We all have our own habits and idiosyncharacies at the office. It is one of the challenges of creating a positive work environment: you need a set of rules and guidelines except that you know by nature that no two people have the exact same work style. Some people are morning people, some are afternoon people, some need to be constantly talking while others would prefer it if they could go the entire day without human contact. As much as I might question the field of Organizational Behavior I have to admit that it does have its uses.
Typically what happens is that I try to find my own optimal working style in the framework that is given me. What is interesting is that after a three month experiment in the office I am going to try to go back to my old ways and see if that has a beneficial impact on myself and the company as a whole. It might seem like the most minor of changes imaginable but I really think it is going to have a huge impact and it all focuses on how I have lunch.
See, my office lacks a cafeteria in my building but we have a quarterly lunch program in which we have the food from the cafeteria brought to us. On the surface this is a great idea as it saves you from having to walk out in the cold or the rain or even deal with case on a daily basis as you pay for the entire quarter in advance. And I’m certain for a lot of people in the office it is a great thing. But after a quarter trial (done mainly so I wouldn’t have to walk out in the cold) I’ve come to the decision that it is not for me.
First of all, having an all you can eat buffet that I’ve already paid for sitting directly outside my office is just way too much of a dangerous temptation for me. I can blame the five or ten pounds I’ve put on so far this year entirely to the fact that every day I could go and grab an extra chocolate chip cookie or bag of chips without a care in the world. All of those add up to some additional padding along the waistline that I do not particularly require. Sure I could have a salad but what are the odds of that happening?
The other aspect, and maybe the more interesting one, is that I have discovered that I just need to get out of the office and get some fresh air every day. In a weird way this is why I envy smokers. They can step outside for a smoke break and while emphysema is a rather high price to pay it does have it benefits. I am just not a person who can spend ten hours under fluorescent lights staring at computer screens and looking at numbers. I can do it when it is required but it just takes a lot out of me. For me to be at my best I really need to take a lap once a day. Step away from everything, walk around for a bit, and completely forget about the office for fifteen minutes. I am not sure if that disqualifies me from being an executive but it is just the way my mind works best.
So I am going back to the old method of getting out at lunch even though it will turn out to be more expensive and most likely have me end up spending more time in the office. But I think I will feel better for it and that is what matters at the end of the day. Now if I can just convince my body to get out of bed thirty minutes earlier so I could actually have breakfast then I will be making some real progress. If anyone knows how I could accomplish that little miraculous feat please let me know.
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