FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - EVENING
Having thought deep, PETER types on his phone.
PETER (V.O.): I've just responded to a Quora answer request for an interesting question: What is the most dangerous thing that the average person can own?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Anything other than professional work is interesting. I've had a pretty hectic day.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This afternoon, I had a 15-minute lunch break after 2pm.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If I didn't think and act strategically, I'd have to miss it.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'll be very busy in the coming fortnight. I need a break now.
Act 2
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Health institutions talk about the benefits of taking 15-minute breaks at work.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From 1985 to 1991, I was with the Attorney General's Chambers. I noted that apart from lunch breaks, colleagues, especially expatriate ones, had morning coffee breaks and afternoon tea breaks in the Mess.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I witnessed the breaks myself when my superiors asked me to join them to talk about work matters. Such occasional sessions took at least half an hour.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I observed that some other colleagues were always there before we arrived and would still hang on to their coffee, or tea or conversations when we left.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Hong Kong then was a borrowed place.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But the very reason why I was among them was the result of the localization policy. Locals were meant to become the main legal personnel of Hong Kong's legal system.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I just worked and worked, without the customary coffee/tea breaks.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I joined the Intellectual Property Department in late 1991 on the understanding that I was allowed to continue finishing my unfinished businesses in the Attorney General's Chambers.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I also had an open-door policy and colleagues could knock at my door to seek instructions.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From 1998 when I became the legal head of the Department until my retirement as the Director in 2014, I liked to assimilate my office as the A&E unit of a hospital.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As I'd my own work deadlines to meet, I would tell my visiting colleagues that I was listening to them while continuing typing on my computer.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was multi-tasking in my office. I worked 12-hour days and nights without any 15-minute breaks.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On my retirement day, I attended an official function until the end of the day.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was like a fast-moving vehicle coming to a standstill in zero second. And then life for me became very different.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I used to live to work. Work defined my happiness.
Peter takes a deep breath.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Peter takes a look of the files surrounding him.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Multi-tasking aside, I should be in two places at the same time ideally.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've been in private practice for over 3 years now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe I've somewhat proved my residual value.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can feel break times keeping me healthy and happy.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now, I work to live. I work on what makes me happy.
Remembering something.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, the most dangerous thing that the average person can own is unconscious bias, in my view.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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