The art of not working at work

[Mr Dumpster Stache]

http://dilbert.com/strip/2015-08-03

[ArcadeStache]

Darn.  I've read most of the pages here (on the weekend) and feel like a major sucker.  I tend to get a max of 1 hour a day 'free time' including 'lunch'.  Beyond that, its nose to the grind.  I am currently 200 - 300% loaded, so there are always more things not getting done than what I can actually get to.  And now I realize that I've let myself get loaded like this while it appears most people are perpetual slackers.  I'm actually a bit PO'd by this, but I do realize its my own fault for trying to do the 'right thing'...for the company anyway.

If it were just being 'inefficient', that would be one thing, but I tend to be told I'm the most effective on my projetcs...which is why I always get more and more things dumped on me.

I am taking this to heart though and am now motivated to de-motivate.  What a fool I've been.  Ugh.

Been there, done that. Trust me, you are headed major burnout. Throttle back to whatever level you feel comfortable with to still keep your job and boss mostly satisfied. Otherwise you'll just end up fat, sick, cranky and resentful toward your coworkers and boss.  Find a decent work life balance and put more energy toward other positive things in your life.

[YK-Phil]

On October 21, 2015, it will be two years that I have done practically nothing at my job as the CEO of a small agency. At most, I work one hour a day in a typical week. Every quarter, I have two full days of board meetings, followed by a couple of hours to draft minutes and action items. Then back to the one-hour per day routine, or much less if I don't count coffee breaks.

I remember my first week at work. It was a disaster and I stressed about my new responsibilities and the fact nobody was there to help me out, until i realized a week later that this job was a real hide-out, in more ways than one: I've also secretly become an office hobo and have lived in the office for almost two years...

Before I took this job, I remember my predecessor, who was a close acquaintance and had been in that job for SEVEN years, telling me how much he enjoyed his work...now I understand why...The downside to this is that the money I get paid to do nothing makes it really difficult to pull the plug and RE. One more year and I'm done.

[lostamonkey]

On October 21, 2015, it will be two years that I have done practically nothing at my job as the CEO of a small agency. At most, I work one hour a day in a typical week. Every quarter, I have two full days of board meetings, followed by a couple of hours to draft minutes and action items. Then back to the one-hour per day routine, or much less if I don't count coffee breaks.

I remember my first week at work. It was a disaster and I stressed about my new responsibilities and the fact nobody was there to help me out, until i realized a week later that this job was a real hide-out, in more ways than one: I've also secretly become an office hobo and have lived in the office for almost two years...

Before I took this job, I remember my predecessor, who was a close acquaintance and had been in that job for SEVEN years, telling me how much he enjoyed his work...now I understand why...The downside to this is that the money I get paid to do nothing makes it really difficult to pull the plug and RE. One more year and I'm done.

Since you are the CEO can you just surf the web and watch YouTube videos all day or do you have to pretend that you are actually working?

[zing12]

Very interesting thread. I work in public accounting and it is very cyclical. I have a hard time motivating myself to work until the pressure is there. So I have weeks where I don't get much done at all and weeks (close to deadlines) where I am incredibly productive and have laser-like focus. I have a hard time replicating the laser focus when I don't have an impending deadline.

My job can often feel like a contest for who can make it look like they work the hardest/longest hours. It does annoy me because I feel that we could all be doing other things with much of our time. I play the game to a certain extent but refuse to spend too much of my nights and weekends on it.

I feel like a slacker but overall I appear to have a pretty good reputation and people like me and think I have a good work ethic. I'm always worried I'm going to get "found out" or exposed as a slacker but it never happens.

I have pretty good relationships with my coworkers and managers but this stuff is never discussed. So I have no idea what is going on in other people's heads on issues like these.

[MMMdude]

Someone posted about the managers at work chatting everyone up.  I am pretty much antisocial at work - i really don't give a dam to know about person x's weekend who quite frankly i would never talk to outside of work.  I particularly don't care for my manager (lots of people hate reporting to him), nor for another person who i informally have to report to.  Both of them are the chatty type and they come by every day to my office without fail to "chat" with me, but it's really under the pretense to check up on me.  It drives me completely nuts.  Let me do my job and if it so happens I'm slow, let that job be surfing the internet :-)

[YK-Phil]

Since you are the CEO can you just surf the web and watch YouTube videos all day or do you have to pretend that you are actually working?

A bit of both. But I get bored watching videos so I have started one online course through Coursera and am also brushing up on my Spanish.

[mastrr]

Since you are the CEO can you just surf the web and watch YouTube videos all day or do you have to pretend that you are actually working?

A bit of both. But I get bored watching videos so I have started one online course through Coursera and am also brushing up on my Spanish.

thats unbelievable

[mozar]

Quote from: mozar on June 11, 2015, 05:20:59 PM
The managers at my office chat everyone up. Or talk about themselves endlessly. I know all about one manager who recently bought a side of a cow. Another likes to talk about which restaurants he likes to go to.

Hope he bought the inside.

Hope so!

I actually got in trouble because I was looking at my phone when my boss snuck up behind me. So now I'm being "punished" by having to sit in the cubicle next to her so she can watch me for 8 hours straight. Only 6 weeks to go until I switch clients!

When my manager showed me this, I backed slowly away...
http://geekologie.com/2010/07/now-thats-classy-worlds-most-e.php

[Fuzzy Buttons]

I remember my first week at work. It was a disaster and I stressed about my new responsibilities and the fact nobody was there to help me out, until i realized a week later that this job was a real hide-out, in more ways than one: I've also secretly become an office hobo and have lived in the office for almost two years...

What, are you sleeping on a couch in your office?  So everyone thinks you arrive earlier and leave later than them?

[YK-Phil]

I remember my first week at work. It was a disaster and I stressed about my new responsibilities and the fact nobody was there to help me out, until i realized a week later that this job was a real hide-out, in more ways than one: I've also secretly become an office hobo and have lived in the office for almost two years...

What, are you sleeping on a couch in your office?  So everyone thinks you arrive earlier and leave later than them?

Every day, I am the first one at work, and the last one to leave :D

[Davids]

My job is cyclical on a monthly basis where basically the beginning and end of month is practically nothing to do and the middle of month is relatively busy but not close to crazy. I dont mind other than the fact i sit in a heavily trafficed area so can be hard to just play on internet, always have a "spreadsheet" up.

[Bearded Man]

I'm fortunate to no longer be working in professional services where they pimp you out like a third world prostitute smuggled into the country. I had to have 32 billable hours per week. It truly was amazing how tiring it was to constantly be working even in a 40 hr work week. It made me realize the vast majority of people put maybe 10-20 hours of actual work into a given week. There is so much other waste or free time surfing the net, chatting with co-workers, etc.

Luckily I have a gig now that is relaxed and pays even better, but I know when this gig ends never to go back to a professional services gig. I also do not enjoy start ups.

[stlbrah]

Work was blowing up earlier this week so I pretty much 1/2 assed today and yesterday working from home. I ran out of will power. I am, however, studying, which still benefits the company.

[bigstack]

at one point years ago i created a list of things people could do to appear to be at work/doing work while really doing nothing or not be there at all. it was like 100 items long.
my friends loved it.
most only work at large companies with large campuses.

some of my favorites were:

1. before you leave work print off something to the printer by the door to the office. pick it up the next day when you walk in at 9 or 10am. (this saved me a few times as my boss would say oh there you are i was just walking by and didnt see you..."oh i was just getting something from the printer (and hold up the sheets)")

2. never take your lunch when others do....take it at 11 if they take it closer to noon.thus you get to have their lunch time off as well.

3. avoid carrying a backpack or briefcase(unless you are actually coming and going during normal times). but have one sitting beside your desk and move it around during the week. people come by the cube and see your bag and assume you must be in the office somewhere. if you come walking down the hall with your laptop or printouts etc and no bag people assume you were in a meeting .

4. long lunch breaks 2+hours are now your "bonus"
5. leaving work early is your "raise"
6. coming in late is "comp-time" for all those long hours you have put in...

7. in relation to #4 I always block off the "typical" lunch time on my calendar everyday...when asked about it i say it helps prevent the project managers from booking times when the client usually takes their lunch..."so while sure they can book me they might not be able to book the clients time as well"

8. in relation to #5. I block off the last hour of the day everyday...i have been asked about this as well by bosses and state "it is just so i can have an uninterrupted hour to wrap things up and create my to do list for the next day.".... they eat that crap up.

9. office slacker buddy. find someone that you can cover for and that will cover for you.these people need to be relatively smart... they need to know not to give specifics..."I think i saw him walk by about 3o min ago"..."he said something about leaving something in his car and going to get it"...also this guy if he gets to the office before you can tell you that hey the boss is not in today ..or hey he is looking for you... and you do the same for him.
Ideally you have diff bosses, but you sit near each other.

10. for those remote employees or bosses that work on other side of campus but monitor people activity via lync/IM status...buy a rotating fan and clip a wired mouse to it(hide it under desk).... plug the mouse into the pc/laptop...turn on rotating/oscillating fan... why golle gee beev what does it do? it buys you hours of not being at your desk is what it does.

11. automated/scripts for emails and work batch/manual jobs. kick these off at times later in evening or early in morning. gives a paper trail of the hard hours you put in.

12. if in IT always have a linux terminal up and running in green...with a log file(or some script) constantly scrolling by. managers walk by and think "my god that guy must be a genius tech geek" "it's the matrix in his office"

13. your screen saver isnt a screen saver it is a picture of a excel spreadsheet.


oh it goes on and on.

[Davids]

Bigstack, I love #10. I know there are people at my job that use lync status as a way to monitor people

[Tig_]

Glad this has resurfaced over the past few days.  Good timing for me to dive in to the thread.

I'm about a year into my position - took me a while to figure out this was how it worked here.  I'm on a two person team (unless you count students/interns) in a much larger unit.  Mostly, my boss can't keep track of time very well and isn't very efficient. 

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

I've added private meetings before/after work hours on those days when my boss has meetings out of the office so I remember to bring homework in on those days.  The woman is this role before me (although part-time grad student) ended out her time here doing 4 remote days a week.  In my full-time role, I do have a lot more meetings to attend so I don't think I'll ever get to that level, but I need to figure out a way to broach this work from home thing.  I know my boss will be fine with it, just need to find a way to spin it so that she doesn't think it's because I want to do homework...  Might start this Tuesday since I do actually have a big project coming up and be like, wow, it's amazing how much more you get done at home without that office chit-chat! and see if she bites.  The team I share office space with hired two new grad-students.  There have been a few times my boss has come in and seen us chit chatting.  So I think the whole "now that there are more people in the office..." line will work.  ;)

[bigstack]

Glad this has resurfaced over the past few days.  Good timing for me to dive in to the thread.

I'm about a year into my position - took me a while to figure out this was how it worked here.  I'm on a two person team (unless you count students/interns) in a much larger unit.  Mostly, my boss can't keep track of time very well and isn't very efficient. 

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

I've added private meetings before/after work hours on those days when my boss has meetings out of the office so I remember to bring homework in on those days.  The woman is this role before me (although part-time grad student) ended out her time here doing 4 remote days a week.  In my full-time role, I do have a lot more meetings to attend so I don't think I'll ever get to that level, but I need to figure out a way to broach this work from home thing.  I know my boss will be fine with it, just need to find a way to spin it so that she doesn't think it's because I want to do homework...  Might start this Tuesday since I do actually have a big project coming up and be like, wow, it's amazing how much more you get done at home without that office chit-chat! and see if she bites.  The team I share office space with hired two new grad-students.  There have been a few times my boss has come in and seen us chit chatting.  So I think the whole "now that there are more people in the office..." line will work.  ;)

the best way i have found to initiate working from home (done it myself and also talked friends through it).
is to one day just tell them i need to work from home today cause the repairman is coming over to fix xyz.
or another i have used is ...i have something expensive being delivered...

basically that lets you know if they will even let it happen or not...if not they will say "you need to take a vacation day".

if they say "ok no problem"...make sure you are available and send out bs emails letting them know that you are getting your job done.

but that is just the start to the process...you then have to start working from home on random days , just one per week and never mon or friday...monday and friday are psychological barriers for a manager that trigger "the employee is getting a three day weekend" thoughts.

after one day a week is the norm work 2 days tues and thursday...then 3 on occasion.... at the same time you never ask to work from home(besides the first 1-2 times)....you tell them "hey i am working from home today"...asking them gives them power....don't give them power. clear statements of "I am going to work from home today". will keep you in control.they will respond with "ok" or not at all. either is acceptance. if you ask you are "their child" and they are used to answering in the negative. also mix in days on the 3 day a week stage where you don't even tell them you just do it.

basically ramp it up slowly they will realize that your work is still getting done on time etc...

to do this you need to be self aware of your work situation and the actual needs of the company/project you are working on..

[Tjat]

Some of this sounds very familiar. May I also add that when you're bored, one other go-to is to schedule a meeting. If you have 2 hours of work in a day, you first need to schedule a pre-meeting to discuss how you want to present the material to the larger group at the real meeting. Then you need to have a post-meeting to recap the real meeting and send out minutes and followups via email. Always offer to schedule another meeting to answer any questions. Boom full day right there folks

[notquitefrugal]

Some of this sounds very familiar. May I also add that when you're bored, one other go-to is to schedule a meeting. If you have 2 hours of work in a day, you first need to schedule a pre-meeting to discuss how you want to present the material to the larger group at the real meeting. Then you need to have a post-meeting to recap the real meeting and send out minutes and followups via email. Always offer to schedule another meeting to answer any questions. Boom full day right there folks

Caveat: This will piss off anyone who has more than 2 hours of work to do that day who also has to attend the meeting, pre- and post-meetings, and read the followup email.

[Tig_]

at the same time you never ask to work from home(besides the first 1-2 times)....you tell them "hey i am working from home today"...asking them gives them power....don't give them power. clear statements of "I am going to work from home today". will keep you in control.they will respond with "ok" or not at all. either is acceptance. if you ask you are "their child" and they are used to answering in the negative. also mix in days on the 3 day a week stage where you don't even tell them you just do it.

Thanks for this bigstack.  This is my main problem.  I don't think my boss will have a problem with it, she might even encourage it (gets me out of her hair).  But it's all about the packaging and I definitely tend towards the deferential, mother may I, which I really need to get over.

[Albert]

Some of this sounds very familiar. May I also add that when you're bored, one other go-to is to schedule a meeting. If you have 2 hours of work in a day, you first need to schedule a pre-meeting to discuss how you want to present the material to the larger group at the real meeting. Then you need to have a post-meeting to recap the real meeting and send out minutes and followups via email. Always offer to schedule another meeting to answer any questions. Boom full day right there folks

That's a great way to make enemies plus being in the meeting is work too.

[Tjat]

well I probably should've stated that I personally don't set up (or attend) extraneous meetings. I usually just skip them unless set up by a higher up. What I have observed is a correlation between people of limited productive value and their need to "socialize" anything and every thing with half the company. These are the same people that can't commit to any ideas for fear of displeasing someone but at the same time view themselves as critical cogs of the corporate machine.

[TomTX]

Some of this sounds very familiar. May I also add that when you're bored, one other go-to is to schedule a meeting. If you have 2 hours of work in a day, you first need to schedule a pre-meeting to discuss how you want to present the material to the larger group at the real meeting. Then you need to have a post-meeting to recap the real meeting and send out minutes and followups via email. Always offer to schedule another meeting to answer any questions. Boom full day right there folks

Schedule ACTUAL meetings that I have to sit in as a timefiller?

So YOU"RE that asshole who invites me to all the worthless meetings. Generate your own cover and leave me the fuck out of it.

[Schaefer Light]

well I probably should've stated that I personally don't set up (or attend) extraneous meetings. I usually just skip them unless set up by a higher up. What I have observed is a correlation between people of limited productive value and their need to "socialize" anything and every thing with half the company. These are the same people that can't commit to any ideas for fear of displeasing someone but at the same time view themselves as critical cogs of the corporate machine.

So true.

[StetsTerhune]

Some of this sounds very familiar. May I also add that when you're bored, one other go-to is to schedule a meeting. If you have 2 hours of work in a day, you first need to schedule a pre-meeting to discuss how you want to present the material to the larger group at the real meeting. Then you need to have a post-meeting to recap the real meeting and send out minutes and followups via email. Always offer to schedule another meeting to answer any questions. Boom full day right there folks

Schedule ACTUAL meetings that I have to sit in as a timefiller?

So YOU"RE that asshole who invites me to all the worthless meetings. Generate your own cover and leave me the fuck out of it.

Yeah, don't schedule actual meetings, everyone hates that guy. Do schedule fake meetings with people you trust at work. Depending on the situation, it may help to limit this to people you can actually justify having a meeting with. Don't have the meeting though, just go home early. Or if it's in the middle of the day go for a walk/coffee/drink/home for a quick nap.

[slamuel]

I feel sorry for folks in that situation, either in reality or due to their own mindset.

Never had the feeling that there was nothing to do.  Quite the opposite: there was always more doable than time to do it.  Had the good fortune to work with and for very good people for the vast majority of my career.

Getting to FI did coincide with running into a few bad apples that were spoiling things at work and made it that much easier to go from FI to FIRE.

I think some of this may have to do with how people perform their jobs.

Some people are very focused and efficient.  They grab a task and bear down on it, killing it quickly.  They tend to need far less than the "normal" amount of time to perform a task, and hence often find themselves with a lot free time on the job.  Since most employers in a traditional setting expect their employees to be sitting in the office for "x" hours per day, these folks need to find fillers (surfing the net, BSing, etc).

Others, doing the same job, looked frazzled for 12-hours per day.  Always busy, busy, busy.  Never a free moment to relax, it's just go go go.  They work long hours.  Get in early, leave late.  Yet they often get no more done than Mr. "Net Surf."  I think it's because these folks are typically NOT well focused- they are easily distracted by other "work" related items (emails, phone calls, meetings, cake parties, whatever).  They might be the type to over analyze everything and take forever to make a decision.  That can be something as simple as taking an hour to send out a simple 2-paragraph email.   They have to use just the right words- they write the email, erase it, think about it, rewrite it, edit it, then finally send it out.  In the end, that email is no better than if they had just banged it out in 5 minutes like Mr. "Net Surf."  You can imagine how inefficient these kind of folks can be preparing reports or conducing any other long term project.

The "busy busy busy" person could spend hours executing the master plan to acquire just the right donuts for the weekly staff meeting.  She'd check with everyone personally and find out what kind of donut they want and what brand they prefer.  She'd make a list and check it thrice.  It would take her 2-hours, and she'd look busy, busy, busy the entire time.  Mr. Net surf, given the same task, would call Dunkin Donuts and ask for 24-assorted donuts.  Total time: 2-minutes- leaving him plenty of time to surf the net or play.

Two different folks given the same task, with similar final results, but one is done in an instant, and the other turns the simple task into a major production.

It has nothing to do with education or intelligence.  My wife is very well educated, high experienced, and very intelligent, but she's one of those "busy busy busy" types- she just makes a mountain out of every molehill.  Frets over every minor detail.  Can't understand how "net surf" folks like myself can get so much work done and never have to work late.

So which employee is the "good" employee and which is the "bad?"  I figure if both are getting the job done for roughly the same salary, there is no "good" or "bad," just different.

THIS. A normally good indicator of which category you fall into is how you organize your emails (in a corporate environment). I find that folks who have tons of unread messages, no organization, etc. normally are people who are constantly stressed, confused, and not able to focus and handle all of the incoming requests.

People who know how to take inputs (emails, conversations, etc.) and quickly file them and handle them save a TON of time. This was a skill I mastered at my very first professional job and it's saved me a ton of time over the years.

I managed a team at my last job. I realized I was highly efficient when we lost 3 people (who were clearly the unorganized and constantly busy types) and I was able to take on all of their workload without increasing my 40-50 hour work week.
 
I started to examine this a bit and it became clear that some people are so disorganized that they end up spending a large amount of their time trying to get caught up/organized and/or taking care of "easy" stuff that adds little to no value at all, but takes up important time.

[RyanAtTanagra]

For those trying to work from home, another tip I've heard is to do less work when in the office and save it for when you're working from home, so now working from home is more productive than being in the office.  For those of us with not enough to do to keep busy as it is, it's a hard balancing act.

[monkeytree]

Wow, you guys are awesome. No wonder these forums are always so active! I constantly struggle with feeling guilty about having so much DT, but now I can just tell myself I'm just super efficient like the rest of you!

[Guesl982374]

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

Tig - A way around this is to scan/snap pictures of the pages you will need the night before in your text book so you can read them on your phone if just for reference or on your PC via dropbox/email. If you need a page from another section, Google the information and you'll get close enough.

All the big textbook info, none of the bulk.

[couponvan]

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

Tig - A way around this is to scan/snap pictures of the pages you will need the night before in your text book so you can read them on your phone if just for reference or on your PC via dropbox/email. If you need a page from another section, Google the information and you'll get close enough.

All the big textbook info, none of the bulk.

Now that was brilliant....

[Apocalyptica602]

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

Tig - A way around this is to scan/snap pictures of the pages you will need the night before in your text book so you can read them on your phone if just for reference or on your PC via dropbox/email. If you need a page from another section, Google the information and you'll get close enough.

All the big textbook info, none of the bulk.

Now that was brilliant....

Good idea! Most of my classes come with pdfs of the textbook when you buy them through my bookstore so I don't usually have this problem.

My problem was finding space to discreetly do homework at work. I sit in a cubicle with my screen facing a major walkway.

I schedule solo meetings in a conference room, face my laptop away from the door window, and move the conference room phone so it appears like I'm on a call.

Ironically, people walk by and later I'm complimented for my courteousness in taking conference calls away from my desk since people hate it when loud phone talkers disturb others.

I sit in a cubicle so it's expected if possible that I conduct teleconferences in

[bigstack]

Wow, you guys are awesome. No wonder these forums are always so active! I constantly struggle with feeling guilty about having so much DT, but now I can just tell myself I'm just super efficient like the rest of you!

You show me a lazy man and I will show you an efficient man.
:)

[JoeBlow]

13. your screen saver isnt a screen saver it is a picture of a excel spreadsheet.

Also, you can prevent your computer from ever going to screensaver so people will think you must have just left your desk within the past 5-10 minutes.

1.  Open windows media player.
2.  Put it on mute.
3.  Open up any MP3.  I think there is a sample MP3 with the default windows installation.
4.  Click the loop forever button.
5.  Minimize it.
6.  Profit.

[AZDude]

For those trying to work from home, another tip I've heard is to do less work when in the office and save it for when you're working from home, so now working from home is more productive than being in the office.  For those of us with not enough to do to keep busy as it is, it's a hard balancing act.

Really? I always did the opposite when working from home. When I was actually in the office and chained to my desk, I would work as hard as possible to get all my work done in those two days, so the other three I could spend goofing off, doing laundry, DIY projects, etc... while just monitoring my inbox.

[theSlowTurtle]

For those trying to work from home, another tip I've heard is to do less work when in the office and save it for when you're working from home, so now working from home is more productive than being in the office.  For those of us with not enough to do to keep busy as it is, it's a hard balancing act.

Really? I always did the opposite when working from home. When I was actually in the office and chained to my desk, I would work as hard as possible to get all my work done in those two days, so the other three I could spend goofing off, doing laundry, DIY projects, etc... while just monitoring my inbox.

So you just don't report all your progress at work and save some of it as "accomplished at home"

[CowboyAndIndian]

I got a mouse jiggler for my wife ("WiebeTech Mouse Jiggler MJ-1") on Amazon, based on ideas on this forum.

She loves it she never gets logged out.

[Tig_]

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

Tig - A way around this is to scan/snap pictures of the pages you will need the night before in your text book so you can read them on your phone if just for reference or on your PC via dropbox/email. If you need a page from another section, Google the information and you'll get close enough.

All the big textbook info, none of the bulk.

Now that was brilliant....

Right??!

Too bad I'll have to wait till Wednesday to try it as I'm working from home tomorrow... ;)

[Bearded Man]

I remember my first week at work. It was a disaster and I stressed about my new responsibilities and the fact nobody was there to help me out, until i realized a week later that this job was a real hide-out, in more ways than one: I've also secretly become an office hobo and have lived in the office for almost two years...

What, are you sleeping on a couch in your office?  So everyone thinks you arrive earlier and leave later than them?

Every day, I am the first one at work, and the last one to leave :D

Does your office not have janitorial services???

[YK-Phil]

I remember my first week at work. It was a disaster and I stressed about my new responsibilities and the fact nobody was there to help me out, until i realized a week later that this job was a real hide-out, in more ways than one: I've also secretly become an office hobo and have lived in the office for almost two years...

What, are you sleeping on a couch in your office?  So everyone thinks you arrive earlier and leave later than them?

Every day, I am the first one at work, and the last one to leave :D

Does your office not have janitorial services???

We did but I found that out the hard way, the first day I "moved in", when the cleaning lady barged in our office at 3 am, wearing headphones and singing a Filipino song at the top of her lungs...after this rude awakening, I decided to get rid of the contract and since that time, I added the janitorial duties to my executive job description, less than a couple of hours of mindless but enjoyable work per week...another mustachian in a different thread suggested I give the cleaning contract to a new company, YKphil Janitorial, but I think I'll keep everything quiet until I pull the plug on this job. Considering the absurd rents and the astronomical cost of utilities in this little northern town, plus the fact that I am here alone without my wife, this arrangement is more than suitable and saves me quite a lot of money, and I actually get a good kick out of  it.

[Guesl982374]

I read a lot of MMM in my first year.  I'm taking two classes now, but am struggling to find a way to get the homework done at work (can't quickly and easily hide that giant textbook).  It's frustrating to not have enough work at work but also have no free time when I'm at home.

Tig - A way around this is to scan/snap pictures of the pages you will need the night before in your text book so you can read them on your phone if just for reference or on your PC via dropbox/email. If you need a page from another section, Google the information and you'll get close enough.

All the big textbook info, none of the bulk.

Now that was brilliant....

Right??!

Too bad I'll have to wait till Wednesday to try it as I'm working from home tomorrow... ;)

Glad to help.

[pbkmaine]

When I was working a cubicle job with nothing to do, I bought some used German textbooks so I could brush up. They were quite ratty, so I ripped the covers off, punched holes in the pages and put them in binders. Anyone looking in my cube saw me hunched over a giant binder.

[swashbucklinstache]

If you aren't worried about people monitoring your computer remotely, I second the minimized MP3 over buying a mouse jiggler. It's also really simple to write a program that would do such a thing for you.

[rantk81]

There is a program I use called "Caffeine" that I use:

http://www.zhornsoftware.co.uk/caffeine/index.html

There's a mac version too in the Mac App store.

[The_path_less_taken]

My goal for today is to not punch my boss in the face. Seriously.

Yesterday was so bad I clocked out for lunch two hours early.

Today...I dunno. Counter-productive as it is, I sent a letter to his boss because...you have to pay me more or annoy me less. Period. He'll be spitting mad when he finds out and be even more abusive...and I am SO done putting up with it. Beyond a hostile work environment.

So everyone get their bail money ready for me today....and pray I don't need it.

(deep breaths, yeah....that's the ticket. although it didn't work for shit yesterday.)

[Tjat]

My goal for today is to not punch my boss in the face. Seriously.

Yesterday was so bad I clocked out for lunch two hours early.

Today...I dunno. Counter-productive as it is, I sent a letter to his boss because...you have to pay me more or annoy me less. Period. He'll be spitting mad when he finds out and be even more abusive...and I am SO done putting up with it. Beyond a hostile work environment.

So everyone get their bail money ready for me today....and pray I don't need it.

(deep breaths, yeah....that's the ticket. although it didn't work for shit yesterday.)

Keep in mind that if he hits you first, you can probably get a nice payout from the company. Especially since the company didn't appropriately address your complaint letter.

Of course you could be a angry nutcase, in which case you should probably find another job before you end up in jail.

[Bearded Man]

at one point years ago i created a list of things people could do to appear to be at work/doing work while really doing nothing or not be there at all. it was like 100 items long.
my friends loved it.
most only work at large companies with large campuses.

some of my favorites were:

1. before you leave work print off something to the printer by the door to the office. pick it up the next day when you walk in at 9 or 10am. (this saved me a few times as my boss would say oh there you are i was just walking by and didnt see you..."oh i was just getting something from the printer (and hold up the sheets)")

2. never take your lunch when others do....take it at 11 if they take it closer to noon.thus you get to have their lunch time off as well.

3. avoid carrying a backpack or briefcase(unless you are actually coming and going during normal times). but have one sitting beside your desk and move it around during the week. people come by the cube and see your bag and assume you must be in the office somewhere. if you come walking down the hall with your laptop or printouts etc and no bag people assume you were in a meeting .

4. long lunch breaks 2+hours are now your "bonus"
5. leaving work early is your "raise"
6. coming in late is "comp-time" for all those long hours you have put in...

7. in relation to #4 I always block off the "typical" lunch time on my calendar everyday...when asked about it i say it helps prevent the project managers from booking times when the client usually takes their lunch..."so while sure they can book me they might not be able to book the clients time as well"

8. in relation to #5. I block off the last hour of the day everyday...i have been asked about this as well by bosses and state "it is just so i can have an uninterrupted hour to wrap things up and create my to do list for the next day.".... they eat that crap up.

9. office slacker buddy. find someone that you can cover for and that will cover for you.these people need to be relatively smart... they need to know not to give specifics..."I think i saw him walk by about 3o min ago"..."he said something about leaving something in his car and going to get it"...also this guy if he gets to the office before you can tell you that hey the boss is not in today ..or hey he is looking for you... and you do the same for him.
Ideally you have diff bosses, but you sit near each other.

10. for those remote employees or bosses that work on other side of campus but monitor people activity via lync/IM status...buy a rotating fan and clip a wired mouse to it(hide it under desk).... plug the mouse into the pc/laptop...turn on rotating/oscillating fan... why golle gee beev what does it do? it buys you hours of not being at your desk is what it does.

11. automated/scripts for emails and work batch/manual jobs. kick these off at times later in evening or early in morning. gives a paper trail of the hard hours you put in.

12. if in IT always have a linux terminal up and running in green...with a log file(or some script) constantly scrolling by. managers walk by and think "my god that guy must be a genius tech geek" "it's the matrix in his office"

13. your screen saver isnt a screen saver it is a picture of a excel spreadsheet.


oh it goes on and on.

I would like to add to this brilliant list: always carry a notebook and pen everywhere you go. People see me walking in the parking lot and they ask me if I'm going to a meeting, and I'm like, YUP! Really I'm just going to eat breakfast at the cafeteria....

I really like the oscillating fan with mouse tied to it, and the excel spreadsheet screensaver. Sadly all of our stuff is managed via group policy. Oh, I actually pull logs via PowerShell all the time and have it looping through the logs or pinging the servers, etc. People, especially not IT people, come by and ask me what that is, it looks important. I tell them I'm decompiling code.

[Bearded Man]

This thread is awesome. Seeing others who refuse to work more than 10 hours a week, taking time for their own stuff makes me realize that this is the key to not getting burned out. Besides, where I work fully 80% of the people have absolutely NOTHING to do, and they freely admit it to me. As most of them eventually leave, their positions are not replaced, especially the PM's, but there are a few that realize they have it good because they have no projects and are fine so long as they don't leave.

Then you have people like me who get everything and the kitchen sink dropped on their plate because of all the people who are making crap up to do so that they can try to justify their positions. No more, I work at a snails pace...

[zephyr911]

This is absolutely the reason why I haven't burned out and left my current job.

I've turned 20-30 hours a week in basic recurring tasks into 5-10 by continually refining my practices and maximizing efficiency. This makes it easy to crush critical one-time needs like small design projects and cultivate the image of a specialist as opposed to an all-day workhorse.

It's so easy at this point, and SR is so high, that I have lost all desire to advance... as rigidly structured as things are, I could never move up fast enough to justify the effort. Easier to devote the brainpower to more cost-cutting and investment planning, and to be genuinely happy for those who set out to ascend the ladder. More power to 'em! :)

[goodlife]

Guys, another good article just on this topic, enjoy!

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/jobs/bored-to-tears-by-a-do-nothing-dream-job.html

I totally feel this guy, I just had 6 months of absolutely nothing to do and now being back to having a ton to do....