Five o’clock on Friday afternoon, it’s been a good day. Most of the items on your daily to-do list have been crossed out. However, you’re getting your usual late afternoon second (or third?) wind. Your brain is still clicking. You could put in a few more hours of work.
Then a thought rears up in your mind, or is it a little devil on the shoulder? Wouldn’t a glass of beer or wine taste good right about now? Yes, it would. It would be especially good with that pimento cheese in the refrigerator. What to do, what to do…
The beauty of a home office, the refrigerator is just steps away. But now you’re torn: stop working (it is the weekend after all) or relax with your favorite refreshing brew while getting a bit more done.
You can have it all. There are plenty of productive tasks you can do while enjoying a beverage. Or two.
Thank you cards. You send thank you cards, don’t you? No, it’s not passé. Take a sip and shop online for handmade cards. Etsy’s a good place to start.
Addresses. Save time later by hunting down the addresses you’ll need for those thank you cards. But don’t write the cards. No no no. No permanent writing is allowed right now.
Read. Expand your mind by reading blogs and websites outside your niche. If you’re a blogger, jot down post ideas. Take notes. Doodle. Get inspired. Make connections between random ideas.
Listen. Listen to podcasts. I like catching up on NPR shows I’ve missed, like Fresh Air or This American Life. What do you like?
Tidy up. While you’re listening to the podcast, clean and organize your desk. Clutter has such bad juju. Clean your dusty computer screen and crumby keyboard. But move your beer first. A tipped over beverage can lead to a short-circuited keyboard. It’s not important why I know this. While you’re at it, does the floor need a sweep?
Organize. Start your to-do list for next week. Jot down some of your big ideas for the future.
Tweet. Twitter’s great for conversation and random reading. Find an interesting hashtag to search and read. But please, no drunk tweeting. Stop after two beers. You’ll thank me later.
Emails. If you really want to be productive, draft emails you need to send, but don’t enter the email address into the To field and don’t even think about sending them.
Inbox. Power through your inbox. Delete the crap. Skim or read the newsletters. Mark things to read later.
Play. Exercise your creative muscle. Write in your journal. Make a visionboard (oops, I just lost half the crowd). Or do whatever creative hobby you practice.
Draft. Draft articles, reports, letters or blog posts about productive things you can do while having a beer with pimento cheese and crackers. Edit and publish later.
What productive work-related things do you do while you’re enjoying a beverage?
Association Brain Food 
Good point about the thank you cards, Dierdre. We do so much communication – even recruiting and thanking speakers – through email that we forget how much thank yous – printed and mailed – actually impress people and convey that we really care.
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Exactly, David, we care that they take the time to do whatever it is we’re thanking them for. Time is a gift. Imagine if a volunteer received a thank you card out of the blue. I know it’s likely impractical to send cards to every volunteer, but a random card every week is doable, or at least it would have been for me if I had thought of it back in my association days. Thanks for reading and commenting! Sorry no card this time 😉
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2nd or 3rd wind + a beer could also get your creative juices flowing. It’s easy to get wound up in tasks and keep the creative thinking tamped down. Just like alcohol can lower inhibitions, it can lower our resistance to our own creativity.
It doesn’t hurt to “cheers” yourself for a job well done once in a while, too.
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Sounds like someone is talking from experience here. 😉 I get good ideas for blog posts during happy hour, or new angles on papers I’m writing. There really is no down time in my life, but I like it that way. Thanks, Bill, for chiming in!
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