Author Topic: Productive things to do while bored at work  (Read 7112 times)

LonerMatt

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Productive things to do while bored at work
« on: August 08, 2019, 05:51:36 PM »
Hey guys,

For the first time in my life I have an office job. It's not bad and I'm not looking to sabotage it. I'm not stressed and my boss is nice.

But here's the thing - it's a project based work structure where a lot of my work needs feedback and approval and communication between groups. So I spent a lot of time, at the moment at least, sitting and waiting for my manager to provide feedback or approve my proposals.

What the fuck can I do with the 16-20 hours of free time I have each week? What are your ideas? What do you guys do at work with free time?

Caveats:
- The more it looks like work the better (writing, drawing, typing)
- The more it looks like what it is (goofing off) the worse (watching netflix, making art, reading a novel)

So - what do you guys do to pass the time while bored at work?

Kris

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2019, 05:54:53 PM »
Write books! Non-fiction books about areas you understand. You can self-publish on Amazon, learn to market, and push this into a good little side hustle.

ender

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2019, 07:12:01 PM »
Learn something interesting/useful that sets you up for a job that is less boring, more interesting, and pays more.


PKFFW

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2019, 08:16:12 PM »
How about putting forward a business case to improve the project workflow and cut down on the amount of time it takes for approvals etc and then, assuming it is approved, implement the proposal.

This way you would only waste time waiting for that one proposal to be approved and then have the pay off that comes from far less wasted time going forward, allowing you to be more productive and spend a greater amount of your paid work time doing actual productive work for your employer.

Win-win with you being less bored and the employer gaining more production.

LonerMatt

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2019, 08:28:31 PM »
ender - if I could work out what was interesting/useful that would set me up that'd be great. I'm a perpetually confused individual!

FKFFW - I'm in my first month so I'm going to give myself a few more before I start making those proposals - just to have a few more case studies and some further support - who knows, maybe things pick up a lot down the track. Along those lines I also have flagged a possible conversation to reduce to 4 days a week again down the line when I've delivered a few key projects well and can make my case appropriately. Great suggestion that I'll keep in mind as I progress. I'm unsure whether a reduction in approval is realistic given the organisational structure, but you never know!

erutio

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2019, 08:31:19 PM »
- spend time reading these forums, learning more ways to optimize your budget and save money
- Amazon mTurk
- filling out online surveys

mspym

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #6 on: August 08, 2019, 09:10:30 PM »
Matt - Are you having regular check-ins with your manager? It might be good to discuss what other work needs doing or skills that it would be useful for you to pick up to move to the next role. Most office jobs I have had have been great about me learning new skills that I can use in my career.

former player

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #7 on: August 08, 2019, 09:41:21 PM »
Write books! Non-fiction books about areas you understand. You can self-publish on Amazon, learn to market, and push this into a good little side hustle.
I like this idea.  Or try fiction, even.   Do I remember that you were a teacher?  Lots of stories there: start with something memorable, change it around to disguise its origins/put two incidents together and off you go.

A Fella from Stella

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2019, 05:52:58 AM »
Congrats on a good gig with a good boss.

Would you consider being a F.I.R.E. writer? If so, bust open a word doc and outline an idea or two.

Here are some things I do:
 - copy/paste interesting news/advice pieces to a Word doc, print, and place them into a file that I open to read from. Looks like I'm reviewing work, but am reading current events/advice
 - any interesting books/papers I can get in pdf, like "Bullshit Jobs," I'll do the same as above, but maybe 30 pages at a time
 - are you I school? I did part of my degree at a variety of office jobs
     - maybe take some classes if you think you'll want a degree
 - write a letter to someone I love, or to someone I've been meaning to contact. This could also be related to some kind of customer service issue, good or bad. Today's letter is regarding a refund I've been waiting on, and left two messages for. It's not much, but neither is a stamp

habanero

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2019, 06:06:38 AM »
I take Udemy courses for example. On programming, software engineering etc in my case. They can be had for quite cheap (like 10-13 bucks), some are actually pretty good and it's blessed by the powers that be so work pays for them as well.

There is a lot of learning to be found on-line.

I also try and have a work-related side-gig I work on. It's not a side gig per se as it's work, doesn't pay any extra etc, but I have a job which is on and off, and while it can be hectic when "on" the "off" periods can be long from time to time. I have to be present as "on" can come totally out of the blue, has to be handled immediately and for a zilllon regulatory reasons I cannot work from home.

Raenia

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2019, 07:48:47 AM »
Things I do when I'm bored at work but don't want to be, say, watching youtube when my boss comes in:
 - play with my financial spreadsheets
 - write (mostly fiction for me, but whatever you like)
 - read blogs, recipes, or books in pdf form

I can't do surveys and that sort of thing due to the web filters at work, but if you don't have those blocked you can try that too.

TVRodriguez

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2019, 08:34:57 AM »
Hey guys,

For the first time in my life I have an office job. It's not bad and I'm not looking to sabotage it. I'm not stressed and my boss is nice.

But here's the thing - it's a project based work structure where a lot of my work needs feedback and approval and communication between groups. So I spent a lot of time, at the moment at least, sitting and waiting for my manager to provide feedback or approve my proposals.

What the fuck can I do with the 16-20 hours of free time I have each week? What are your ideas? What do you guys do at work with free time?

Caveats:
- The more it looks like work the better (writing, drawing, typing)
- The more it looks like what it is (goofing off) the worse (watching netflix, making art, reading a novel)

So - what do you guys do to pass the time while bored at work?

Have you asked your manager for more work to do or offered to help on other projects?  Have you looked around and tried to figure out if there is something else that you can be working on that is, you know, related to work, that might be useful for the projects that you have already been assigned?

Honestly, if someone who worked for me hadn't done those things yet and I found them doodling, I'd start to wonder why I hired them.

Proud Foot

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #12 on: August 12, 2019, 09:22:44 AM »
There was a thread on here a few years ago. Thread: The Art of Not Working at Work

My work tends to be a little slower and more flexible during the periods between month end close. During this time is when I try to work on ways to improve my processes and the accuracy of my work, a lot of self study directly related to my responsibilities as well as not related to my role. Most of what I do during this time I am able to explain as helping to make myself more valuable to my employer. This way I am not trying to hide things if my supervisor were to walk into my office. 

Wrenchturner

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #13 on: August 12, 2019, 03:16:36 PM »
Hey guys,

For the first time in my life I have an office job. It's not bad and I'm not looking to sabotage it. I'm not stressed and my boss is nice.

But here's the thing - it's a project based work structure where a lot of my work needs feedback and approval and communication between groups. So I spent a lot of time, at the moment at least, sitting and waiting for my manager to provide feedback or approve my proposals.

What the fuck can I do with the 16-20 hours of free time I have each week? What are your ideas? What do you guys do at work with free time?

Caveats:
- The more it looks like work the better (writing, drawing, typing)
- The more it looks like what it is (goofing off) the worse (watching netflix, making art, reading a novel)

So - what do you guys do to pass the time while bored at work?

Have you asked your manager for more work to do or offered to help on other projects?  Have you looked around and tried to figure out if there is something else that you can be working on that is, you know, related to work, that might be useful for the projects that you have already been assigned?

Honestly, if someone who worked for me hadn't done those things yet and I found them doodling, I'd start to wonder why I hired them.
If my manager wondered that, I'd wonder why they haven't already allocated something better for me to do... don't expect wage earners to direct themselves.

Can you get away with audiobooks/podcasts?

Just Joe

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2019, 07:58:49 AM »
Learn. That's what I do with my spare time at work. Learn for me or learn for my employer.

I read MMM forums. I read Wikipedia articles sometimes. Practice CAD and other engineering tools and build virtual personal projects if you are an engineer. I read other forums - be careful - some threads are picture intensive and thus the fact that the guy writing the thread is building a cabin might give you away.

Also what you do depends IMHO on whether you work in a cubicle with your back to the hallway so that everyone that walks by can see what is on your screen.  It might not be the end of the world that you are reading a blog or forum but I've worked with people who will file that bit of info away and use it against you if given the chance. I have no interest in office drama and avoid it. At another job where my screens were visible (management's intention) I simply listened to podcasts and audiobooks. Everyone listened to something, probably most often music.

In case you are lacking privacy then utilize PDFs, ebooks and text copied to a document like others have detailed.

May I also suggest free PortableApps. Allows you to keep your browser on a thumb drive and no temporary files scattered across the computer. You have your bookmarks and your history on your thumb drive. You also can use LibreOffice and keep your files on the thumb drive. Portable VLC and podcast software with the downloaded podcasts/audiobooks/music right on the thumb drive. Its like having a laptop on whatever computer you sit down at. Your apps, your files, your settings. Buy a fast thumb drive to minimize load and save times.

Beware it is trivial for an IT specialist to see how many MB/GB of traffic your computer is consuming. Watching videos would be noticeable. Podcasts are ~50 MB so not a big deal. You can also download YouTube videos to that PortableApps thumb drive using a browser plugin, and watch them elsewhere or listen to the YT music videos from the thumb drive. I have a few music compilation videos that are 1-2 hours long that I listen to when I'm concentrating. I keep them on my thumb drive so I don't have to worry about having an ethernet/WiFi connection. 
« Last Edit: August 13, 2019, 08:04:53 AM by Just Joe »

TVRodriguez

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #15 on: August 13, 2019, 12:52:02 PM »
Hey guys,

For the first time in my life I have an office job. It's not bad and I'm not looking to sabotage it. I'm not stressed and my boss is nice.

But here's the thing - it's a project based work structure where a lot of my work needs feedback and approval and communication between groups. So I spent a lot of time, at the moment at least, sitting and waiting for my manager to provide feedback or approve my proposals.

What the fuck can I do with the 16-20 hours of free time I have each week? What are your ideas? What do you guys do at work with free time?

Caveats:
- The more it looks like work the better (writing, drawing, typing)
- The more it looks like what it is (goofing off) the worse (watching netflix, making art, reading a novel)

So - what do you guys do to pass the time while bored at work?

Have you asked your manager for more work to do or offered to help on other projects?  Have you looked around and tried to figure out if there is something else that you can be working on that is, you know, related to work, that might be useful for the projects that you have already been assigned?

Honestly, if someone who worked for me hadn't done those things yet and I found them doodling, I'd start to wonder why I hired them.
If my manager wondered that, I'd wonder why they haven't already allocated something better for me to do... don't expect wage earners to direct themselves.

In my experience, actually, you can...and that's why so many job descriptions include the phrase "must be a self-starter."

Wrenchturner

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #16 on: August 13, 2019, 02:55:35 PM »
Hey guys,

For the first time in my life I have an office job. It's not bad and I'm not looking to sabotage it. I'm not stressed and my boss is nice.

But here's the thing - it's a project based work structure where a lot of my work needs feedback and approval and communication between groups. So I spent a lot of time, at the moment at least, sitting and waiting for my manager to provide feedback or approve my proposals.

What the fuck can I do with the 16-20 hours of free time I have each week? What are your ideas? What do you guys do at work with free time?

Caveats:
- The more it looks like work the better (writing, drawing, typing)
- The more it looks like what it is (goofing off) the worse (watching netflix, making art, reading a novel)

So - what do you guys do to pass the time while bored at work?

Have you asked your manager for more work to do or offered to help on other projects?  Have you looked around and tried to figure out if there is something else that you can be working on that is, you know, related to work, that might be useful for the projects that you have already been assigned?

Honestly, if someone who worked for me hadn't done those things yet and I found them doodling, I'd start to wonder why I hired them.
If my manager wondered that, I'd wonder why they haven't already allocated something better for me to do... don't expect wage earners to direct themselves.

In my experience, actually, you can...and that's why so many job descriptions include the phrase "must be a self-starter."
I'm a self starter when my performance targets are relevant and reachable.  The rest of the time---I do a good impression of one.

mspym

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #17 on: August 13, 2019, 09:59:54 PM »
If FI is a ways off, then you want to keep the money coming in. One way of doing that is using downtime at work to improve other work-relevant skills. It increases your value to your current employer *and* any future employers. It also keeps your brain interested and sharp for what tends to be a long journey.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2019, 03:32:10 AM »
I'd be asking if there was any training I should be doing. There is probably heaps of compulsory time consuming online training to do and it's better to do it now before you are properly busy.

I've only ever worked in consultancy type jobs where every hour has to be accounted for/ charged to clients so your job sounds like the dream. We also had to juggle numerous projects which were of course all busy at the same time.

sparkytheop

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #19 on: August 14, 2019, 04:20:25 PM »
Well, most of my suggestions are out since I do some very "obviously not work related" hobbies at work (think of my job like being a fireman...  I have certain duties that have to be performed, but my job is really about the emergencies, and I get paid for the knowledge and ability to perform during a crisis, not so much for what I do with every minute of my time. One part of my job involves sitting in a shack and pushing a button when it is time to do so.  It's involved enough to require training and what to do if things go wrong, but physically it's just pushing that button and making an entrance into a computer.  Each time I have to go out to the shack to push the buttons takes about an hour from start to finish, with less than 5 minutes of actual work.  I cannot leave the shack.  So I knit, crochet, hand quilt, read, watch videos, work on spreadsheets, etc.)

Anyway, just be careful about doing anything as a "side hustle" while on the clock.  There may be a rule forbidding that, and doing so could cost you your job.  I can craft my heart out, but I cannot turn around and sell said crafts.

If I were stuck in an office job with that much downtime, I'd see if working from home a few days a week was an option...

ETA: I'm in a position where I have no intention of getting promoted, being a star, and motivation has pretty much been beaten out of me, repeatedly.  I do my job, and do it well, but don't go above and beyond anymore.  If your company rewards self-starters and values initiative, don't be like me.  My job is great not because of the job itself, but the amazing schedule and downtime, once you get over the fact that you have to push down your natural drive to strive to be awesome.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2019, 04:23:04 PM by sparkytheop »

eljefe-speaks

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #20 on: August 15, 2019, 11:32:59 AM »
How about putting forward a business case to improve the project workflow and cut down on the amount of time it takes for approvals etc and then, assuming it is approved, implement the proposal.

This way you would only waste time waiting for that one proposal to be approved and then have the pay off that comes from far less wasted time going forward, allowing you to be more productive and spend a greater amount of your paid work time doing actual productive work for your employer.

Win-win with you being less bored and the employer gaining more production.
T

Yes Principal PKFFW. Or should I call you Mr. Buzzkill? xD

eljefe-speaks

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #21 on: August 15, 2019, 11:38:45 AM »
Here are some things I do:
 - copy/paste interesting news/advice pieces to a Word doc, print, and place them into a file that I open to read from.

Oh no, can't we just read them on the screen instead of wasting paper?

eljefe-speaks

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #22 on: August 15, 2019, 12:03:41 PM »
I take Udemy courses for example.

PTF...

I perused the site and came across a lot of classes I would be interested in taking. They all say something like, act in the next 12 hours and get the course for $12 instead of $200. Is this a real sale or a BS sales tactic where it says the same thing every day?

FIRE@50

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #23 on: August 15, 2019, 12:19:28 PM »
Go for a walk

ketchup

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #24 on: August 15, 2019, 02:41:07 PM »
Beware it is trivial for an IT specialist to see how many MB/GB of traffic your computer is consuming. Watching videos would be noticeable. Podcasts are ~50 MB so not a big deal. You can also download YouTube videos to that PortableApps thumb drive using a browser plugin, and watch them elsewhere or listen to the YT music videos from the thumb drive. I have a few music compilation videos that are 1-2 hours long that I listen to when I'm concentrating. I keep them on my thumb drive so I don't have to worry about having an ethernet/WiFi connection.
As an IT manager, I don't give half a shit about that unless you're streaming 4K Twitch all day, hosing our internet connection with BitTorrent, or storing your gigantic MP3 and porn collection on a server that's backed up offsite every few hours.  I actively don't want to know what everyone is doing, and resist or obfuscate it to the best of my ability if higher-ups ask about it.

Still don't research meth recipes on a work PC, but don't assume they'll care about traffic to the point where a few YouTube videos will set off any alarm bells.

A Fella from Stella

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #25 on: August 19, 2019, 10:28:45 AM »
Beware it is trivial for an IT specialist to see how many MB/GB of traffic your computer is consuming. Watching videos would be noticeable. Podcasts are ~50 MB so not a big deal. You can also download YouTube videos to that PortableApps thumb drive using a browser plugin, and watch them elsewhere or listen to the YT music videos from the thumb drive. I have a few music compilation videos that are 1-2 hours long that I listen to when I'm concentrating. I keep them on my thumb drive so I don't have to worry about having an ethernet/WiFi connection.
As an IT manager, I don't give half a shit...............don't research meth recipes on a work PC, but don't assume they'll care about traffic to the point where a few YouTube videos will set off any alarm bells.

Thanks for this info. I regularly have YouTube in the background for music. One time, my boss walked in and said, "is that work-related," to which I almost said, yeah, Heart of Gold by Neal Young is work-related.

YK-Phil

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #26 on: August 19, 2019, 11:08:55 AM »
Take some free online courses in whatever field interests you. Check coursera.org which offers full courses from prestigious universities like Cambridge, Harvard, McGill, etc. all free. For a few bucks, you can have some form of official confirmation from Coursera that you took the course.

http://coursera.org


Just Joe

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #27 on: September 05, 2019, 02:45:34 PM »
Beware it is trivial for an IT specialist to see how many MB/GB of traffic your computer is consuming. Watching videos would be noticeable. Podcasts are ~50 MB so not a big deal. You can also download YouTube videos to that PortableApps thumb drive using a browser plugin, and watch them elsewhere or listen to the YT music videos from the thumb drive. I have a few music compilation videos that are 1-2 hours long that I listen to when I'm concentrating. I keep them on my thumb drive so I don't have to worry about having an ethernet/WiFi connection.
As an IT manager, I don't give half a shit about that unless you're streaming 4K Twitch all day, hosing our internet connection with BitTorrent, or storing your gigantic MP3 and porn collection on a server that's backed up offsite every few hours.  I actively don't want to know what everyone is doing, and resist or obfuscate it to the best of my ability if higher-ups ask about it.

Still don't research meth recipes on a work PC, but don't assume they'll care about traffic to the point where a few YouTube videos will set off any alarm bells.

I wouldn't imagine the average IT manager would care but I had one that did care. Not sure if it was his way of saying "I've got dirt on you" or what. I had pretty much automated my job at that point and was just trying to stay busy with something. Streaming radio and podcasts and a fair amount of surfing while the computer did its thing.

Like someone up thread said - it was a workplace that did not reward hard work or self-starters. There were a few clowns upstream of me that would seemingly screw people over for giggles. I did my job well but I did not break a sweat for that place. This place where I work now. They get more than their money out of me. I like it here.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2019, 02:47:18 PM by Just Joe »

FamilyGuy

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #28 on: September 14, 2019, 04:41:12 PM »
Nowadays I rarely get free time. There are so many meetings to go, sometimes double booked, triple booked. But before this, things were different for me. I am a fast worker and can get things get done usually within less than half the time it was estimated. I spend the remaining  time “think” about how to make my life better and simpler, think about current problems and stuff and see what can be done. I find that very useful to give time for intentional thinking.

sparkytheop

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #29 on: September 14, 2019, 04:48:07 PM »
This week, I'm hand writing recipes to give to my son when he moves out.  Using large index cards, but it could look more like "work" on lined paper.

BlueHouse

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #30 on: September 18, 2019, 02:15:06 PM »
I learned Microsoft Project 20 years ago while I was bored at work.  Then I made a (pretty lucrative) career out of knowing how to use it. 

mspym

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Re: Productive things to do while bored at work
« Reply #31 on: September 18, 2019, 02:26:29 PM »
I learned MS Project at work a few years ago and now I am learning Power BI, another skill that I can take anywhere and also use for my professional recertification.