Post: #1

I'm soliciting advice...

What I do exactly for a living is not important, just the conditions. I work in a cubicle farm style environment and have for the past 11 years.

I like my job, I like the people, it's chill. But sitting on my ass for 9 hours per day is really starting to get to me. It's like Chinese water torture, you don't mind at first, but the cumulative effect is starting to drive me batshit. My cubicle walls are about 6 feet high and that stereotypical cubicle shade of light brown. It's gone from beyond pure boredom to a very real feeling that I'm being mentally tortured. I'm sure some of you will know the feeling.

On top of that my job is such that I have to stay at my workstation for most of the day due to current workload (yay job security!)

Anyone have any tips on how I make this situation more tolerable?

Post: #2

Add plants to your cube. Give them names. Talk to them.

Set a schedule to take short regular walks away from your cube.

Set a schedule to take regular stretching to get your blood flowing.

Set a schedule to take short regular breaks to play mentally stimulating games (lumosity, crosswords, words with friends)

Set a schedule to take short moments of meditation (10 minutes or less) where possible. Practice deep breathing techniques.

Don't look at facebook. It will give you false sense that there is a lot going on that you're missing out on.

Listen to headphones - explore music you don't normally listen to (Spotify is amazing, particularly the apps, for exploring new stuff).

Don't look at reddit, but if you must, pick a few stimulating subreddits and stick to them. (/r/truereddit, /r/foodforthought).

Research your next vacation plans in detail.

Take short breaks to practice flashcards to learn a new language.

Go on a wikipedia binge.

Post: #3

Good list Fatless!

I take unofficial breaks at 10 and 11. At 12 noon I work out at NYSC for 50 minutes. Then I take two more unofficial breaks at 2:45 and 4pm.

Besides that, I pick out about 5-10 blogs that I review on a daily basis in between doing actual work.

You in NYC? Work out at lunch. I do my weights at lunch and my cardio when I get home after work.

Post: #4

I wasn't doing weights at lunchtime in the POD-- good for you-- but I had a chair that was about right to do over head lifts with.

I wanted to bring dumbbells to work but was afraid they'd bust me for them as a health hazard.

Post: #5

Try and get rid of your fluoro lights and get a halogen lamp for your cubicle. The fluorescent lights send out a really artificial light that can make you tired and listless.

You could also try get a little negative ION generator.

Post: #6

I spend 20-30 minutes every day learning Spanish on Duolingo.com. Couple other languages available there too, all for free. Great way to make productive use of your downtime/coffee breaks/whatever.

Post: #7

Practice sitting with perfect posture a la Gokhale method. You actually improve your posture over time with it, so it's kind of like consciously healing your fucked up western computer posture.

Any spare time you have... learn something or create something.
Duolingo.com for language, or one of the free programming languages sites, or write a blog post, etc. In 20 mins a day you could have got 2000 new words under your belt in 6 months - a great base for quickly getting conversationally fluent.

Or you could have written a couple hundred pages of content for a blog that you're passionate about, get paid for, etc.

Post: #8

read RVF

Post: #9

Yeah iPod and headphones. The cubicle thing is torture. The people are all fake and just a bunch of finger pointers when things go bad. I hope to never see the inside of one again.

Honestly I'd like to tell you to find other work. Start a home business or something. There's plenty of ways to make money on this forum if you check the Lifestyle threads.

I feel your pain.

Post: #10

Also, if you work past sunset, flux is great on the eyes. It warms your monitor RGB in the evening. I have it on ALL my devices.

http://stereopsis.com/flux/

Post: #11

vodka

Post: #12

LSD

Post: #13

Could you get a stand up desk or sit on a medicine ball instead of a chair?

Post: #14

(05-10-2013 01:10 AM)ao85 Wrote:  Could you get a stand up desk or sit on a medicine ball instead of a chair?

Not really an option.