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.