Work that needs done

Turning the TV off I pause, considering the work that lies before me. I decide to have a coffee to get me started but, as I stand and start to walk to the kitchen, I realise that the clothes that were hung up a couple of nights ago will now be dry. I take my time folding them, sorting them into neat piles before taking them upstairs, ready to be put away.

I wander into the spare room and turn on the computer, watching the lights, listening to the whirrs and clicks as it readies itself for the day.

Bugger, I think, coffee.

Back downstairs and I fill the kettle and set it on to boil. That done I stand next to it with my hands flat on the work surface, staring through the rising cloud of steam. Out through the window I can see autumn leaves swirling and bumping their way to the ground, coaxed from branches by a lazy breeze. Thoughts of work nudge at the fringes of my mind but I ignore them.

The kettle announces itself with a loud click. I slowly fill my mug, stirring away the granules until there are none left. A dash of milk, a final stir and it’s ready. I lift the mug and slowly make my way upstairs, up towards the faint glow of the monitor, the heavy draw of work that needs done.

I set my mug down carefully and take a moment to shuffle some paperwork into a pile, making room for the work that needs done. That done I swivel in my chair and cast my eye round the room, a chair piled with clothes to my right, next to it an overflowing bin. A spark of electricity zips through my brain at this point and I turn the other way to the bookcase where my eyes quickly locate the roll of binbags I left there the last time I tidied up.

Getting up I rip a bag from the roll and empty the bin into it before wandering to the bathroom to empty the bin there, and again in the spare room. I leave the bin bag at the top of the stairs to remind myself to take it down later and return to the work that needs done.

A few streets away I can hear the buzz of power tools so I launch iTunes, sleepily watching the status bar complete it’s journey. I scroll randomly through the library, thinking that I really should clear some of it out, before alighting on a track I like. I reach over and turn the speakers up as the opening drum riff of Superstition ripples through the room.

To make sure I’m not interrupted I check my emails, check Twitter and have a quick look through some RSS feeds. I realise at this point I’ve not read any news today and load the BBC News website into my browser, spending further idle minutes reading about things that hold little interest. Out of the corner of my eye a printed document lies on the desk, work that needs done.

A noise from downstairs tells me the cat has returned home and soon he is at my feet, miaowing for attention whilst he rubs back and forth. I reach down and start scratching under his collar and with a loud purr he leans into my hand, eyes closed. After some time he wanders off, eager to find a good place to sleep.

I sit up straight in my chair and turn to face the monitor. I look down at the desk. On it is an empty mug and a printed document. There is work that needs done.

Another noise from downstairs as the postman delivers the latest bill. Without a second though I get up and wander downstairs to check.

On my desk sits a document. Work that needs done.

Comments

  1. Welcome to my world…. The joys of working from home.

    I wish I could remember which show it was in, but it always makes me laugh – one home worker asking another new home worker “so, have you got past the stage of spending all day mas**bating”.

    Distractions, distractions.

  2. With wonderful irony, I read this due to a little “ooh, I’ll just go and check the post of the week before getting on with work” idea. Perfect.

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