A couple of years ago, my decent into retail (a few of you out there may recall something they called the recession) found me punching the clock at 5AM, five days a week. This wasn’t a job where I’d come in and sit in the dark for a couple hours. I’d be on the floor, cracking the whip over other exhausted people. By the fifth day of this schedule, I’d be lucky if I could remember my name, let alone mange to be productive.

After about a year of this, I had my final temper tantrum: I found myself in the middle of the floor, surrounded by customers, both hands raised to the heavens, a bird fully sprouted in both hand. This turned out to be the most productive thing I could have done, since it made me decide to take a job in the back for less money. So now I play on the computers all day. (And as of last week, I finally got my IN box to empty — it only took ten months!)

This story suggests to me a possible followup to this podcast, for those of us not so lucky as to have control over the clock: “Maximizing Productivity While You’re Asleep.”