Office work patterns
Do focused, sustainable work at a desk, in your inbox and in meetings.
Office work is shaped less by big decisions than by small daily habits: how the desk is set up, when email gets read, and whether meetings have a purpose. The patterns in this area cover those habits, for people working in an office, at home or both.
Patterns in this area
- No agenda, no meetingprocess
Meetings without a clear purpose run long, drift between topics and end without decisions, so the same discussion happens again next week.
Applies when
- you organise or are invited to work meetings
- several people's time is involved
- the meeting is meant to decide, plan or solve something
- Process email in batchesprocess
Email arrives all day, and checking it constantly breaks your concentration while messages still pile up unanswered.
Applies when
- you receive more email than you can read as it arrives
- most messages don't need a reply within minutes
- you want to spend less time in your inbox without missing things
- Protect blocks of focus timetechnique
Meetings, messages and notifications break the day into small pieces, so demanding work keeps getting pushed back or done in a rush late in the day.
Applies when
- your work includes tasks that need sustained concentration
- you have some control over your calendar
- interruptions come from email, chat and meetings
- Set up your desk to fit youpreparation
Long hours at a poorly set-up desk lead to sore necks, shoulders, backs and wrists, and the discomfort builds slowly enough that you don't notice the cause.
Applies when
- you work at a computer for several hours a day
- you have an adjustable chair, or can add a footrest, stand or separate keyboard
- you're setting up a new workstation, at the office or at home