Simple and Productive Things to Do When You’re Bored at Work

Bored at work?

It happens to the best of us. Zoom calls where someone is 15 minutes late, or your task list has dwindled down for the day and you aren’t sure what to do. Rather than sit by idly, checking social media, or reading the latest changes in the stock market - here’s a list of things you can do to stay productive. 

Because who wants to be unproductive? Not you, right!

Organize your email

Get that inbox count down to zero! If you organize your email it’s easier to continuously keep up with. Create folders to store emails you may need down the road, and get to sifting through those emails. Getting lots of spam? The unsubscribe button is your friend. Want reminders on emails you need to follow up on? Look into extensions. Organizing your email is a great way to keep on top of your work for the future. Your email design is something to consider, too. Is your email set up in a way that helps you focus on what’s important? If not, now might be a great time to look into changing your layout. You can click to test your email design, or do some research yourself on how to create an inbox that works for you. Don't be afraid to experiment and find what works best for you.

Clean your workspace

When was the last time you wiped down your monitor or cleaned out your keyboard? Declutter your workspace and not only will you be being productive, but you’ll also have the sense of satisfaction that comes with having a clean space. Organize those files, and throw out anything you don’t need. Give your desk a wipe-down, and get some more zen vibes coming into your work area.

Update your calendar

Have you been lax on adding appointments to your calendar? Now’s the time. Check through your appointments and add any that you may have missed to your schedule. Or, if you have upcoming personal appointments, making sure your work and personal schedules are coordinated helps you remain on top of things. 

Watch educational content

Got 20 minutes? Watch a Ted talk. Ted talks are a great way to further yourself professionally, and personally. Wanting to learn a new skill or related asset to your job? Take an online course or watch a tutorial video. Set a goal to learn new information for your career progression in your downtime at work, and watch yourself transform in the process.

Connect with your colleagues

(A real life example from some of the team at Workast.)

Building rapport is a great way to not only improve morale but also develop workplace relationships. Connect with your colleagues, work on your connections and develop better leadership skills while connecting with your colleagues in your spare time.

Research competitors

Find out what competitors in your industry are doing. Do they have any unique tactics or selling points that your company could possibly spin or adopt? As the old saying in marketing goes...

“Good marketers copy, but great marketers steal.”

This quote can be adopted in all realms of business, beyond marketing. Find out how you can steal something great the competition is doing and become your boss’s favorite all whilst killing boredom.

Share what you've learned

It’s no secret that knowledge is power. Did you recently learn a new skill? Did you go to a conference and learned something relevant to your industry? Take some time and write down what you learned or create a spreadsheet so you can share the information with your colleagues. Even if it’s just a small to-do or tidbit, let your colleagues benefit through you and share it through Slack. 

Be a solid team player

Ask your colleagues if there’s anything you can do to help them. Research shows that helping others makes them more prone to like you + it gives you the warm feelings associated with being able to help out. Ask if you can take some load off of a coworker’s plate, and continue to foster your relationships at work in your downtime.

Look at your daily to-do's

See what’s on your roster for the day to make sure you’ve got your daily workload covered. Here at Workast we send notifications to make sure you’re on top of your workload too. But, it never hurts to double-check to prioritize your day. 

Check your efficiency at work

Wondering how you’re doing at completing tasks?

Run a report and find out. If you use time tracking, you can compare the amount of time you are taking on individual tasks to see how you’ve been performing lately. Or, if you just want to gauge how much work you’ve been doing in comparison to last month? You can easily run a report on your completed tasks as well with Workast. Finding out where you can improve is a great way to find ways to do more at work.

Think about your long term goals

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? It’s that annoying question no one likes to answer, but where do you? Think about how you are going to progress in your career to help yourself achieve your goals. If you don’t have a plan to get there, it’s less likely you will succeed at the task. Identify your goals, and what action items are going to allow you to get to where you want to be. 

How else do you like to stay productive at work? We’d love to hear from you! Drop us a line or send us a tweet to get featured on our site. Here’s to being more productive!