Efficiently inefficient

I used to be a very “work first, play later” kind of person.
Then I got my first office job.

It began as an after-school paid internship (how and why was that considered an internship?) at a local car dealership/service shop. For two hours every school day, I entered purchase orders, filed paperwork, stuffed and mailed billings, reorganized files, completed titlework…I even brought in cookies once in a while.

But I didn’t have enough to do.

So, I started answering phones and running errands. I dusted desks and cleaned dirty keyboards, when I couldn’t stand them anymore. I counted superwash coins, straightened waiting-area seating and posted new licenses. It still wasn’t enough to keep me busy until 5:00 every day. Especially as I got more and more efficient.

My 10-key and filing skills improved; I got quicker at doing title work and better at using the postage meter. Eventually I got to the point where I could finish almost everything Kaye had for me to do in a half-hour or 45 minutes. Then I would sit at my desk downstairs, emailing or revising school papers, and answer phones as they came in. Sometimes I'd save my work until right before I had to go, just so I could race against the clock and see how quickly I could get it done.
Is that a form of job security?

I learned a bit about cars and built my own Toyota Prius online. (This was before Priuses – or hybrids in general – were even popular, just so you know. Before I’d heard of any celebrities owning them. I wanted a Prius as soon as they came out.) This was probably not the best idea, since I worked at a FORD and CHRYSLER dealership and my boss could see what I was doing, but hey, I drove a Hyundai at the time. My soul was already sold.

Anyway.

My favorite and least-favorite thing about office jobs is that I can always find a way to do things more efficiently. I always do my work in less time than my peers. And then sit there, feeling guilty, because I ‘waste’ all that time I saved up and I have nothing else to do. Couldn’t I just be slow? Content with the way things have previously been done? No, and no.

The library is the worst because there are always things to be done, but practically none of them need to be done right now. My time is spent mainly on cataloging, updating and weeding our collection. Regularly rotating our displays.
Oh, and reading internet stuffs.