Time management at work

This thread is a very good example of why so many offices want people back in the office…

No, OP. Nearly everything you have suggested is unreasonable.

I think you may have been out of the workplace too long. None of these things qualify as work, except maybe speaking to your mentor.

When I worked in an NHS arms length body, we had a daily Power Hour (on top of a 30 mins lunch break) which was specifically for things like meditation, exercise, a walk, reflection a snooze. It was great, I’m in the Civil Service now and have mentioned it but it’s not getting much interest 😜

Meditation - own time
Reading personal development books - own time
Reading books on my industry - own time, unless its specific research for a project you're currently working on
Offloading to a friend/journal - quick chat/catch up with colleague - work time. Chatting to non work friends or writing a journal - own time
Planning the day/week/month (which involves thinking around my personal time / upcoming hols etc) -Planning work tasks - work time, planning personal tasks - own time
Calls with a mentor - assuming this is specifically work related and agreed by work- work time
Brief bouts of exercise - own time

2 kids here and work full time from home. I take kids to school and start at 930 break 3 til 4 for pick up and finish at 530. Before adhd meds I did all housework early before school and then played on phone and worked. Now I'm on adhd meds I do work stuff and feel better for it. Housework after work as you don't clean your house at work and you end up stressed

All of this blows my mind as I work in hospitality. I absolutely DO only work when at work, usually for much longer than 8 hours. I have to, as constantly got customers in front of me (VERY busy restaurant attached to large attraction/amusement park with lots of tourists etc). But, I have to say, it's the type of work that I don't generally have to think too hard about. Physically demanding, can be fast paced and urgent and stressful, but doesn't involve staring at screens. But most certainly doesn't allow for any of the things on the list - except probably the exercise!

The one feedback I find surprising is chatting to/offloading with friends....when I worked in the office people spent hours over the week talking to friends about other colleagues/personal lives/football/weekend plans/school catchments etc...it presumably made working easier to have a bit of time communicating with others. Please could you help me understand why it's different if you're doing this when WFH?

I think this stuff that you do in the office is replaced by the popping a wash on, putting the shop away type stuff you do at home if that makes any sense.

Output is not the same as hours worked- if you have time to do these things and still get your work done, I don't see the issue.

Nobody works for 8 hours straight every day, it's not realistic and it's not even an efficient or productive way to work. Shorter 2/3 hour bursts with breaks in between (to go for a walk, or have a chat, or hang your washing) seems reasonable to me.

I think everyone forgets what offices were like pre Covid- nobody was sitting at their desk for 8 straight hours without doing anything else.

And doomscrolling bbc is not work and would only expect that to happen during a lunchbreak.

The current expectation of work is to be on it when you are working.

If you need to take regular breaks. That's completely fine. But that's not working time.

In terms of conversation in the office, a brief good morning and a moan about the trains completely fine.

But a much longer conversation about the weekend etc would only happen during lunch break.

I do think over the last decade the intensity and expectations of outputs at work are much higher, and there simply isn't time for chit chat.

To answer your question about chatting/offloading to friends - I'd say when you're wfh you're less likely to be doing that whilst also working. Whereas in an office you can chat over the desk while still doing stuff. That being said, I think there are people in offices who take the piss with that too - 5 mins when you first come in fine - after that, save it for lunch time...

The thing with these sort of questions is it depends entirely on your job, your employer, and how competent you are at your job generally. So really only you can know whether these things are acceptable during your working hours or not.

I've worked at places that have guided meditation sessions during work hours - so some places would support you doing that. Others would think you were taking the piss.
Some jobs and companies just expect you to get your job done and don't focus too much on the exact number of hours you're at your desk - with those you would probably be fine with most of the things you've listed IF you were competent at your job.
Some jobs rely on you staying up to date with the industry etc and would expect you to factor in CPD team as part of your working week. Others don't.

WTAF, this is obviously why employers are limiting wfh these days as people have become clueless.

Calls with a mentor
This is the only thing I’d entertain with staff provided it was a work endorsed mentoring partnership, usually as part of an agreed development plan.

Meditation No
Reading personal development books No
Reading books on my industry No
Offloading to a friend/journal No - unless you're having some sort of crisis, in which case perhaps you shouldn't be at work anyway
Planning the day/week/month (which involves thinking around my personal time / upcoming hols etc) Yes - though only regards your work
Calls with a mentor Yes, assuming its a work based mentor
Brief bouts of exercise Yes, if it's going up/downstairs to the loo, or a short walk in your lunch hour, otherwise no

How many of these things would you actually do if you were in the office?

It depends on your job, I have the kind of job that I just need to get done whenever, so I would do all of the above if my day allowed. But likewise it often wouldn't and I'd work far beyond typical "working hours".

Assuming you have a more typical job with a fixed number of working hours to fill, then:

Things I feel are a grey area but maybe IABU:
Meditation - no
Reading personal development books - no
Reading books on my industry - only if job allows time for CPD and the like and it's actually relevant. Reading shorter relevant articles is fine but books suggests a lot of reading.
Offloading to a friend/journal - colleagues, water cooler type stuff, sure, a little
Planning the day/week/month (which involves thinking around my personal time / upcoming hols etc) - fine
Calls with a mentor - fine assuming it's mentoring through your job
Brief bouts of exercise - fine if you'd do it in the office (walk during coffee/lunch break duration stuff)

Things I think are more clearly personal time activities, but maybe other people would weave them into a work day without giving themselves wrinkles over it:
Laundry - popping a load in the machine takes a few minutes and is fine in my book, sorting and ironing no
Making lunch (already prepped, just needs cooking) - fine
Popping to the post office - no unless it's very close and it's like popping to the coffee shop from the office
Putting grocery delivery away - technically no but couldn't get excited about this in someone who otherwise works hard, assuming you're talking about a few minutes to fire stuff in the presses, not a big clear out
Asking Mumsnet for time management tips - well who doesn't doss online occasionally at their desks! Technically no, but we all do it
Longer bouts of exercise - no, unless it's over a break

But also - yes this why we have paid breaks such as lunch break - it’s not just for physically eating food!

Most of your list is very clearly personal and not suitable for doing in work time.

• Reading books directly related to your work (that you actually need to read, and your manager would approve if they knew about it, not just widely around the subject out of interest)
• working with a workplace appointed mentor
• a certain amount of planning your week such as travel for work purposes/ booking a desk or meeting room at work - not booking childcare or similar

Some of the things you’ve put on the “could be work” list are very obviously not work such as meditating/ exercising / “offloading” (so chatting) to friends

Lunch - you have a lunch break for

The “don’t give yourself wrinkles about” are very clearly personal and shouldn’t be done in work time - I don’t know who these other people are who might think it fine!

Meditation - no
Reading personal development books - depends, where I work this would maybe be ok if it was directly related to an agreed goal for the year.
Reading books on my industry - an industry magazine would be fine where I work if you had nothing else on. But would be low priority. Depends how much you need to keep up to date on the industry you work in.
Offloading to a friend/journal - no.
Planning the day/week/month (which involves thinking around my personal time / upcoming hols etc) - possibly fine. When thinking about upcoming work you do need to consider personal stuff because annual leave affects work. Actually planning a holiday is not fine
Calls with a mentor - a mentor given to you at work? Fine.
Brief bouts of exercise - a 5 min stretch to help with back/neck strain from the computer? Fine. Or a half an hour walk? Not fine.

And yet in an office setting, health and safety folks have been known to install apps to remind staff of computer breaks for ...... short bouts of exercise!

Would you clock out at the office for

• brief stroll up and down the corridor

• toilet breaks?

All necessary to preserve/restore productive capacity. I do agree laundry shouldn't form part of the list 🤣

Is this a new modern work ethic? If it is, I love it and want to adopt it right now!

I will soon be sacked mind, but what a lovely outlook you have OP.