The Office: A True Story

"A lot of people think that magic camp is just for kids. And that's why so many other people in my class were kids. A self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's really for anybody with a dream, and a belief in magic, and a little extra time after school."

--Michael Scott

"The chimney's in decent shape. Not great. I found some termite damage in a crawl space, and some structural flaws in the foundation. So, all in all ... it was a pretty fun cocktail party."

--Dwight Schrute

Did I ever tell you about the time, at my old job, where the boss from hell was trying to help me manage my time better? She thought if I could just be more like her in every aspect, my life would be a million times better!

In this particular talk, she focused on email, and how I need to learn not to spend so much time emailing. For example, earlier in the week I'd sent her an email asking how many of a certain brochure we needed to have on-hand. That way, if supplies were getting low I could just go ahead and order more. It's efficient to plan ahead, right?

Wrong. Speaking of this email, she said, "Like that email you sent me earlier this week. I read it and it wasn't important, so I just ignored it." She wanted me to learn how to ignore unimportant emails like that.

Of course, a few months later, we nearly ran out of brochures and it incited a mass panic. I was sternly rebuked by my boss for not being on top of the situation. I think I took the rest of the afternoon off, to contemplate the difference between important and unimportant things—like my sanity, and my job.


(And that image is just for you, Amy. You're welcome.)