I used to obsess over cable management, now I just use zip ties and move on

Back when I started doing PC builds and server work about 5 years ago, I would spend hours making every single cable perfect. I'm talking velcro straps every 2 inches, routing behind motherboard trays, the whole deal. Then I got a job at a local repair shop in Austin where we had to swap drives in and out of a rack system. My boss just grabbed a handful of zip ties, bundled everything loose, and said "it's not a beauty contest, it's a box." That changed my whole view. Now I focus on airflow zones and keeping cables out of fan blades, but I stopped caring if the back panel is a mess. Has anyone else had that moment where they realized perfect cable management was a waste of time for most jobs?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon3781d ago

Wait, your boss actually said "it's not a beauty contest" while you were working on cables? That's wild.

david7011d ago

Come on @simon378, every boss in a trade says stuff like that, don't they? It's just one of those things you hear a thousand times. Unless he made you redo them or docked your pay over it, I'd say it's not worth losing sleep over. People get way too concerned with what the boss thinks about aesthetic stuff that doesn't affect the function, you know? If the cables work fine and nobody's tripping on them, who cares if they look like a tangled bird's nest behind the rack.