Another option is simply do something else. Bonus points if that activity is something creative, like writing a blog post. It helps you spark other parts of your brain, gets the juices flowing, lets you look at life from another angle...and most of the time that's exactly what you need.

 

No job, however good a job it is, can be done repetitively with you liking to do it the whole time. Switching gears is a necessity. My job allows me to be creative and logical in different amounts at different times, which I love. 

 

But the fact that I'm still thinking about the same thing (the Internet, web sites) can lead to stagnation. Some people can do it, be single-minded and only talk about, say computer networking all day long.  I can't, and I bet most people can't.

 

Odds are, in most companies people are going to find ways to slack. You get bored of your job, so you need a diversion for your mind. Well rather than playing games online, chatting endlessly with co-workers about blaise topics, you could be doing something creative and constructive.

 

If more companies realized this, they could harness much more energy out of their employees. Allow people to do some side projects that might not appear to be related to their job but if it's their passion, something good is likely to come out of it. Google realized this and many of their hits came out of such side projects (take Gmail for example). 

 

Yes, structure and goals are a good thing and people need them, but most companies would get back more from their employees if they gave them some leeway. 

 

Me, I blog and twitter. ;-)

 

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As an aside, after writing this I was able to tackle some email that previously I was unable to approach.