Reading at work?

Would it be bad to bring in a book to read during downtime at work? I am plenty busy, but there are moments where I feel like I am constantly just staring at the screen, refreshing and waiting for emails/replies, and might as well read some books or articles or whatnot to keep my mind sharp. Would it be frowned upon?

12 Comments
 

Maybe a better look would be to read eBooks or PDFs on the screen. You can quickly Alt Tab it as well.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Thoughts on audiobooks? I've been getting into them recently so might be the move, but I just enjoy the physical sensation of leafing through book pages :/ or prefer visually reading the stuff in general

 
LaysMan

Thoughts on audiobooks? I've been getting into them recently so might be the move, but I just enjoy the physical sensation of leafing through book pages :/ or prefer visually reading the stuff in general

I used to love walking around NYC and listening to podcasts and audio books. But, I don’t listen to them much anymore.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I print reports and stuff out at work all the time, but I read those on my own time unless they're work related.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 
Most Helpful

This is bad politics, particularly if you're bringing paperbacks into the office. If you want to read e-books or PDF books on the down-low, no one will stop you and power to you (as you will likely be able to successfully conceal it), but outright bringing books into the office says "I don't care about work, and rather than staying up to date on my projects, I would rather do things that interest me and make no money for you," which is a horrible, losing message.

I love knowledge, so I recognize that there may not always truly be something you can read up on work-wise to get better at things, but try not to let this habit talk you out of being better at the job that actually makes you money.

 

Another win for WFH for this one. When you're at home, you can read whatever book you want. 

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

I was reading a fat book in the kitchen/dining area of our floor the other week, some c-suite walked past and done a double take. who cares, it was lunchtime. I'm not going to pretend to be busy at my desk for no reason

 

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