Cubicle-Fu

If you’re done, and there’s food on your plate, you’ve got more options than to toss it.

What to do with your leftovers:

1. Offer what’s left to a friend. Maybe your friend is afraid of germs, but they might not be. Besides, didn’t you learn to share in kindergarten?
2. Pack it to go. Ask for a to-go box, even if it’s just a little food. You can have a snack later, and re-use the box.
3. Pack it to go in your own box! I keep these containers from Lock and Lock handy in case my eyes are bigger than my stomach.
4. Offer it to a homeless person. Hand it off on your way back to the office. Better than dropping a few coins or ignoring them.
5. Replate it.

I was talking to Axel, 1/2 of the TinyGigantic team, this weekend. Axel is a Cubicle Fu Master, so skilled that he left corporate and created his own industry. See more at Language In Common.

We were talking about watching our food intake and noticing how our bodies feel after certain meals. I told him that I’m focused right now on enjoying each bite, slowing down, not shoving a huge plate of anything down my throat. Axel pointed out that a great way to slow down is to start eating with chop sticks!

Why eat with chopsticks?

• It forces you to slow down. You might even enjoy your food.
• The slower pace also prevents overeating, so you’re full on less and don’t fall face down on your keyboard after lunch.
• You can really eat almost any food with chopsticks. Even soup, you can sip on the broth, and grab chunks with your sticks.
• They fit in any bag or pocket, so you can bring your own
• They’re a good conversation starter

A lot of my job is about acceptance. I accept the different styles of coworkers. I accept that you have to have some meetings. I accept the slap, smack, and grunt of the neighboring cube at lunchtime (and hope it’s just lunch going on). I accept these things because I think you have to choose your battles, and the Cubicle Fu Master knows when to follow the way of peace.

For example, last week, I overheard a snippet of conversation outside my cube, as Mr SlapSmackandGrunt said to someone:

“Well, you’d better SAVE AS…“

and then, in an altogether suggestive tone,

“…IF you know what I mean…”

There really is no problem here, not for me anyway, and if he wants to let out some sexual repression with a lewd comment about drop down menus, it’s not getting in my way. Some deep breathing, with a focus on acceptance, served to reground me. It really does work, and I was able to get back to that mindless meditation we call “production work.”

(cartoon from XKCD)

How many take-out containers do you toss each week?
How many do you “recycle” (which often ends up in landfill anyway)?

Do you want to get that down to zero?

Enter the Orikaso collapsable dinner set. Carry it anywhere, have the local cafe use your plate instead of a throw-away, and when you’re done eating, unfold it, wipe it with a napkin (they’re incredibly easy to wipe), and slip it back in your bag where it takes up no more room than a few sheets of paper.

I’ve been doing this now for a few months, and the only attention I get is “Wow, what is that?” and “What a good idea.” So if you’re worried about what people will say, or if you’re too shy to ask a server to use your plate, then you have much to learn, grasshopper.