Panel 1 – Donna Lake sits at her desk, pointing toward small figurines of Dash, Finley, Milo, Drew, and a tiny Donna. Milo the raccoon stands in front of the desk looking up at her. Donna says, “Milo, we need to find a safe place for these.”Panel 2 – Leslie the owl stands beside Milo holding a clipboard and looking stern. Donna remains at her desk. Leslie asks, “Have you filed the relocation notice?”Milo looks nervous while Leslie stands beside him with a serious expression. The figurines remain on Donna’s desk. Donna says, “I haven’t moved them.”

 

 

Panel 4 –Leslie gestures with her clipboard still stern, saying, “Then I’ll need the intent to relocate disclosure by 3pm.”

 

CHOOSE YOUR STARTING POINT

CHAPTERS

3 thoughts on “Form”

  1. Cierra

    Currently working through receiving items I did not order. Do I tell them? Do I just let it slide? Do I create a form that they have to fill out now???

  2. donnalake

    Cierra,
    Oh no, you’ve triggered the Unrequested Inventory Event Protocol.
    Here are your options as I see them:

    1. Tell them. This is the “I’d like to sleep tonight” path.

    2. Let it slide. This is how horror stories in Audit trainings begin.

    3. Create a form. “Notification of Items That Are Here But Shouldn’t Be Here Yet Are Definitely Here.” Have them complete it in triplicate, obviously.

    My final answer:
    Email them, be honest, and then absolutely make a fake form about it for your own emotional closure.
    You’re a good human for even asking.
    -Donna

    1. donnalake

      On second thought, how good was this stuff?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

 

Form
Posted on February 4, 2026 by donnalake

From Donna's Desk

I said, “Milo, we need to find a safe place for these.”

Leslie overheard the word relocate and materialized with a clipboard like I’d said “unreported merger.”

Suddenly we were discussing:

  • a Relocation Notice

  • an Intent to Relocate Disclosure

  • and (I’m fairly sure) a hypothetical Post-Relocation Debrief Form

In this building, even intentions generate paperwork.

Here’s what I’m wondering, and I’d love to hear from you:

  • Have you ever needed more forms to describe a change than to actually make the change?

  • What’s the most hilariously unnecessary piece of paperwork you’ve had to complete “for compliance”?

  • And how do you keep a straight face when someone tells you, with total seriousness, that your idea requires an additional pre-approval to be considered for approval?

If you’re the one quietly shepherding real work forward while navigating forms about forms about potential forms, I see you.

I’ll be at my very crowded desk, resisting the urge to submit an Intent Not To Intend Form.

Donna

#IamDonnaLake
#BureaucracyInAction
#OfficeChaosSurvivor
#MiddleManagementMagic
#QuietLeadership
#DonnaLake