Projects

No, that's not me.


Sometimes life at the workplace can become tedious. Monotonous. Boring. Sometimes a routine can be comforting, giving you a feeling of security and safety. But most other times being in a routine is the same as being stuck in a rut. But not this kind of rut. More like this (and no, that's not me either). You feel trapped and claustrophobic. You feel that with each passing second your life ekes out of your pores, precious moments drifting by, never to be regained. You feel as if your life is like sand that is being sifted through a still and then crashed upon by ocean waves, all falling through an hourglass. A routine can be bad. Very bad. All Work And No Play - that sort of thing. Needless to say, it doesn't end well:







This is Jack Nicholson. Not me.



OK, so maybe it turns out a bit more unpleasant. But the other pictures were too scary.



The point is to find some things that help break the routine so we don't become axe-wielding maniacs. There are many ways to get out of the routine of work, work, eat, work, sleep, work, watch TV, work, sit silently watching a blank wall pondering the mysteries of the universe, work, etc, ad infinitum ad nauseum. One way to break the routine is to simply take a break: go on the Internet, take a walk around the office. A little break every now and then is essential to retaining your sanity. But I think there are better, more lasting ways to prevent zombification. These are projects. By having projects you set long-term goals for yourself. Projects should be fun, or should at least have little or nothing to do with your work. There are a number of ways to get creative. Here are some ideas:




1. Fantasy Football - Or any sport of your choosing, providing it's in season and there is a fantasy league somewhere online. Yahoo! Sports is what I know, and it may be the most popular fantasy site. There must be others though. ESPN should have one. All you do is get a bunch of friends and sign up. You draft your players, set up your roster, and let the computer do the rest! You don't have to know much about anything to play. I'll admit, I'm not too sports savvy. But I still have fun. You can pick your team colors, give your team a snazzy, inappropriate name, and unleash your best smack talk. Sure, you can trade players, look up stats, do math, and try to win (there are point systems for players and it's not too difficult to figure out), but the real fun comes in being part of the group and focusing on something that isn't work. My Fantasy Football team, The Runnerups is currently in third place. But there's still time.




2. Try and get a Wii - Go ahead. Try it. I dare you. Yeah, you can probably buy one online for around $500 (that's double the $250 retail price), or go on eBay and pay a little less, but I don't think you can find one in stores. Unless you have a tent, a nice supply of food, and a shotgun to fend off wolves and line-cutting teenagers, you might have a hard time getting a Wii. What's a Wii, you may ask? It's a video game console. It's neat because you wave a stick around and it makes little cartoon characters on your TV move around. Unlike moving a joystick, like regular old video games. I work near the Nintendo Store in New York, perhaps the only place in the country guaranteed to have Wiis in stock (almost) every day. But they only have around 150. And they open their doors promptly at 9:00 or earlier, and at 8:00 a.m. there is already a line half a block long. So a fun project might be to scour the earth to snag these wildly popular consoles. It may be daunting, it can be frustrating, but if you get one - can you give it to me?





3. Paper clips! - Paper clips are a useful tool. Yes, you can clip paper with them, but you can also short circuit an electrical outlet, make a pointy rod, or create some nifty projects. Paper clips are great because you can - gasp!- clip them together. Some fun uses for this are to make your very own paper clip curtain and hang it at your cubicle entrance. You can also make a paper clip chain mail vest, like the bloke in the picture above. Whoa Nellie! You're having fun now! Apparently that guy had a TV show in the fifties. He co-starred with a puppet. Another thing to do with paper clips is to bend and mold them into little people. Then you can have an army of paper clip people ready to do your bidding. Pit them against one another or even make them your employees. You're the boss, now!






4. Get to know everyone in your department - Ask them questions, get to know their personal side. Be friendly, outgoing, fun. You might learn something, do important networking, or make some friends. On second thought, this might be too much work. Let's skip this one.



5. Play darts, office style - Do you have those particle-board-type tiles on your office ceiling? The kind where if you throw a sharp pen or pencil just right you can get it to stick? If so, then color a bulls-eye on a tile and see how well you can do. This isn't a long-term project, though. In fact, this could be a very short-term project because if your co-workers or boss see this, there's a good chance you'll get fired. Especially if you happen to miss the ceiling and poke someone's eye out.





6. Rearrange your desk - This can happen however frequently you want - every month, week, day, hour - it's up to you! Put your Post-It notes on your left instead of your right. Move your computer to face a different wall if you can. Get rid of that old, crinkled inspirational poster featuring the cat hanging by the wire and replace it with a new, shiny poster with the picture shown here. Yes, this is pretty work related, but it will give you a new boost of energy and enthusiasm.





7. Learn origami - There's a good chance you'll have paper by you, so why not learn some origami? You can impress your friends, make some nifty hats, and see if you can make your own paper version of the San Diego Zoo by replicating every animal there.





As you may be able to tell, I have been running out of steam. If I think of more projects I will let you know. How about you? Can you suggest any projects? Are you doing something that gets you through the day? Knitting? Crocheting? Collecting stamps that you tore off from office mail? Let me know!