While Duke taught me how to be a critical thinker and an effective
communicator, it didn’t instruct me how to sit on my butt in front of a
computer for 8 to 10 hours of the day.
In college and in all of our schooling prior to it, we
are used to constant change. We only spend quarters or semesters in each class
and then we’re off to new pastures, in different disciplines, with different
professors, in different parts of campus. And even if we don’t like any one
aspect of those changes, we have a grace period in which we can drop and/or add
classes as we please.
So if the academic year doesn’t prepare us for dealing
with the 9 to 5 grind, maybe all those internships we have during the summer help
us? Not really. By the time our internships end after 10 or so weeks, we have
just begun to settle into our roles. We only get a quick taste of what it’s
like to be a real adult before we are summoned back to campus to enjoy the land
full of unexplored pastures and grace periods.
Needless to say, it is critical that the first 22 years
of our life are full of this frequent change to expose us to more and more of
the foreign world around us, one semester and/or summer at a time. However,
this model of learning and doing poses significant challenges for fresh,
bright-eyed college graduates entering the working world as full-time employees
for the first time.
How are we expected to sit at a desk for 8 or more hours
of the day, when we used to get extremely antsy after an hour in the classroom?
How do we deal with the idea of potentially having to sit in the same chair, surrounded
by the same people, doing the same thing for years?
As one who just had to experience these challenges, I
must say that surviving 40 hours in the office is no small task, even if you
absolutely love your job. I get through each day – the good and the bad – using
these 7 simple (and I truly mean simple) hacks. They’ll help break your day
into smaller, more palatable chunks, with more things for you to look forward
to throughout the day.
1. Wash your face when you get to the office and after
lunch.
For you ladies (and men), no judgment here, who can’t do this because
you wear makeup, take a wet paper towel and wipe your neck instead. The effect of cold
water (especially during these hot summer days) gives you the feeling of a
fresh, exhilarating start, when you need it most – at the beginning of the day
and midday, especially if you’ve eaten a big lunch, i.e. a Chipotle burrito
bowl. It’s the perfect way to energize yourself at the times when you need it
most.
2. When you walk into the office, don’t make a stop at
the coffee machine on your way to your desk.
If you’re like me,
drinking coffee is a religious and rewarding experience. Before sipping that
cup of joe, spend at least thirty minutes at your desk to collect your
thoughts, write your to-do list, and respond to a few emails. If you generally
dislike your job, sitting down at your desk at the start of the morning will
likely fill you with a dose of unhappiness, so combat that by placing more
milestones and rewards for yourself throughout the day. When you sit down at
your desk each morning, say things like, “Alright, once I respond to these
emails and write my to-do list, I can go grab coffee. God, I love coffee so
much. Get to work!”
3. Use snacks and drinks to break up the day.
Don’t binge snack
or drink. Pace yourself and exercise restraint. Reward yourself with a snack
and cup of coffee or tea after you’ve crossed out difficult tasks on your to-do
list throughout the day.
4. Develop and work through your to-do list
strategically.
I’m obsessive about
writing long to-do lists, but there are 2 unique features of the lists I make
each day: 1) I write even the smallest of tasks on my list because I find
tremendous gratification in crossing things out. 2) I code tasks in 3 ways:
-questions/items I
need follow-up on? (coded with a question mark?)
-BIG TASKS, i.e.
tasks that I won’t be able to complete that day (written in CAPS)
-small tasks, i.e.
sending a specific email, filling out my timesheet, etc. (written in lowercase)
5. Have at least 1 in-person meeting a day.
We all hate
conference calls – that awful introductory music, the 1 or 2 folks who
forget to mute their speakers, the whisperers, and the endless beeping as
participants join/leave the conversation. Have at least 1 meeting each day in
which you can actually see and hear people. Whether that means having a daily
5 minute meeting with your supervisor to touch base or inviting your team to
join a conference call together in a room instead of each dialing in at their
desks, the importance of human contact cannot be understated. Sure, you see
your supervisor and teammates throughout the day and engage in conversations
with them, but it’s important to give yourself the opportunity to have
someone’s undivided attention for a few moments of the day. This won’t just
improve your outlook on meetings. It’ll surely help create a more effective and
efficient relationship with your boss and team.
6. Break from routine.
Don’t eat the same
lunch at the same time every day. For the last 6 months, I practically ate
the same homemade salad every day at 12:45 pm. Although it was delicious, I
could have really benefited from spicing things up more, but I was simply too
lazy and thought that my salad was probably the healthiest, most
cost-effective, and delicious option out there. In telling myself that lunch
was always at 12:45, I created structure for my day, but would get super cranky
if I couldn’t eat at that time, due to pressing deliverables and powers beyond
me. Break from routine by pushing your limits. See how long you can go without
having to go to lunch. The longer you wait, the shorter the rest of your day
will be.
7. Step away.
Sometimes, you just
need to walk away from your desk. There will always be those days when a formula in your Excel spreadsheet is just not working, or you can’t possibly make more
edits to the same presentation again. During those times, just step away. Go
outside, get some fresh air. Give yourself 5 minutes to recharge
before tackling those dreaded tasks.
Best of luck, and always remember that there will always
be better days ahead…called Saturday and Sunday.
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