I am not great at sitting around doing nothing. Don’t get me wrong – I have my moments when I become sloth-like, lounging for hours watching bad TV or cruising the web for any little tidbit that catches my interest – but these moments are rare; usually, I need to be doing something productive.
This holds especially true at work. I cannot stand to sit around doing nothing. I certainly am responsible for enough work to keep me busy 8 hours a day, and for longer than I plan on working (9.62 years and counting) but we are a technology reliant office, and when our Drives disappear, or our Computers act up, we are stuck with little to do. Well, MOST people feel that way, but not me. I instantly begin hunting around for something productive to do. There is always some morass of files, paperwork or some such that is sitting around gathering dust that needs to be reviewed and either filed correctly or purged.
Unfortunately, it does not enhance your popularity at work when most of your co-workers would love an excuse to slack for the day, and you keep pointing out all these projects you can work on with this extra time on your hands.
Guess I won’t be winning the “cool office worker of the year” award this year.
Idle Eyes and a Dormy 
I know the feeling. Luckily, I’m in a small work group that doesn’t have a slacker problem. I also tend to work my tail off until the last 15 minutes of my shift. At that point, if whatever is on my plate can wait until the next business day I’ll let it.
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I am the same way at the office and I find my colleagues doing more than slacking off. Some have completed their online Master’s degree during office hours. But given how much I spend writing ordinances, drafting plans, and answering e-mails, I find that I need to spend more time away from the computer monitor or else my eyes really dry out. For some reason I am not blinking as much when in front of the monitor. So I need to take a walk around Village Hall and get exercise. Or perhaps I’ll sneak in a chat with someone in Finance. 🙂
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Industriousness and dilgence are qualities which, when displayed, are more often than not laughed at and derided by co-workers, as though it’s some kind of weakness. I suppose it’s a reaction that helps salve those guilty consciences.
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You have my vote for coolest person.
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I do very little with paper anymore, if the server goes down, there is little I can do besides clean up my desk. The person who had my job before me hated it, one thing she told me was if she died in the office no one would notice until she started to stink, I LOVE THAT PART OF THE JOB!
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