Posted by senior writer Chris Windle
If you want to get something done this afternoon, you may as well forget it.
Call centres will go quiet, shop tills will stop ringing and factories will grind to a halt as the nation collectively sacks off the afternoon and makes itself comfortable in front of the TV. It's not great news for the Chancellor the day after he gave the economy a sharp talking to, but sorry George, England are playing.
And, just two games into their World Cup campaign, the team already need a win to avoid an embarrassingly early exit and the swift reappointment of Mr Umbrella himself (otherwise known as European football sophisticate Steve McClaren – all is forgiven).
But while you spend the afternoon watching the Three Lions being outclassed by Slovenia, qualifying only thanks to a Frank Lampard deflected shot, spare a thought for the BT and Coca-Cola editorial teams at Zone. This is no time of rest for them.
Tweeters may have noticed that both BT Vision and Coca-Cola have been flooding the virtual world with witty, insightful and informative World Cup related messages before, during and after every game. In fact, thanks to them, you could throw your TV into a skip and simply follow the whole tournament on Twitter, thus avoiding all the boring bits.
None of this happens by accident though. The office is full of writers with blistered fingers and hands which need massaging out of the clawed 'type position' at the end of the day. Because they’re watching every move, goal, shot, incident and ridiculous celebration and putting them on the digital airwaves as they happen. Repetitive strain injury? We're laughing in its face.
So as you head to the pub at 3pm this afternoon, remember the poor souls being paid to watch, and Tweet about, the World Cup.