Cubicle Tips?

[Zholl]

Okay, so I've just recently started a new job at USAFA. Interestingly, they've got me in a cubicle where we handle tickets and such. I personally handle database entry and digitizing documents, but I also have to handle the occasional complaint and reinstatement.

What I'd like to know, is how to keep my sanity while I'm working here and what would be acceptable in a professional government environment such as this, since the Air Force seems to have a bit of a different idea of professionalism than we do. The sanity is mostly because the work is pretty mind numbing and repetitive, and I can't really search CD at work, since they monitor everything on the networks, and I'm nervous about just checking the news and Reader through iGoogle. I'm posting this on my lunch break at a nearby library.

I really need help trying to keep myself focused, here. The repetition is going to drive me crazy, and it doesn't take long before my mind starts to slip off.

[Burmeister #279]

its the government so they'll prolly change their minds often but you could try asking your boss what's acceptable... going up is usually the best idea imo.

[SushaK]

yea i agree with burmeister, just going up and asking is the best way to find out for sure what is allowed. and i know what it's like to be in your situation, im currently sitting in a cubicle typing this because i have nothing else to do. the work i was supposed to do is all done now and i was going insane. luckily i work for a regular company that works with manufacturers. here i can listen to music as long as i have headphones and i have my cell with me on silent so i can txt, although i try to make sure that noone sees.

hope this helps

[Molten]

Your post seems rather desperate. I know this isn't what your asking for, but maybe the job just isn't for you. If it is really making you miserable to be in a cubicle, why not start searching for a job that is more active? In this economy, I realize this might take quite a while to find. So, good luck with putting up with this job while you wait.

[youngWilliam14]

i'm in the cubicle next to SushaK and all i know is that i never want to work in a cubicle again XD

reason number 7 why i'm in the school of technology, NOT the school of engineering

print out a checklist of all FIRST teams, and then check them off when you come across their team number!

[Zholl]

Originally Posted by Molten

Your post seems rather desperate. I know this isn't what your asking for, but maybe the job just isn't for you. If it is really making you miserable to be in a cubicle, why not start searching for a job that is more active? In this economy, I realize this might take quite a while to find. So, good luck with putting up with this job while you wait.

Yeah. Unfortunately, this is the best job I could get. It's better than food service at least, and I'm basically a temp worker, but I can't really quit. The next best thing was computer tech with a small local business, but they couldn't offer me full time, which I kind of need right now. Everything else, well, I'd rather be where I am than any of those....
And it probably would be more enjoyable being in a cubicle if I was doing something I actually enjoyed, instead of filing reports for a bunch of cops. You get the occasional interesting report, but they're few and far between.

The rest of you, yeah, probably should ask my boss. He's away on leave right now though, so it'll be the end of the week at least. Until then, anyone got some advice on how to keep my sanity while still getting work done?

[Chris is me]

Grab some headphones and listen to old FIRSTcasts like I do! Or any music, really. It sounds like all you're doing is paperwork, so you shouldn't need to hear anything. When in doubt, use your other senses.

[Elgin Clock]

Your employer should have a technology access policy in place for what you are allowed to do & are not allowed to do using company time & equipment.

Even while on lunch, the use of company equipment may be regulated to include or dissallow certain things.

Ask your supervisor/boss if there is any documentation in place.

If they won't let you do anything online, ask about personal listening devices & their accepted use on the job as well.

If all else fails, do what I did a while back if you can & upgrade your phone so you can have access to the internet while on break!

Whatever you decide to do to "keep your sanity" so to speak, make sure it does not interfere with what you are there to do - your job.

Good luck surviving cubicle life for however long of a time it may be.
I feel your pain in that regard!

[AndyB]

Others have mentioned it... but music really is the best way. I've been working in a cubicle for the last year now and music makes things go by much quicker. I also tend to listen to sports radio in the morning as well which keeps my mind entertained.

[DonRotolo]

I'd advise against using the "company's" equipment to do anything but work. Even listening to music online. Well, at least until you get clarification from your supervisor.

In any case, doing anything but work while 'on the clock' is a great way to get fired. Like browsing CD.

Bringing an iPod to work should be OK - ask a colleague, since in your environment data storage devices may be forbidden - and you can listen to music that-a-way.

The alternative has worked for me for over 1/4 century: Enjoy what you do, to the point that you like doing it. I don't need anything to distract me, I'm almost never bored.

[Zholl]

went ahead and started bringing my mp3 player. checked and there's nothing against that, at least. I don't use the net accept for accessing what I need online, and then checking an occasional news article on my homepage or checking my bank account, usually to make sure my pay is correct or that I have money to eat. the music definitely helps. and yeah, I wouldn't dare check CD at work. if I do anything like that, there's a public library not too far away.

Don, I've been trying to find a way to enjoy doing this. but it's really hard to enjoy sending out pre-written emails and scanning documents into the system all day, which is 95% of what I do. it's just too repetitive for my mindset. the only time it gets interesting is if I'm dealing with an unusual report that at least sort of breaks the monotony. it still beats the alternative though.

[Andy Baker]

When I was at Delphi, I spent 15 years in the same cubicle. Gladly, the other guys in the cube were fun (most of the time) and didn't mind some of these antics:

1. headphones are a must (you already found this out)
2. small nerf hoop basketball
3. Using a plastic periscope to view over the cubicle wall was fun
4. Nerf Dart Gun wars
5. We re-named the aisles and cubicles one day: Disk Drive, Baker Alley, Sparky Street... stuff like that. Those little signs came down after some no-fun middle manager got mad.

Of course, your boss may not like any of these things. However, if you stay productive, and only use these things rarely, I suspect that no trouble will come. If these things become a distraction to you and others, then you will see how company policies are created.

Good luck,
Andy

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Zholl

it's really hard to enjoy sending out pre-written emails and scanning documents into the system all day, which is 95% of what I do.

I hear you. All I can suggest, beyond what's been said already, is to try to look for ways to make it better/easier/automated - that is, go outside what's expected of you and make things more productive/efficient.

Do that often enough and you'll find yourself with a better job. You see, bosses like people who make them look good.

Oh, yes - the Nerf Darts are essential. Every week and a half or so, the entire office just explodes in a 45 second frenzy of nerf darts popping all over the place, like the simulated nuclear war in War Games. It really is a sight to see. They even make USB-powered remote-controlled Nerf dart shooters...

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Zholl

it's really hard to enjoy sending out pre-written emails and scanning documents into the system all day, which is 95% of what I do.

Someone needs to say it:

"That's why it's called 'work' and not 'vacation'".

Also, kicking the habit of thinking that being connected to the Internet, or listening to music, or.... 24x7 is necessary, is a useful thing to do. Having all of those things at your fingertips (or at mine) certainly is nice, but it is hardly necessary.

Some day you will bore your children by telling them the extremely powerful lessons you learned while on this job. Becoming aware of those lessons now, rather than waiting for hindsight to kick in 10 years from now is worthwhile. Think it over.

Good luck,
Blake

[Zholl]

well, I seem to have my dilemma figured out for the most part. It would seem I simply needed more to do. They've got me on a couple of new tasks, in addition to the ones I was doing before, which keeps my mind moving enough to keep my sanity. It especially helped that we're shorthanded this week. Monday they'll have me on the actual government security database as well, so that'll keep me busy. That was definitely the problem, was the pure repetition. Now that I can shift back and forth between four or five different tasks as I go about my day, and I can listen to music as well, I discovered, I'm not finding myself as brain dead while working or with nothing to do for an hour or two while I wait for more paperwork to come in.
and blake, thanks for helping to bring the reality check. this is my first job, so I don't have any past experience with work personally. plus, with no older siblings, cousins, etc. and a couple of parents with jobs that are, quite frankly, much more interesting than mine (both medical), so it was kind of hard to imagine a job being like this. it especially doesn't help when everyone else on here seems to work as an engineer, which is what my dad used to do. I've seen what his old group used to do when they weren't actively working, and they went much further than nerf hoops and dart guns....