Tuesday 30 October 2007

Faking focus

I'm a kind of restless guy sometimes. I fidget. I don't sit still at my desk all day - I'm up and down all the time, walking here and there to do some thinking. So if I need to sit down and focus on something, it's tough. A trick I've discovered recently is to take my shoes off. Because I don't want to walk around the office in bare feet, this increases the cost of leaving my desk and makes sure that I have a very good reason if I have to leave. This wouldn't work if I didn't care about going barefoot. Or if I had some slip-on sandals in easy reach.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - Wearing slippers around the office might not be a great career move.
PPS - But I guess you never know until you try.

5 comments:

Erin Marie said...

I tried that, but then I discovered that I really don't care about being barefoot in the office.

Actually, I've done tests and studies*, and I've discovered that I'm 74% more effective and 76% more creative when I'm shoeless.

But I was thinking about it the other day - it's different for guys. Guys are generally wearing lace ups and socks - a lot more difficult just to slip on and off. Also much more weird to see a guy in a suit and tie with no shoes on. I think I manage to pull off the 'eccentric chic' look. I don't know if it works for men.

*Tests and studies might not be accurate, or in fact, reflect any kind of scientific test or study.

John said...

The socks and laces are exactly the point of this exercise. It's a minute or two commitment before you are ready to walk about, meaning any one-minute wander is not quite worth it. The common slip-on female footwear style won't produce the same results. In ease-of-use terms, they're equivalent to sandals for men.

Erin Marie said...

Sandals for men are just plain wrong.

John said...

Is that only with socks, or in all cases?

Erin Marie said...

Full stop.

Thongs yes. If they're cool.

Slides work for me.

Sandals ... just plain no.