The Metrics Side Of My Magic Job

Every six months, our store does inventory.  We dedicate roughly three days to cleaning up the stockroom and pushing out as much product as possible to the sales floor, in hopes of selling a bunch of stuff so we don't have to count it.  Then we shut down the stockroom so we can count it accurately and count the front of the store after close of business for the day.  It's extremely tedious.  Each item with different SKU's.  Make sure you count every different sized shoe, watch out for differences between the die cast Tie Fighter and the die cast Ultimate Tie Fighter, and of course we received 10 boxes of Singing Ariel dolls just the day before inventory started.
Yet, I like inventory.  It allows us to sort and organize our space.  There's a peacefulness from being able to sit and count quietly, even if it's while crammed in a small aisle on piles of dust bunnies and glitter.
My store manager has come up with a great way to separate the cast into different sections, making it easier and more streamlined to count without anyone overlapping each other.
The Boss and I have done almost every inventory together.  So per tradition, after finish, we head to Denny's to chat and grab a 2am bite.  This last inventory we went out all three nights.  On night two, we invited one of our cast mates that counted the stockroom with us.  On the third night, we invited the whole inventory crew.  We got our usual each night: a regular coffee for me and a decaf for The Boss.  Our cast ordered a mix of waters or sodas to go with the late night grub.  French toast and a slice of bacon for one, a salad for someone else, and usually just coffee for me.  It's Denny's coffee, but it's much better then it used to be, so I almost enjoy it.  Not my top pick of coffee but acceptable when fighting off a zombie state.
By the end of night three, I go home and find myself counting things unnecessarily.  "I'll just make myself a cup of tea" then proceed to count all the tea bags in the box.  It wears off pretty fast.  Inventory seems to come faster then every six months.  I think that is because of the way the seasons are separated so you just finish a big focus like Christmas, then it's inventory.  Then bathing suits and back to school and inventory again.  Halloween and Christmas, boom, inventory.  The twice a year deal keeps our numbers more accurate, which is good for business.