New Irresolution
“This year, I am going to work harder while on the clock,” I say, as I begin to write a blog post while on the clock.
Ah, crap. That one’s already blown.
My work gets done on time, sometimes early, and my annual evaluations are always outstanding. I sometimes feel guilty about that because I know how lazy I am at heart. I may not appear lazy–I don’t lounge in my chair reading comic books, or crawl under my desk for a nap–but at heart I am a slacker.
It’s difficult not to slack, when one sits in front of a computer all day. There are so many temptations. “I’ll just find out how the New Hampshire primary is going,” I say, browsing over to the Washington Post. Then I read one article, two articles…I go back and work a little bit.
Then, “Hmm, let me check the New York Times…”
Browse. Work. Browse. Work. Write blog post at lunch. Work. Browse. Browse some more. Browse. Browse. Work a little. Browse. Go over to the cafe for a skim cap no whip. Come back to my desk and work a little. Browse while I sip the last of my pick-me-up.
As the day gets longer I tend to browse more. The hours between three and five are difficult. People are quietly leaving the office or in the last of the day’s meetings. I’ve just about finished everything I needed to do today, or else decided it won’t be finished by the end of the day and will have to wait until tomorrow morning when I am fresh.
The life of the modern worker bee. I watch the show Mad Men on AMC and wonder how office workers made it through a day in 1960 without Internet.
I guess the answer is, they boozed it up on the clock and sneaked away for mid-afternoon sexual trysts.
Hm. Now that I think about it, maybe folks in the sixties had it better.
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Fabulous!
I sometimes feel the same way, as I’m constantly clicking over from Internet or my email as I hear footsteps behind me, usually of somebody who’s my superior.
Comment by Heather — Thursday, 10 January 2008 @ 1:20 pm
You know I wrote this on Tuesday but kept postponing it because no one wants to admit this is how they work, these days. Least of all me. It’s embarrassing. We’re Americans! We’re supposed to believe in this Protestant work ethic thing. My work ethic is, “If the work gets done, who cares what I did in the meantime.”
Comment by greypilgrim — Thursday, 10 January 2008 @ 1:26 pm
Heh heh. Just like you, my reviews are great, but I start to feel like a slacker sometimes myself. The internets are a constant temptation, if only to tab over for 30 seconds to see that indeed I do not have more useful email. Or to constantly try to keep up with my RSS feeds. I don’t do it for very long, and sometimes I just do it as a release from the bullshit I have to deal with… I don’t take my state-mandated breaks and I’m known to skip lunch several times a week and often stay over a few minutes a couple nights a week. When I put it into perspective that way, I don’t feel so bad.
And I’m still a hard worker, I think. I just have found a way to do it more efficiently.
Comment by Mel B. — Thursday, 10 January 2008 @ 9:06 pm
+1 to everything above. Sure glad I’m not the only one who feels this way or deals with this. Still not entirely satisfied with my rationalizations by a long shot though - even after taking international calls for work at strange hours and through the weekend. That’s guilt for you, I suppose.
Comment by Step — Wednesday, 6 February 2008 @ 3:09 am