Management Toolkit

Ten ways of coping with office tedium

Jack Wallen Tech Republic

Published: 16 Oct 2009 15:30 BST

Forty hours a week spent at a desk need not affect your sanity, provided you adopt the right strategies, says Jack Wallen.

How can you retain a semblance of sanity when you pass your working life at a desk? It's not as hard as you might think. Here are some suggestions.

1. Change it
When your surroundings do not change, the best way of keeping sane is to change them yourself. A friend of mine has been in the same office for nearly 10 years. During that time, she has made a point of randomly changing the decorations around her desk.

But rather than just add a photo here and a nick-nack there, as a serious Trekkie she focuses on one character or group of characters at a time. So one month will be Cardassian month and the next will be all about Dr Bashir or Jean-Luc Picard. Not only has this helped her, it has given her a reputation around the company and created a talking point.

2. Take breaklets
Most people work like this:

Work four hours
Take a lunch break
Work four hours

This approach works for a while, but eventually it will catch up with you. Instead of sticking only to this schedule, you could mix it up. If your company allows it, split your break into smaller breaks throughout the day. Or better yet, just randomly get up and take a stroll around the company.

If you have to, grab a folder or a handful of papers as if you were heading for the printer. Just get up and away from that desk at various times throughout the day.

Taking strolls does not just take you away from your desk, it will also give you some exercise. If you are feeling really daring, avoid the lift and use the stairs.

3. Crank up the tunes
Music is the food of life. But you will be best served — as will your fellow employees — if you keep that music to yourself. I used to be notorious for cranking up techno very loud. It did not dawn on me that it might have been better to leave the volume at a respectable level.

Your best bet is headphones. I also recommend that you do not just bring in your favourite CDs and listen to them over and over again. If you are going to do that, you might as well stare at the walls and listen to the voices developing in your head.

Instead, point your PC at an internet radio station. If you use Linux, you may want to open up Streamtuner, as I do, and take in a whole world of music.

4. Turn to Facebook, YouTube or Twitter
I know it may sound unwise — but I am advocating the use of social-networking sites at work. However, I suggest you use them in moderation. Do not plant yourself on Facebook and stay there at the expense of your work.

Instead, give yourself social breaks between tasks. Complete a task and then update your status. Reconfigure that router and then tweet. Or create a social-networking site for your fellow workers. With this site in place, your social networking will be work related. If you cannot create the site yourself, propose it to your IT staff.

5. Move your office
Not literally. But if you use a laptop, take it away from your desk and move to a common area or a meeting room. Do this once a week or so, and you will find your desk...