Let me take you back to a particular college hallway—one filled with multiple instructors, each with their own unique way of doing things. You know the type: the “I need my stapler right here” colleague, the “I’m pretty sure my desk is the storage room” instructor, and the “I have one last minute agenda items” faculty meeting attendees. It was like living in a sitcom where everyone’s quirks were amplified by the shared space we all called home.
One of my favorite characters was The Stapler Guardian. Every single morning, Stapler Guardian would align his stapler in the same spot on his desk, like it held the universe together. Heaven help the poor soul who accidentally nudged it. One day, in the name of some good-spirited fun, I moved it ever so slightly just to see if he’d notice. (Spoiler alert: He did.) He was serious about his stapler’s location—and honestly, that was just one of his “things.”

At first, I chuckled. We all did. But then it hit me: His need for everything to be in its place wasn’t just a quirk. It was what made him fantastic at catching details. He’d spot things the rest of us missed—a formatting error, a date that didn’t line up, or an outline that needed fine-tuning. His precision was his strength.
The Hallway of Contrasts
Now, just across the hall was our resident “Desk Tornado.” (it is possible this is me, but it could be anyone really!)
You know the one—papers everywhere, sticky notes scattered like confetti, playdough where files are supposed to be, and soooooo many markers! I’m talking controlled chaos. And while Stapler Guardian was methodical and precise, Desk Tornado thrived in the mess. She’d be knee-deep in paper, but if you needed that one handout from last year? Boom! She’d have it in your hands faster than you could say, “Where’s my stapler?”
It wasn’t always easy for the Stapler Guardian and the Desk Tornado of the hallway to work together. At first, it was a little awkward, like two people trying to dance to completely different tunes. But as we all got used to each other’s quirks, something amazing happened. Stapler Guardian started to relax about the small stuff, and Desk Tornado started to lean on his knack for precision. Between them, they started producing work that was better than anything they could’ve done on their own.
Quirks as Superpowers
What I learned in that hallway is that these so-called “quirks” were actually superpowers. The Desk Tornado's creative chaos? It led to ideas no one else would’ve thought of. Stapler Guardian laser-like focus on order and logic? It saved us countless times from missing important details. Neither of them was wrong in how they worked; they were just different.
Embrace the Quirk, Don’t Fight It
Next time you’re sharing space with someone whose quirks are driving you up the wall, take a step back. Ask yourself: What’s the strength behind this? What value do they bring that I might be overlooking because I’m focused on what I find annoying?
Maybe the “Sticky Note Strategist” down the hall is the person who always has the next great idea. Maybe the person who seems obsessed with keeping their office at a balmy 78°F is just trying to create a comfortable space where they can focus and do their best work.

The Power of Compromise
Compromise is a beautiful thing. In our little hallway, we found ways to make it work. The secret wasn’t about making people change; it was about recognizing that these quirks were the very things that made them great at their jobs. And by learning to lean into those strengths, instead of trying to “fix” them, we became a stronger, more connected team.
Your Quirky Colleagues Checklist:
The Calendar Commander: Lives by their schedule, but without them, we’d all miss the deadlines.
The Paper Piler: Sure, it looks like chaos, but they always know where to find the important stuff.
The Noise Canceller: Tuning out distractions to get the job done, even if you have to wave a flag to get their attention.
So here’s to the quirky colleagues in our lives—may your staplers stay where you put them, your sticky notes never lose their stick, and your quirks continue to make the workplace a little more colorful, a lot more fun, and 100% human.
Brandi Heather - Press PLAY on Life
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