Lost in debates about chargeable hours and productivity of in-house counsel is the human truth sometimes they look up from their in-box. The American, July/Aug. 2008 at 29, pulls together data from America Online and Salary.com regarding how American workers fill their time when they are not doing what they are paid to do, personal time which ranges from 1.6 to more than two hours a day. During those periods of, shall we say, challenged productivity, several pursuits fill the time:
Surfing Internet (personal use) 44.7%
Socializing with co-workers 23.4%
Conducting personal business 6.8%
Spacing out 3.9% (my favorite)
Running errands off-premises 2.3%
Making personal phone calls 2.3%
Applying for other jobs 1.3%
Arriving late/Leaving early 1.0%
Other 12.5%
I cannot say whether in-house counsel adhere to these numbers on diversions, but they are probably directionally correct in their categories and relative consumptions of time.