It’s not online Shopping, It’s “Research”

We’re approaching that time of year where workers typically develop a case of “holiday distraction disorder.” Most of us become overloaded with holiday plans and the end-of-year work push. (I’ll suggest some stress-busters later this month.)

There’s much discussion about being productive in this time of layoffs and working leaner/meaner. But let’s not forget the fine art of looking productive while goofing off. Now, I’m not talking about the slackers in your office - any efforts they make to look busy are useless. I mean those of us normally hard-working types who just need to blow a few hours or a day or two.
 
One maneuver I perfected while working in a hospital-based substance abuse program was the “consult.” Our staff rotated on a “drunk watch” schedule - part of your day had to be cleared to do an assessment if a drunk/addict stumbled into the ER. Sometimes I was unresponsive to my page because I was on another floor “consulting” with a doc. Actually, I was scoping out today’s flavor in the new coffee bar. Hey, don’t judge me unless you’ve have dealt with a tired ER doc and a crazy drunk in the middle of your day!

Here are some other moves:
 
* “Fake” meeting. Find an empty conference room where you and a couple friends can hang out for a bit. Be sure to synchronize your meeting schedulers in case Boss checks.

* Julie suggests, “Have something open and a bunch of tabs that are 'research' while another has your surfing up.”

* “I’m going to HR.” There is top secret stuff that can precipitate a trip to HR so no one will question that one. You could probably kill an hour.

* “Off-site” meeting. This is the granddaddy of fake meetings. You are meeting a client/vendor/account who just can’t make it to your office. Uh, this one might take all day.
 
So, let’s hear your best goof-off maneuvers. Anonymity guaranteed.

This is a post by Nancy LaFever. You can read more from her at the Centre for Emotional Wellbeing blog.