Jan 30, 2014

the art of working

I used to work in an office.

In most offices these days, the time you sit in the chair is automatically thought of as you being productive. You could be reading a book on your computer screen or you could be chatting with a colleague on the sly or heck, you can spend all day browsing twitter and facebook (if your office still doesn't block these two). And even if you don't have any of these habits, there are more ways to skip doing work than there are ways to do work. The majority option takes the cake here. Does it ring a bell? I am sure it does.

So, unless there is a deadline or a boss sitting on your shoulders, the chances of getting work done are, at best, minimal. And -- I love this part -- even with a boss or a deadline, there are all possible chances that you might not be giving your best to the task at hand.

Why is that so?

Because, we can only be forced to do work. If it were up to us, with our finances well settled and health in good place, we'd all just rot away because what's the motivation to do anything in such a scenario? I can imagine the whole art and craft lobby going up in arms against my last assertion. They'd say there is art and higher meaning, a wish to connect with some supernatural force, a desire to reach out to people, to do something for ourselves, to leave your name etched in the annals of history, and in totality, just be remembered.

It's all just glorified bullshit. Man wasn't born to sit in an office chair all day and reply to emails. The human animal didn't go through hundreds of years of struggle to end up where we've ended up. So, why do people continue to do all that they do.

I am going to muse on that and try to puzzle these answers.