Office Antics

Photo courtesy of i.telegraph.co.uk

As a lawyer by day (and regularly by night), every morning I find myself amongst a "sea" of the suited and booted, entranced by the monotony of the daily slog to work and sapped of the creativity that naturally comes with having one's own mind. 

Whilst the legal profession is usually intellectually challenging and can even sometimes be (dare I say it) exciting, it is essentially an office job, and therefore comes with several of the multiplicity of woes associated with the same: 

Desk slumping; goggle eyes; courageous dehydration; idleness resulting in a permanent state of starvation. 

I cannot tell you how many minutes a day I have wasted blissfully dreaming about walking straight out the door and taking the first plane to Acapulco. Unfortunately, every time the likes of a mortgage, cats and financial security promptly plummet me back to real life, before I've even mentally bought the ticket. As a plan b, over the last three-four years as a soulless city worker, I have poured my energies into developing a miniature Survival Guide to the City, as a way of attempting to hold on to the person I am and the person I want to be. 

1. Take charge of your journey to work by seeing this time as a valuable part of your day. Whether this involves tucking into an old Russian novel, catching up with your followers on Twitter or simply people watching, remember that this time is your time and nothing, (not even the red light flashing on your blackberry) can take that away from you.

2. Sensible snacking. Boredom is often mistaken for hunger, which for me used to result in a bin overflowing with empty crisps, chocolate and biscuit wrappers. Whilst I never say no to chocolate, I much prefer associating a creamy bar of Galaxy with a sizzling hot bath. Presently, I satisfy my continuous bouts of boredom with cups of herbal tea with colleagues, brisk walks outside the office or a few pages of my book. But if it is really hunger talking then I have a have bags of dried fruit, nuts, dried beans and crackers to hand to satisfy my cravings. ps Food Doctor is my saviour. 

3. Stay hydrated. Try to drink at least two litres or 10 glasses of water a day. Most people tackle tiredness with a caffeine fix. Whilst I do love a chai tea latte or two, I have found downing chilled water to be a cheaper, more effective solution to falling asleep at your desk. 

4. Beat the office bitch. He or she might be a nasty boss, a jealous colleague or even an obnoxious head of human resources but unfortunately every office has one. Speaking from experience, try not to internalise or retaliate but treat them with almost sickly kindness in return. If the situation doesn't change, do not let it linger and hope it goes away but shout about it loudly to whoever you think might be able to help. As a final resort, remember that life is too short to let them get you down. Remember, there is no loyalty in the corporate world so get out of there and find somewhere bigger and better (!!)