Peter: I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door – that way Lumbergh can’t see me, heh – after that I sorta space out for an hour. Bob: Da-uh? Space out?
Peter: Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I’m working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I’d say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work.
What is your morning work routine? I’ve settled pretty well into the following routine: Arrive at work around 8:30. Look at telephone with one eye closed, praying there is no voicemail to deal with. Log on to computer. Read e-mails. Go to Hotmail and check personal e-mail. Go to Yahoo and check personal e-mail again. Go to the Toronto Star homepage and scan the headlines. Perhaps copy and paste an interesting tidbit into a mail message to colleagues in hopes of scaring up some chatter to keep me sane later in the morning (this morning’s topic: the Leafs‘ organization feigns surprise when their goalie backs out of Team Canada for World Cup Hockey with a back injury—pfft, right). Put on headphones and select some music in Windows Media Player. Go to Fark to check out the headlines, enjoying my soothing made-at-home coffee all the while. At some point between 8:30 and 9, an e-mail is received from a co-worker who sends out daily trivia. (Today’s questions: The aerial bombing of this European city centre killed about 1,000 civilians and is considered the first air atrocity of World War II. Name the city. Early in her movie career she was in Footloose and L.A.Story; later in Ed Wood and Honeymoon in Las Vegas. Name her.) Around 9:10 turn to real, actual work. Unlike Peter, I do get way more than 15 minutes of work done in a given week, but I definitely relate to his need to “space out” for awhile upon arrival in my cubicle!
