10 things I do in office when I'm in no mood to work

I am an architect and work in a firm called 'Bhumiputra architecture' in Bangalore. It has been almost 14 months here and I really love my work. It involves a nice blend of creativity, technicality and decision making. It drains me mentally sometimes, but on most days I go home satisfied, because each day I see my designs develop into the physical structures that I intend them to be one day, just like watching a tree grow from a sapling at 5x. But there is no denying that I do not, and cannot, sit for 9 - 10 hours everyday with 100% productivity. Like an hour before lunch, or around 4 - 4:30, all my focus and productivity takes a nosedive and I just zone out, begging the almighty to transport me a couple of hours into the future. At those moments of desperation, I have no choice but to find ways to kill time. Here is a list of 10 of the hundreds of things I do when I am in no mood to work.


TAKE A QUICK NAP

Everybody has a talent, one thing they are the best at. I think my talent is being able to sleep comfortably while sitting upright on a chair. I am so good at it now that I do this everyday for about half an hour. It is usually just after lunch, when my eyelids somehow refuse to open, but sometimes I do it at other times too. Thankfully my boss hasn't walked in during those blissful moments, and I hope it continues this way.

Well that's another way
image courtesy : humourspot.com

GET UP.. GET COFFEE.. REPEAT

I love coffee, but the one I get in office is sweet and diluted... basically not coffee. But when my brain just refuses to work, I take a slow walk to the pantry, fill up half a cup, take a slow walk back to my seat, take as much time to drink it as I would take to drink up a bucketful, and look around everywhere except my computer screen. The entire ordeal takes around 15 minutes. And I can keep doing it on repeat.


BE SOCIAL

I am not exactly a person who goes around talking to people all the time. But when I got to kill time, I have to go around asking people about their weekend plans and what they love eating the most (though I don't think my brain ever registers their answers). This way I escape work, and also avoid giving people an excuse to think that I am a silent, cold-blooded psychopath.


INTERNET

Internet is indeed a life saver. That's what I do most during the day and it ranges from using it for work, listening to music, buffering jaguar vs crocodile videos on youtube, online window shopping, or just good-old facebook-ing. The best part about surfing is that it makes you look like you are working your ass off, if you can make sure the boss does not sneak up from behind.


PLAY TABLE TENNIS

We have a table tennis table in our office and we go crazy sometimes playing late into the evening after office hours, and during the lunch break. But at times when our boss is out on some business (better still if he is out of town), we start playing at whatever time we like, for however long we like.


LOOK OUTSIDE THE WINDOW

Day 572 : Still hoping to see something interesting outside the window
image courtesy : thechive.files.wordpress.com

It's not like I have an awesome view out of the window. 90% of it is a dirty old pink building with evenly spaced, boring, rectangular windows, and the rest of it is a tiny sliver of sky, which is not even good enough to tell me what the weather is like outside. But at times I just zone out and find myself staring out of the window without even realising.


DREAM

Office is a great place to dream. I dream all day, whether it be while working, napping, looking out of the window, or sipping coffee. And the things I dream about are just boundless. Cannot begin to tell you how many times I won the Wimbledon, signed million dollar cheques, replied with a witty comeback to a burn, or got some crazy super powers to end world hunger.


IRRITATE COLLEAGUES

When I don't feel like working, I don't like seeing other people work too hard. I know it sounds very selfish, but I can't help how I feel. Though I don't interrupt them if they have really important tasks to carry out and deadlines to meet, I like being a nuisance when I know it is ok to be one. It gives me a nice little break and I feel so satisfied and rejuvenated in the end. I admit it's a little devilish but I do this everyday.


DRINK A LOT OF WATER

For one, it is great for one's health. Second, I can keep going to the washroom every half an hour. Third, I don't feel guilty about wasting time, because well, I can't really help it can I? On an average I gulp down 3-4 litres during office hours, and boy, I get so many breaks!


CONTEMPLATE LIFE

Me at work thinking what is life
image courtesy : r.fod4.com

Coming to office everyday, sitting and working till 6, and not getting enough time to do anything else in life, sparks the question of 'what am I doing with my life?' very often. Since I have started working, I haven't traveled enough, don't remember when I last sketched anything, or played some outdoor sport, and fall asleep after 5 minutes into a book every single time. So while I am at work, I think about life, and what I can do to pursue the things I love doing. Obviously the question is a rhetoric one and I'll never find an answer to it, so I keep working, follow the 9 steps above, and repeat it the next day.

Roland Garros 2016 : Semi final prediction

Two epic semi finals await us

Only the last four men remain from a field of 128 players. The top 3 seeds are still alive and Dominic Thiem, the 13th seed, courtesy of the number 4 seed pulling out in the third round, makes a breakthrough of his own. Both the contests are between well-matched, world class players and the tide could turn either way when they collide.


[1] NOVAK DJOKOVIC VS [13] DOMINIC THIEM

Novak Djokovic is in the form of his life and is again the prime title contender. He is hardly ever challenged by anybody in the entire atp and only superhuman performances from his opponents have prevented him from claiming a French Open title... yet.
Dominic Thiem has had a great couple of years, and this year's semi final appearance has surely been his breakthrough performance. He is definitely a guy to give it all in this clash and hang on till the end. Whether he will be able to conjure a superhuman effort to topple Djokovic though? I hardly doubt it. I think Thiem will be good. Very good infact. But even on someone's good day, it is a huge task to even take a set off Nole.  I say Djokovic takes it in 3

PREDICTION : DJOKOVIC 6-4, 6-1, 7-5


[3] STAN WAWRINKA VS [2] ANDY MURRAY

This is a tricky one. This is as evenly matched as it gets. Andy Murray has been in good form, especially in the clay swing. He beat Djokovic in Rome in straight sets, which says a lot about anybody. But remember the victory Stan had over Djokovic in last year's final here? That was one of the best matches of 2015 and one I will remember for a long time. I think Stan is potentially the slightly better player here. On his day, he can rip apart anybody. Unfortunately for him, Andy Murray is one of the most consistent players on tour. Stan blinks, and Murray will finish it before you know it. But I think Stan holds his nerve on this one and beats Murray in 4.

PREDICTION : WAWRINKA 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3

Get - Redi - GO!

It has been two years since I graduated.. more than a year since I started paying for my own bread. As much as I yearn to get back into the comfort of my home, with every kind of delicacy that I wish for, conjured like magic by my mother, no worrying about paying rent or any bills, and no reason to clean up anything, ever, there is a charm of living the independent, bachelor's life too. I no longer have to come back home by 9, having friends over is not a problem... I can just get my bike out at 1 AM for some tea or go 30 kms for a ride at a moment's notice. But like everything else in life, I wish for an upgrade soon. One of my first answers to an upgrade would definitely be owning a car.

As simple as it sounds though, it is more complicated than that. The very first concern is financial.. Earning and paying bills is one thing; saving for a car is another. It takes meticulous planning and every bit of judiciousness to not only buy a car, but to have enough back up to maintain it in future. Another hurdle is having the patience to drive a car around in the urban setup, EVERY-SINGLE-DAY. I have a lot driving experience in cities, and trust me, it is a pain. Dealing with over-saturated roads is one thing, most often it is the sheer stupidity of fellow riders that makes me want to throw a microwave at them.

I sometimes like going through specifications and features of new cars in the market; not with an intention to buy it off immediately, but to keep it in my 'wishlist' so to speak. So while doing that, I stumbled upon this car called the Datsun redi-GO. After the big success of Renault Kwid last year, there is bound to be a comparison of any similar car to it, and along with it, a lot of hype, and speculations as to how it will perform in the Indian market. But as opposed to many other cars surrounded with the same hype, I found redi-GO to be quite a steal.

The Datsun redi-GO brings with it power packed features at an affordable rate
(image courtesy : www.datsun.co.in)

FEATURES

The very first notable feature is its low price. The starting range is around 2.39 lakh, which is pretty affordable for a common middle-class man. Even for someone like me, who has recently stepped out into the real world, this price range is very attractive.

With the buying price, also comes the question of fuel efficiency, because what good is a car if we do not enough money to feed it, right? At 25.17 km/litre, the redi-GO is definitely one of the more fuel-efficient cars I can think of.

Another feature which strikes me is its interior spaciousness. According to the reviews I have gone through, the car actually has much more space (with an added luxury of extra height) inside than it seems like. So I suppose it is easy enough to maneuver around in the peak hours, with five people comfortably sitting inside.

The ground clearance is also pretty good at 185 cm, and trust me, it is a great feature to save your car from deep trenches and mountainous speed brakers! The tail lights look great too. The car, overall, I think is a very smart design; efficient and very good looking too.


MY TAKE 

Looking at its features, I really want to own a car like this in the near future. It will be interesting taking this one for a ride in a place like Bangalore because, well, everyone knows how Bangalore's traffic scene is. I am fairly positive about the redi-GO's success because it seems like it will satisfy the needs of a fair share of people, be it the middle class office going husband, or the independent working mother, or the fun-loving, stylish and adventurous youth; this car seems to be for everyone. It is truly Fun. Freedom. Confidence. The ultimate Urban Cross - Datsun redi-GO - the capability of a crossover with the convenience of a hatchback. The best part is, even if I get stuck at the Marathahalli bridge for an hour, I at least get to enjoy the superior air conditioning with is 89 CC compressor while listening to some Bob Marley maybe.