Going bananas . bored at work! But have a hovering over my shoulder boss .
30 Things to Do to Keep From Getting Bored Out of Your Skull at Work
Sometimes, I’m creating a new project, or improving myself somehow … but sometimes I just find interesting stuff to read online or find a cool solitaire game to play. (Well, I haven’t played any games in awhile, but Freecell used to be my poison of choice a few years ago.)
So the short answer: just find things to entertain yourself. Keep your mind busy. Challenge yourself. Talk to somebody. Break out of your mold.
The longer answer has to do with analyzing why you’re bored in the first place. Is your job that boring? Are you really doing what you want to be doing? Is there a way to start pursuing something better? Or are you already in a great job, but something or someone is holding you back? And what can you do to improve the situation?
I’m not going to pursue the longer answer in this post, but give you some ideas for the shorter answer. It’s not an exhaustive list of ideas. Just some things I’ve done to keep my mind busy — pick and choose those that might work for you.
- Create a new challenge. I think this is by far the best thing on the list, but you may differ. Many times we’re bored because we don’t have a challenge — things are too easy or routine. So instead of waiting for someone to create a challenge for you, do it yourself. How can you challenge yourself? Set a new goal at work. Challenge yourself to produce more than ever. Explore new projects. Set personal goals and pursue them. Whatever excites you.
- Pursue your next job. If your job is so boring you don’t know what to do with yourself, you may need to move on. But instead of quitting right away, start lining up your next gig first. Look around for openings, call people, update your resume and submit it to a few places, pick up a few applications, send out some email feelers. Find something that will never get you bored, something you’ll be passionate about.
- List your life goals. What is it you want to accomplish in life? Not just with work, but personally? If you’ve listed them before, it’s always good to update them. Then choose one of those goals to achieve this year. Now think about what you can do today to move closer to that goal, even if it’s just a small thing. Get the ball rolling. Do this every day — move yourself closer to that goal.
- Read Zen Habits. Or whatever your favorite distraction is. If it’s something that will improve your life, even better. Just limit how long you read at one time, so you’re not reading through the Zen Habits archives in one sitting.
- Declutter your workspace. If I’ve got nothing better to do, I’ll clear off my desk (if there’s anything there), or start looking around critically at everything in view and asking myself, “Does that really need to be there? How can I simplify this?” Weird, I know, but I have an oddly uncluttered workspace. Right now my desk is a table, my iMac, an nothing else. No files, no papers, no office supplies, nothing. Everything is done on my computer, and I love it that way. Nothing on my walls. You may not need anything as spartan as that, but decluttering can be a lot of fun.
- Pursue a hobby. My hobby (until it became a profession) was blogging … I would do it at work in my spare time, or before or after work. Not everyone can pursue their hobby at work — the model airplane glue might bother your coworkers, for example — but sometimes you can just read about it while at work. I was upfront about my blogging and freelancing at work with my boss, btw, but many people get away with doing it on the sly. I won’t make a recommendation, but just don’t get fired.
- Make your work a game. You can make a game out of anything. See how many widgets you can crank in 10 minutes. Pretend that your coworkers are evil villains. Imagine that you are a CIA agent in disguise, and no one knows. Or a fairy princess. Whatever floats your boat. :)
- Educate yourself. On Guam, this is called “edumacation” — it’s not a real word, but we like to play with English. Whatever you call it, you can improve your knowledge online in any area — whether that be work-related or not. Be your own college instructor. Wikipedia is a great place to start, but if you’re going to have a specialized knowledge in anything, branch out from there.
- Improve your skills. Along the same lines: choose a skill that needs sharpening, and challenge yourself to get better at it. Whether that’s computer programming, writing, working with Adobe InDesign, or whatever. Perfect your skills — you can use it to further your career, get a new job, or become self-employed. Or just have the satisfaction of knowing you’re the best you can be at that skill.
- Play Sudoku. Perhaps not the most intellectual game of all time, or the most exciting … but I still find it a lot of fun. I only played it a little while and didn’t get addicted like other people I know, but I have to admit it’s a fun way to pass the time.
- Choose a soothing desktop picture. I like to do this when I’m procrastinating. I will go online, to flickr or some desktop wallpaper website and browse around until I find a very simple, soothing picture. I do this maybe every month or so. In fact, I’m going to go do that right now!
- Do some pushups and crunches. If you’re bored, you might as well start getting in shape. You can do pushups and crunches right there on the floor next to your desk (or go outside if you’re worried about your coworkers seeing you). Or walk up some steps, or do squats and lunges without weights, or dips in your chair, or butt squeezes (that means squeeze your own butt, not your coworkers’).
- Take a day or two off. Sometimes you just need to refresh yourself, recharge your batteries before starting again. Don’t do any work while you’re out. Veg out, or read, or sleep, or exercise, or whatever. Get your mind off work. Think about your priorities. Get out in nature. Reconnect with your life.
- Take a walk. Often this is all I need, especially if I’ve been sitting all day and my blood is pooling up in my butt and legs. I need to get that blood circulating! Go outside, walk around, look at people, look at nature, think about your day and your life and the people in it.
- Drink some water. Dehydration can make us tired and sluggish. Water can refresh us. Keep that water coming all day long — you may need to pee more though.
- Call a loved one. What better time to call someone to catch up, to tell them you love them, to just say hi … than when you’ve got nothing better to do. It’s a nice way to stay connected.
- Read. I like to carry a novel everywhere I go. Then I whip it out anytime I have spare time, waiting at the doctor’s office, in line at the post office, driving in the Indy 500 … you know. If not a novel, carry around a “to read” folder with stuff you want or need to read but don’t have time for right now … then whip it out at your desk when you’re bored. You could have a “to read” folder on your computer too.
- Start writing your novel. Many of us have a novel that’s tossing itself around in our heads and hearts, waiting to come out. Well, start getting it out, mister. Just start by writing some notes, thinking about characters and plot and what the hell this book is about anyway. It’s not going to come out by itself.
- Take a nap. If you don’t have a good place to do this, you can curl up under your desk with a sweater, or go to your car and sleep. I’ve learned how to fall asleep at my chair, but thank goodness I’m working at home and can go to the couch in a napping emergency.
- Create a new project or role. If things are stagnating at work, start something new. Create and innovate. What can you do that has a lasting impact for your company and for yourself, for your career? If you’re stuck in a dead-end role, create a new role for yourself. It doesn’t matter if it’s not in the job description. Find something that’s not being done by someone else, something that needs to be done or that hasn’t been thought of yet, but that would really benefit the company — and take it upon yourself to do it. You might need to talk to your boss, but sometimes you can just start doing something and inform the higher-ups later. If it’s good for the company, and if they’re smart, they’ll be happy.
- Write a love letter. If you have a significant other, write a letter telling them why you love them. They’ll love it. Email is fine, but pen and paper are even better.
- Do one small thing to make yourself wealthier. That might be creating a savings account if you don’t have one yet, or setting up an automatic transfer between checking and savings every payday, or researching a money market fund or index fund, or simply reading Get Rich Slowly or The Simple Dollar for personal finance basics.
- Write a blog post. This is something I love to do when things get slow. I’ll just call up a text file and start writing. I love lists, of course (you guys should know that by now), so often I’ll just start making a list, and writing down my thoughts. If things are really slow, I’ll do the whole blog post. I can always post it later if necessary. Make sure you love what you’re writing about.
- Do an errand. This can either be in the office (“Where’s that ink cartridge I’ve been needing all week?”) or outside the office (“I really should buy toilet paper today!”). It gets you moving, it gets you away from the scene of your boredom, and it accomplishes something useful.
- Update your personal finances. I used to track my finances through Microsoft Money, but I’ve since switched to using a Google spreadsheet, so that it’s online and accessible from anywhere. I considered other online solutions, but personally, I like to keep things as simple as possible. However you do it, it’s a good idea to update your financial tracking system once a week or so, so that you know where you stand and you don’t overspend. Got some spare time? Update.
- Meditate at your desk. Some people would say this is just a fancy term for taking a nap. But for me the key is not to fall asleep, but to close my eyes and focus on my breathing. Nothing new-agey about this — it brings your focus back to the present and calms you. Sometimes it’ll calm you so much you’ll fall asleep. I say, two birds, one stone.
- Organize your files. OK, this might seem boring to many people, but I like to organize things. I get a perverse satisfaction from purging useless stuff and having everything be smaller, neater, and in order. And it doesn’t take long.
- Clear out your inbox. I get joy out of an empty inbox, whether that’s my email inbox or physical one. Crank through it until it’s empty — you don’t have to do everything in the inbox, but just make a note of it on your to-do list if you plan to do it later (or delete, file, forward, or do it now). Got a thousand or two emails in your inbox? Put them in a temporary folder and do them later, starting with a fresh inbox. Chances are, you won’t need to do them at all. Now just keep your inbox empty from here on out.
- Crank up the tunes. Some funky or upbeat tunes might just do the trick. They can make any job much more fun. Either play it on your speakers if your coworkers don’t mind, or plug in the earbuds. Currently on my playlist: Radiohead, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jack Johnson, Snow Patrol … I could go on and on.
- Get wild! Sometimes we just need to let loose. Start singing at the top of your lungs, or dance around the office. Sure, people might stare or laugh, but a little fun in the office isn’t a bad thing. Or get out of the office and do something fun or crazy. One afternoon of wildity isn’t going to hurt you (well, stay away from things that are illegal or life-threatening, if possible).
Yip, with my boss I have to sit for hours and act like I'm busy ...... one more month to go ----- yeeeeee haaaaaaah :)
Recent Comments
19
Great post Kerry, always enjoy your ambivalence toward your job...thinking what it must be like to have a boss breathing down my neck...lol...yuk.
Anyway, Life is kinda quirky and the value we find, only held from the attitudes we possess
Love the Zen habits idea I will check into it...
Kind regards, David
7 Life-Changing Zen Habits to Adopt Today
1. Breathe
“Breath is the link between mind and body.”
Yes, you knew it would be on here, so we’ve made it number one.
Breath is so very important. Whatever your situation, it is essential to be aware of the fact that your mind and your rate of breathing are completely entangled— rapid, out-of-control breath results in an erratic, out-of-control mind. On the contrary, calmer, controlled breathing equals a calmer, controlled mind. . . And we all realize that importance of a calm, controlled mind (especially when it comes to zen habits and peaceful living).
Generally, seven deep, focused, deliberate breaths will be enough. This is the simplest, quickest trick; once you reap the benefits of this new habit, you will be hooked and you will (very soon) find yourself doing it naturally.
2. Tell a new story
“You have to begin telling your story in a new way. You have to tell it as you want it to be.”
One of the most profound ways to make new habits stick is to begin telling a new story of yourself.
If you keep telling yourself how short-tempered you are, yet you are yearning to become much calmer, you are telling yourself the wrong story — how can you expect to move forward when you are constantly looking backward?
Look forward, and step into a new you. Tell your story the way you want it to be, and it will become.
Affirm to yourself, daily:
“I am the (your name) that contagiously spreads love to all that I meet.”
“I am the (your name) that is calm and resilient.”
“I am the (your name) that loves beyond comprehension and is powerful beyond imagination.”
You try:
“I am the (your name) that ____”
Smile zen habit
3. Smile
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
This, too, is a zen habit you perhaps knew would be in here.
Did you know that when you smile, regardless of whether it was outwardly generated or not, your brain throws a happy party?
In scientific terms, the simple act of smiling releases neuropeptides that directly combat stress. Happy, peaceful hormones, such as dopamine and serotonin, are released when your beautiful smile spreads across your face. As well, your body, blood pressure, and heart rate all relax.
So, yes, when you feel happy, you smile. However, the simple act of turning the corners of your mouth towards the sun (assuming it’s in the sky) can conversely create a feeling of peace and happiness.
What a fantastic daily habit to get into: simply smiling. Your smile is magic.
4. Reprogram your perception of suffering
“’Difficulty’ is the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are.”
Suffering is only suffering when it goes unjustified.
For example, if you go to the gym and work out, the burn your muscles feel is intense and painful, but you never think, “ahh, this is suffering.”
Why not? Because you have justified the suffering— you understand that the uncomfortability you are currently feeling means that you are growing stronger.
On the contrary, when you are in the situation of, say, having to move furniture, you feel this same burning sensation in your muscles. However, this time, you don’t see the strength you are creating, and thus, it causes suffering. You wonder why the couch is so heavy, how much longer until it’s over, and if you really need to move into a new house. The suffering is present because you haven’t justified the uncomfortability; you haven’t noticed that you are growing stronger because of it.
It goes this way with everything— when we are uncomfortable, it means that we are growing. With this mindset, for example, you can perceive a long line at the post office as a teacher of patience, rather than a horribly timed nuisance.
Try switching your perspective: these are not tormentors, they are teachers. You are not suffering, you are simply growing— you are working out at the gym.
This change in perception is something peaceful living beings possess; it is what enables them to sit in tranquility amid the chaos. By creating this new habit of changing your perception, you too will find yourself in a state of peace within any storm.
zen garden
5. Go into nature
“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”
In our modern worlds, we easily become so distracted: media, screens, internet, television, billboards, commercials, people wanting our attention, constant noise, constant mental clutter. This distraction from ourselves, and from the world as it really is, causes us to become so disconnected and, generally, a bit frazzled.
In this case, the best thing to do is to disconnect.
Go into nature. Take a hike, or sit. Turn off your phone. Turn off your music. Listen to the sound of the river and let its serene melodies wash the clutter from your mind. Open yourself back up the world. Sit there in silence until you re-feel the soul of the world breathing all around you. Re-sensitize yourself to the life and beauty all around you.
This is an amazing zen habit to adopt. Whether or not you are able to make it a daily habit, do it as often as you can.
6. Be present
“Where ever you are, be ALL there.”
Almost always, we keep one foot in the future and one foot in the past— this awkward stance causes us to poop on the present. Pooping on the only thing you really have? This should be fixed as often as possible— beyond just a daily habit.
As often as you possibly can, look around you. Clear your mind. BE HERE NOW.
You are going to miss this moment. Take those deep breaths.
Meditate
7. Meditate
“Meditation is the antidote to all the poison of your life. It is the nourishment of your authentic nature.”
These last 3 zen habits are all of the same realm of reconnecting— to the world, to the present moment, and to your soul. Of course, meditation is a zen habit. You, most likely, knew it would be in here, as well. Mediation and peaceful living are synonymous.
With this type of deep connection to yourself, inner peace is inevitable. The outside world will hardly phase you because you will soon realize how incredibly powerful it is to be connected to your higher self.
Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting on a special pillow with Native American flute music, incense, and candles (although that all does sound quite nice). Meditation can be anything.
It is simply time for you to get to know yourself— to be with yourself. It is time to feel yourself as your lungs breathe and your heart beats.
To meditate is to either listen to and acknowledge your mental chatter, or to quiet it. It can be doing yoga, it can be running, it can be doing the dishes, getting lost in a dance trance to techno music, it can be sitting criss-cross applesauce with Tibetan singing bowls and palo santo. . . Whatever it is, it is presence, and it is knowing thyself— essential to true, peaceful living.
Wish I could several-like this reply because it is near and important to my sensibilities....thank you Kerry, truly a gift you have shared and I will try to copy and paste onto my reference page. I am delighted
This list should be displayed on a wall in every house - if only we all practiced this, society would have a totally different face and the world would be so much better.
This is an awesome post! I can definitely relate.
My job is very boring. I sit in a chair and wait for someone to come out of the data center floor. Then I get to stand, look at their stuff, and make sure they get through the metal detector without going off.
That is the entire gist of my job. My boss doesn't really care what I do with all the extra time that I'm just sitting there as long as I do my job and don't fall asleep.
So, I work on my blog most days. It's something I'm passionate about and it makes the time just fly. It's annoying that I have to be alert and not completely focused, but that's just me.
I know it's a ways away, but I honest to goodness can't wait to get out of there and actually make a living doing something I love.
Good luck out there!
This job in theory would provide ideal thinking and creative time to get things accomplished on my website ... wish I held something like it. Sounds to me that very boring has offered you a certain freedom...Hooray for freedom
Yes, it has, which is something that I'm very thankful for. It's just not something I want to do for the rest of my life. I hope things work out for you.
Hahaha...great post...very entertaining...and I know that feeling to act busy as hell to satisfy your boss :-)
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All great ideas!!
Randi