and would often get an easy job. One such job was to put the color tips on the ends of the turn signal wand which would later be attached to the steering column. We made about 300 Jeeps a day and the cars were assembled based on orders from customers, hence different colors for the turn signals knobs. This was accomplished by heating the metal wand and then sticking the appropriate plastic knob on the end and dipping it into cool water creating a type of cold fusion. Then I would place the completed piece in a box much like an egg carton but larger in a very specific order so that the person that installed them would use the right knob to match the steering column. If there was a mistake in the order there was a chance that the wrong color turn signal knob would be installed causing the car to fail final inspection and making the foreman cranky. I never understood why the order was so critical because the colors had to match throughout the car anyway so it seemed that one would be able to determine if something wasn’t matching.

This was my favorite summer job because I could make all 300 turn signal wands (with knobs) needed for the day, in about 45 minutes. This left me about 7 hours including lunch to watch other people work. One person I loved to watch work was my good friend Dave. We both were hired at the same time and theoretically had the same chance of being assigned any job in the factory. Dave was usually selected to install seats.

Imagine an assembly line that can never ever stop. There is a schedule and pressure to stay on it. The line must continue to move. For my part the turn my beautiful color-coded turn signals were ready ahead of schedule, but for Dave, for some reason, it was hard to keep up. The seats were placed on big hooks hanging above the assembly line below and just like my box of knobs had to be in order, so were the seats, and it appeared from my vantage point (the air-conditioned snack area) that Dave had about 1 minute and 30 seconds to install each seat. The seat would swing around the corner and Dave would have to get under it, raise it off its hook, and carry it to the car that was moving at a regulated speed in front of his station. The seats appeared to be quite heavy as I noticed my friend trying to keep his balance, sweating profusely while trying to align something that had ten or so pre-set drill marks into a moving target. Once he got the seat maneuvered into the car, he had to drill a bolt into the frame to secure the completed union of seat with Jeep. We later learned that this was an entry level station and those with no seniority started at the seat station, which sounded good until you actually got there. My station conversely was coveted by those with 30 years plus on the job. The good news was that both Dave’s heavy lifting and my boredom had a definite stop time and so we knew it would eventually be over and we could punch out and leave work behind us.

Punching out is an awesome concept I think. The ability to leave something like a job or some pressure filled situation and relax without worry is therapeutic. In lieu of an actual time clock I now use mediation and rationalization to achieve the same detached, relaxed and peaceful state of an assembly line turned off. In this state, life slows and provides focus. It’s rejuvenating and restful. When one can turn off the noise and stress from their lives they can become in touch with what’s important and rekindle their personal creativity. Yes punching out is only a break in the action but it provides context and perspective for the next and maybe the life changing action you’ve been waiting for.

Humans need and deserve a break and respite from time to time. The ability to shut down is necessary for all of us and this includes you too. So relax, enjoy the moment, put on some music, pour a glass of wine and close your eyes – and consider letting someone punch in for you tomorrow- you deserve it.