Supposing you complete primary and secondary education in a semi generic field, life has one great parking lot for all aspiring world changers: The Cubicle. Jobs you can get will involve varying degrees of virtue, interest, and money, but regardless, you will likely spend time in one of these baleful anti – productivity pods. This is not a workspace as much as it is a crucible (notice the word similarity?), for your sanity. As always, advice is never definitive, but here’s what your author has seen work.
Primarily, WORK. Figure out what’s expected of you and DO IT. Not hard, just exacting over long periods of time, and it gets very old fast. Still, this job makes you the money that keeps you afloat and in housing, food and fun, so attend to it. Nothing good comes of having to move back to the parent’s basement, (If you’re lucky enough to have the option.) Whatever you’re doing is better than the job you DON’T have. This WILL bend the brain, and induce boredom and sleep, which segues us to other topics.
Food and drink are another obvious thing to keep at hand. Coffee. Lots and often. Bring an espresso machine to your desk if allowed. Otherwise, water and snacks to keep you from getting cranky and snapping at the drones you’ll be surrounded by. Keep friendly, keep frosty. The job you’re doing can likely be done by any drone, but it won’t get any more interesting if you can’t hack it at the basic level.
SLACK OFF. Preserve the job, but don’t let the sanity go away. Read, post on internet forums, write, anything, but always have something you can do to keep yourself occupied at your desk. Don’t let it become the priority, but don’t let the job rule your life either.
LMNO, fellow writer and schmot guy, recommends using this as the reason for figuring out how to do your job more efficiently. Take care of business so you have more time for your own stuff.
(Get QUICK with ALT – TAB to avoid scrutiny from co workers and supervisor types.)
Finally, go home. Get out of the office and do other things. Keep active and have fun. If you find yourself worrying about work at home, or loosing sleep over it, find another job. What you do to live should be worth the 40 hours a week, and not rule the numerically superior off time.