Being bored is natural to human beings. Being bored at work doesn’t sound right, but occasionally happens. No matter how engaging your job is, there may be gaps in between tasks and quiet days with few things on the to-do list.
Lack of activity and procrastination may be even more common for those who have a seasonal workload, like Santa, for example. As for the rest of us with yearly 5/2 routine, there are at least a dozen days a year when you shuffle a couple of papers on your desk.
How to deal with all this time you have on your hands? You can either find a way to entertain yourself, or be smart and invest into your own productivity improvement. So, what are the right things to do when there are blank spots in your working day schedule? Look through the list of ideas:
- Get organized. Rearrange your working files on the desktop. Set auto filters to your email. Yes, it is not the best part. But it will definitely save you time on busy days that are coming.
- Make a personal pro-research. No one could ever blame you for wasting time if you are trying to reach a new height in becoming better at your job. Surf through different articles, studies or read a book on work-related topics. What is it about your field that you don’t know yet?
- Watch educational videos instead of sitcom episodes. Probably, not a yoga lesson -no space for a yoga mat in your office, but what about boosting your communication skills, for example? Currently, there are tons of free web resources, providing different training and educational content. Some of the practical tasks could actually be fun.
- Look around. Are there any of your colleagues requiring assistance? Be considerate to the people around you. A time well spent is when you can be of some use to others. Help your colleague review his monthly report, or look through your colleague’s task description and assist her in working out a better solution. In such case, you won’t have to contemplate the wall, you’ll feel valued and maybe even learn something. Plus, helping people out and establishing new bonds with the team will inevitably pay back.
- If no one needs to be saved, do something useful for your personal evolution. Install a foreign language learning app on your smartphone. Was it Spanish as a second language that you studied at school? Do you retain good pronunciation? Or is it Italian you have been thinking about to try one day. Well, that day may be today and just imagine the face of your boss when you greet your foreign partners next time in their native language or will be able to read and translate a business letter.
- Read some interesting productivity blog to learn more on how to raise your level of productivity. Who knows what innovative ideas it could inspire! You’ll always be busy and there will no longer be time for boredom in your life.
- Start your own blog. For a kickoff, you can make a confession by describing all those things you are killing your working time with, mentioning not only the proper ones. Just make sure you are using a nickname, we don’t need your colleagues to catch you out. Public attention can become a powerful motivator for you to continue your blog with more serious stuff.
Sometimes we tend to think that since our working time is paid anyway, we can flush down its idle chunk by playing zillion-level games on the phone or throwing paper balls into the bin. Well, whether it’s paid or not, any time of your life is precious. Try and make the most of it. Step on the road of further personal growth by following some of the above advice – increased productivity works wonders.
