This post is the two post series on the fine art on time passing at work. The art that I almost mastered. 
The Time Pass at work Series
An Introduction to Time Pass at Work and Why it is good
Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work
The Fine Art of Time passing at Work
How not to get caught Time Passing at Work
Being a geek (at least above average nerd) has it’s own perks. You can enjoy what you like to do. 2-3 of my friends also asked me what I’m doing in front of my PC or/and what I’m browsing. All I must be doing is uploading some plugin via FTP, using IRC, reading RSS feeds but all this is alien for many of the people. Overnight we’re called ‘Geek’. You’re called Geek even if you’re using Firefox browser.
So here are some time passing techniques for the Geeks!
1. Make use of your office Bandwidth
We have no clue as to how much we can make utilize of the office bandwidth. One good way is to download things. Softwares, books, movies, music and what not. I’m royally screwed if our network engineer comes to know about the things I do in office.
Consider office as your playing field. This is where you can ‘practice’ and be a master. You use torrents, Usenet, IRC and the top of the geek stuffs (99% of your people will have no clue about Usenet/IRC..I bet). Try different connection settings. Optimize the settings, change upload slots, connections, fiddle with them. Soon you know the best setup for that particular type of connection.
There’s a lot that you can do than do. There are many sites that are blocked in the UAE (like Flickr, Twitter, TorrentSpy etc..) but I have worked a way around to access them.
2. Board the RSS train
95% of your colleagues wont have any slightest clue what RSS means. Even I was afraid of the ‘R Word’ before getting addicted to it. You can subscribe to 100 feeds or so and enjoy reading!
Now reading over 100 new feed items in a day across a variety of topic, made me read faster and also mastered the art of choosing what to read and not.
3. Learn new things
I know People who learnt things as time pass at work like CSS, PHP programing and designing and they’re now entrepreneurs.
This technique is almost perfect for my profile. What I do is, keeping learning new things. It can be learning anything…new softwares, keep yourself updated in the field you work. I learnt how to modding Foobar 2000 and learnt basics of Photoshop.
4. Get your Virtual life beyond Email, Chatting and Orkut
I never check my email for more than 2-3 times a day. I don’t spend over 5 minutes per day in Orkut. I’m not a person who goes to the chat room or chat to person I don’t know. Yet I can spend hours together in front of the PC doing real productive work and not getting bored.
You can join some forums. Trust me it really helps a lot. I owe my above average computer ’savvyness’ due to the time I spend in Digit Forums.
5. Develop and write your own program
I must admit that I’m not into this category of coding and software programming, but some of my friends who work in IT & Software firms do this. One of the things that was developed is our Orkut, which was a time pass project by a Google Employee (but people at Google are clever, they give 20% of the working hours to time pass).
Wait for the next article (maybe 2 more) in this series. Subscribe to The Newspaper Blog and don’t miss them!
Drop in your comments as how you pass time at work. Even better if you’re a self proclaimed geek who passes time at work.
I just hope that my colleagues in my department, our IT Engineer, my seniors, my managers don’t happen to see this article.. at least when I’m working err..time passing in this company!
P.S. from Ashwin: I was working on this post, when Darren announced the Top 5 Group Writing Project. So submitted this post.
By the way, all the dudes time passing at work, take some time off to give thumbs up for this article at Digg!
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80 comments ↓
This is gonna be very useful in the future for me ….
I don’t mind being called a geek. To me it meant that I know some computer related things more than others.
I have to agree that reading RSS feeds can teach you a lot. There is so much I learned from articles by others.
Manas -
Good luck in the future.
Rehuel -
How much feed you’ve subscribed to?
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Lol! I have experienced working on a company where I didn’t have much to do. The guide that you have written somehow summarizes how I passed my time at work.
Because of the free time, I was spending more time on forums compared to the time I spent of doing work. haha.
Making use of the office bandwidth may be one of the reasons why their server were experiencing problems. Hmm.. I wonder.
Still! A very nice read!
If you have time, why don’t you drop by post:
http://mobileko.blogspot.com/2.....to-be.html
It’s my own entry to the top 5- Group writing project at problogger. ^^
Karlo Licudine -
I’m not that active at forums as much as used to be before.
Good to see many people like me!
[...] at the newspaper blog, but actually most of the worker bees are just exploited at work, so this top5 how to pass time at work for “geeks” may come right for a lot people, just try to not lose your job while doing it, or it’s all [...]
1. Cannot do much due to stringent network access policies. Since I fall into the hispeed internet users group in my company, rules are much more tougher
2. My Train is right now 150 compartment long.
3. 70% of the online times goes for this.
4. I usually keep my mailbox open, and do check often. No orkutting(usually 30 mins in a week) and chatting (unless for extreme cases and only trough google talk) during office hours.
5. This is my job!!!
And don’t forget the opportunity to be able to leave comments on other people’s blogs.
good post.
Riyaz -
Even my company is supposed to have stringent network policies, we’re not supposed to spend the BW lavishly. Yet, yours truly never heeds words which he thinks is not right.
150 Feeds? Gosh… I think you must be spending atleast 6-7% of your day in reading the RSS only!
richard -
Thanks for visiting and commenting.
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
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Love, love, love this list! Online feedreaders - great for passing the time at work - without having to click on a bunch of sites.
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Lol thats kinda evil ideas. Use office bandwidth by riding the RSS train lol. Enjoyed this one
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin. If you are geeky on any level, this is for you. (I am apparently quite geeky, according to my children and husband.) After reading another post over at ProBlogger earlier, I am wondering if geekiness is inherited or if it can also be taught?? [...]
All interesting ideas, and I do happen to subscribe to few of them
Good luck in the Problogger contest, and if you feel so inclined, have a look at my entry at http://www.rodtempleton.net/20.....red-feeds/
Great ideas Ashwin, really enjoyed reading them.
Ian
Wow, while probably 80% of people do it, you’re brave to write about it (while working for that company!).
Original post for the Problogger competition, it’s fun, isn’t it? Good luck Ashwin!
I am a geek and proud of it!
Our company has unlimited bandwidth and I and I can assure you we use every bit of our quad T1s
As for what I do, I rarely ever get bored of playing in front of my computer, I’m actually trying to work up ideas on started a web design/development company so that I can work from home and not have to go to an office. I’ve been at home for 3 weeks due to an injury and I find it way more productive.
At work I’ve done everything from playing Soldat, IRC (programmed my own IRC client too), I’ve played MUDs (www.anguish.org) and various other activities that would be counter productive to work. But the fun thing is, I still get all my work tasks done too!
Good top 5 list!
Ian, tanya, JoLynn, Ashish,Tyler -
Still I’ve one (or maybe 2) posts still to come in this series. 
Would have given a tight hug, if we met. 
Glad that you guys liked the list.
JoLynn -
I’m not afraid man. The next post in the series would be even daring. Once again thanks a bunch man. Your comment really gave me a warm feeling.
Ashish & tanya -
Seems that the RSS train is the most favorite way to time pass at work!
Tyler -
Many people that I admire are working from home. They really are living life to fullest and the best part is they earn more than the worker bee who slog out from 9 to 5.
All the best for your web design/development company.
Hi
Nice top 5
I wish I could get the geek factor going in my direction. You guys, have so much more fun in front of a computer than guys like me. I am still struggling to find the “on” button and guys like you have invented a new computer or something. Keep up the good work
Thanks
Tom
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
Tom -
It’s not a big deal to be a geek. You use Firefox browser and overnight you are a geek.
Great post. I feel like I fit right in as I do do several of the things listed.
Jennifer -
Thanks a bunch. Glad you liked it. Wait for the next article in this series. You’ll never knew the things I do at work.
great ideas Ashwin - i read your post yesterday and really liked it.. didnt have the time to comment so here I am - have subscribed
now i can read you everyday thru google read..
i started the blog just a few days ago so am not really into writing so much yet, but posted some neat videos for good fun - check out when you need to do something else for timepass
http://fresh-perspectives.blog.....-long.html
Nice tips Ashwin , some can be utilized in college also .
I love to play the piano, whenever I see the black and white keys in front of me, i just couldn’t resist the temptation to play some nice music on it. Fortunately enough, my work IS playing the piano..:).
There is a saying, that musicians are the only people on the planet who are willing to work overtime, without claiming any extra money for it.
Bottomline, find something you are REALLY interested in doing, and make it your occupation instead of just a hobby. Then you won’t be focusing on how to pass your time at work, but instead, be begging for more time at work.
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
Pearl -
The blog you run has my kind of things. All the best. Thanks for subscribing as well.
Madhur -
Yes, these can be done in college also, but what’s the use? You might not have access to the PC all the time plus college life is for fun. Enjoying with friends should be the priority.
Rewsnat -
Yeah. If you don’t like work as much, you’ll end up time passing. Really like the way people like you do for living. Hope I’ll be in such company soon.
By the way, thanks a lot for all your comments, subscribing to my blog and the link love. Love you guys!
What!? You don’t write your own programs? jk I’m a software programmer… and geek… and I also do a bit of time wasting. Of course I have it easier than most. You see I work from home. No network morons, I mean administrators to get in the way.
Enjoyed the read. Please stop by my top 5 if you get a chance. Top 5 Tantalizing Blog Title Techniques
Jonathan -
Most of the time, I end up doing IT/Networking kind of job for my colleagues. Sure they’re pain in the ass, but I never call them for any issues that I might have with my laptop. I don’t want them to know the kind of things that I have in my lappy.Work from home means freedom, happiness. You’ll never time pass.
By the way, thanks a lot.. all those who subscribed to my blog. The feed count was 300 something and now it jumped to 811! A tight hug to all my readers!
Using IRC and changing upload slots and connection ports make you a geek? Is that all to it?
Whats the big deal in using a pre-written piece of code or using some tunneling a gracious guy has put up for us poor souls? If you mentioned writing IRC scripts, that would still qualify for geekdom.
I type /join #blah-blah, that makes me a geek? I think geeks get to IRC, IRC doesn’t churn out geeks on a conveyor belt like in a factory.
How ’bout slackware? Or writing your own iptables rules?
Considering oneself a geek is the biggest mistake one can commit. Self-proclaimed-IRC-geeks-on-cloud-nine could please take time to visit ##c++ and try to follow even a fraction of the discussion that goes on there. You would realise who the actual geeks are and why they never care to blow their trumpet. Didn’t get it? ‘Coz empty vessels sound much.
Keep it real.
anomit -
Point taken. It was a change to read this sort of comment! Don’t you feel ‘being a geek’ is relative?
I’m never proud or pompous on being called geek. On the contrary, I always feel I’m nerd. I really can’t do some basic things and have irritated some people as well.
Having said that I’m sure not more than 90% of the people (atleast the ones I’ve come across in my life) don’t know the stuff I posted here.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting.
Ashwin, that was not personal. It didn’t point to you, just pointed at the generic populace.
Sorry, should have posted with a disclaimer.
About that relative thing, true to some extent. It does depend on the crowd that you hang around with.
This is great. I’ve been looking for things to do. I’m going to try the RSS reader tip. Thanks alot!
Hi, I’m the blogjunkie from myMacBUZZ. I’m checking out your blog from work too
Check out my entry for Darren’s group writing project too.
Michael -
Thanks a lot for dropping by. Hope your RSS train takes you places.
anomit -
No problem man. It was a change…
blogjunkie -
Not a MAC user, but nevertheless. All the best.
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[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
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[...] Time Pass at work Series An Introduction to Time Pass at Work and Why it is good Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work The Fine Art of Time passing at Work How not to get caught Time Passing at [...]
[...] Time Pass at work Series An Introduction to Time Pass at Work and Why it is good Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work The Fine Art of Time passing at Work How not to get caught Time Passing at [...]
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
[...] Definitive Guide for Geeks to Time Pass at Work by Ashwin [...]
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