When The Music Stops… Learn To Be Quiet

It was not until my iPod broke that I realized how dependent I was on music to efficiently concentrate while in the office environment.

First off, apparently an iPod can’t withstand a good hard drop on the sidewalk – who would have guessed. “Such as life“, I thought to myself and continued my day, but when I reached the office I started to notice just how different the day was going to be.

Normally I am completely oblivious to things happening around me as my Skull Candy headphones drown out any office noise. But today, I was very aware of many things that distracted me to no end. Here a few things you might consider for being a little more courteous to your office workers.

Ringer Volumes – Seriously people, you sit right next to your phone. It flashes a red light when someone calls. Is it necessary to have the ringer at the loudest volume?

Cell Phones – If you leave your desk, take your damn phone with you. People seem to know when you don’t have your phone, and as a result they call you. When you don’t answer, they call you a second time just to make sure. If I have to listen to the Dukes of Hazard theme song one more time…

Lazy Yelling – Do not sit in your chair like a lazy lump and attempt to converse by yelling across 3 cubicles. Get up, and go talk to the person. On a blue moon, I have been guilty of this but I am now reformed.

Speaker Phone – Occasionally, meeting rooms are full and conference calls end up occurring in the cubicle – I can understand that. Please keep these to a minimum, and if there is any love in the world do not use speaker phone if you are the only one on the call.

Laughter – It’s cool to work in a fun company, but sometimes the laughter gets out of hand and it goes to 11. Learn to keep some laughter on the inside – the YouTube video I just emailed wasn’t that funny.

Because I love my co-workers, I forgive them. Now it is time to go get a new iPod so I can forget them.