We aren’t meant to work in huge unbroken blocks throughout the day. You should get up, walk around, have some water. If you want to read something, hey, you should go do that. Giving your brain a break helps you focus when you actually need to, like, for example, when you’re on live TV:
Still, we’ve all been there—taking one of those unsanctioned but much-needed breaks when all of a sudden a boss appears over the cubicle wall to scorn your dazed scroll through Facebook. The video is an endearingly human moment from Australian anchor Natasha Exelby, especially because of the absolute mundanity of what was occupying her attention: a pen. There was some shit on it. She was trying to get it off. Let he who has not stared at some shit on a pen for too long cast the first stone.
Apparently, her corporate overlords have not stared at some shit on a pen for too long, because Exelby is out of a job. The public upswell of support for her (even by national politicians) suggests that zoning the fuck out sometimes is an alienable human right. May Exelby find swift employment from an organization that understands this.