How I Quit Facebooking at Work and Other Stories

A Note to Minions:

In about 10 years, that’ll be a leading memoir title.  Personally I quit, cold-turkey, not long enough ago.

The urge is sincere: you’re on hold on the phone (so, what’s the harm in checking your Facebook); you’re in between projects and have three minutes until your lunch break (so, great time to share your breakfast on Instagram)…

It’s not necessarily about the time you take up, but the brain space.  When you are on the computer for non-work items, you blend your working brain with your non-working brain and aren’t as focused as you would be if your computer was strictly for work-related items.

The concept is much like what they tell you when you suffer from insomnia: make sure you use your bed only for sleeping (as opposed to studying, eating, playing chess) and turn off the TV.    

We all need a breather.  Don’t believe for a moment that an “efficient breather” is effective – i.e. if you need a moment, reading your emails in lieu of typing up a document is not going to cut it. 

Draw a smiley faces (or flowers or cubes, whatever) for a moment.  Not only does scribbling for a minute take less time than retweeting a news article, but it also lets you go into daydream mode – where we get our big ideas and remember to do tasks we might otherwise have forgotten. 

A Note to Supervisors:

As much as you daydream about your staff being well-oiled machines, their robotic features have no warranties attached to their hiring agreements.  They’re going to chat.  They’re going to take breaks.  They’re going to need some R&R somehow. 

Accept that balance without chagrin. 

Asking inflammatory questions such as, “what are you working on” when you clearly see someone taking a breather actually harbors resentment.  If you have new work for your staff, or you have an urgent deadline, walking by once in a while to check in or say, “can you please...” is fine.  However, outright banning certain websites or nagging your staff to “stay busy” when they’re gathering their stamina to proceed is humiliating.  Trust your staff.  Allow staff to know that you trust them to finish a task without significant hovering. 

If you notice certain staff is checked out more than most and their work subpar, take them aside and give them a reality check.  Otherwise, take a minute: what are you trying to achieve?