The workplace has changed tremendously in the last decade. The presence of super fast internet, instant messaging and bite-size online entertainment has made it possible to integrate our personal lives with our work lives. It’s not uncommon to take a personal call during our lunch break, or to take a few minutes to talk about personal stuff. Similarly, it’s become the norm to check work emails in the evenings or during the weekend in case something urgent comes up.
For those working in the marketing and advertising industry, the practice of browsing the net and other entertainment sites has also become a way to inspire creativity. This in turn raises the question of where is the boundary when it comes to the workplace? Well, the answer is quite simple. If your boss saw you do that, would he or she approve?
With work cultures varying across different firms and different regions, the simple guideline of ‘will my boss approve?’ is easiest to follow. However, if your boss constantly reminds you of the Devil wears Prada, then you might want to answer ‘Is this helping or hindering my work?’ instead. The hard part to follow is being honest with yourself in your productivity level.
For example, if I know that something will just take 1 minute to do like replying to some personal admin regarding an appointment, I will often just indulge myself because it’s one thing off the to-do list that I won’t have to constantly remind myself to do later. Also, if I get hungry at 11.30am instead of at noon, I’ll just take my lunch break earlier than normal provided I’ve met my deadlines and don’t have any scheduled meetings on that time. This keeps my mind off thinking about food which can be distracting to keep my concentration focused on the work at hand.
However, if someone sends a funny video that’s around five minutes, I’ll probably park that one for later. Exceptions are when I’m feeling completely uninspired and demotivated that I need something to pick me up and get inspired for the day.
Studies also show that you should take regular breaks around once an hour because our brains will numb to the constant stimulation resulting in reduced productivity levels. Just make sure that break doesn’t turn into too long a session that it becomes ‘entertainment’ rather than a productivity boost.
