Not long after Cindy Glovinsky started her job as an administrative assistant, she realized it was driving her crazy.

Every task she performed hit a snag. There were snide comments from the people who worked there and constant interruptions. So she called on her training as a social worker and developed her "work companion."

No, it was not another person, a doll or even a pet. It was a notebook, a steno pad to be more precise, into which she would record problems and progress.

Over time she formed categories:

• Reflections, which are thoughts or feelings about work and the activities around it.

• Snags, those little and not so little annoyances that caused her to stumble as she was getting something done, be they interruptions, misunderstandings, misplaced papers or computer problems.

• Bombs, the really awful news that can ruin a day, like finding out a friend has cancer or finding out that someone had stabbed her in the back.

• Darts, those nasty little comments, such as snide remarks by co-workers or complaints.

• Clouds, things to worry about, like sending the wrong information in an e-mail.

There also were upbeat categories:

• Flashes, those times when she had a great idea or a sudden understanding.

• Boosts, when a co-worker praised her to the boss or when someone just helped out at the right moment.

• Bursts, sudden unexpected pleasures, such as someone bringing in a treat or just being out on a gorgeous day.

• Stars, the sorts of things for which she would give herself a gold star, such as taking a moment to do yoga stretches or drinking water.

"It saved my life at one point," she said about her work companion.

When she first took the job, the position had been vacant for months, so work that should have been done had piled up and there were no systems in place to get it done efficiently.

After a few months of keeping the work companion, she was able to look back and start to look at the job both quantitatively and qualitatively, to see what went wrong and how frequently.

For example, she said if you keep seeing that every time you print there is a snag with the printer, maybe you should see if it is possible to repair the machine.

"It can really help give you some insight," she said of the notebook. "What the work companion does is it helps you figure out what the real issues are. ... It helps you sort it out. It also helps you be more aware of the good moments that do come along and the great ideas that we get."

For Ms. Glovinsky the work companion has evolved over the years, so the categories are more clear; but she also has noticed that she has grown into the job, so that now, 10 work companions into her position, she is writing down fewer darts and snags.

The work companion is just one of the aspects of the book she has written called "Making Peace with your Office Life; End the Battles, Shake the Blues, Get Organized and Be Happier at Work."

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