Sometimes you find yourself bored in a spare moment of work and find nothing interesting to do. Especially in the office, after completing a hectic task or when the meeting gets cancelled.
There will always be a temptation to scroll social media endlessly and waste time. What if you can utilize those moments to do practical, refreshing, and productive things?.
Staying productive makes you feel good about yourself. There are plenty of tasks, such as learning a new skill, refreshing your brain with gameplay, or decluttering the workplace to get the maximum outcome of your spare time.
In this article, we will be covering the top 10 methods of staying productive and active at work and how you can implement these methods in daily life.
1- Declutter your Digital Workspace
An unorganized workplace creates unnecessary mental stress and reduces productivity. Disorganized files and an overflowing inbox slow down your progress.
You have been running out of time and have not found the exact file you required at the time. It happens because of unorganized computer files and emails. Use your free time to get organized by following these steps.
Manage Desktop
Often we put files on the desktop as being priority and easy to find, but at the end of the day, we end up with a huge chunk of files. The desktop looks like a trash can of garbage.
Start organising your desktop by creating a folder named ‘Projects’ and sorting and placing those files in it. This simple step will instantly clear your screen. Put files according to projects and manage your desktop easily.
Clean Inbox
We all have promotional emails and newsletter subscriptions that we never read. In your free time, you can unsubscribe from them and delete those emails.
Create a separate label for past essential messages with a new label like “Archive 2025” and move those emails to organize your inbox. You can find emails easily under the label section instead of scrolling through them.
Arrange files
We all have tons of files on our computers or desktops. Some are kept as a record, while others are useful for the next project. To organise these files, create logical folders and subfolders, such as “work,” “personal,” and “finances.” Or you can manage files according to department, project, or client-wise, whichever one suits you better; you can opt for it.
2- Learn a New Skill
Find a Useful Skill
For productive use of your time, think about a skill that could benefit your role. It could be a digital skill like Excel or Canva, or a soft skill like public speaking or writing an effective email.
Find Resources to Learn
There are various platforms on the internet offering courses to teach valuable skills, full of information. You can check out various free structured courses on Coursera, edX, and Khan Academy on almost any topic. Even YouTube is a free academy and provides countless tutorials on any subject.
Fix Learning Time
Take your 30 minutes daily to learn a new skill. Add it to your calendar to stick to it. So spend your time wisely and be more productive at work.
3- Play Brain Games
Take your 30 minutes daily to learn a new skill. Add it to your calendar to stick to it. So spend your time wisely and be more productive at work. Have a healthy and fun break for your mind with gameplay.
Relax and learn from games in your free time. You can consider playing different puzzles, memory games, or quick online quizzes. These games act as a short mental break, but also keep your mind and memory sharp. You can opt for the following brain games for effective use of your time.
Strands Game
The game falls in the category of word puzzles, where you can find words from random letters. The words should be related to a particular theme.
You can improve your problem-solving skills and concentration by playing the StrandsGame.Me in your free time. The word game will help you stay sharp and smart with a burst of entertainment.
Connections Game
Another game you should try is the Connections game. It is also a word game in which you have to find something relatable among words of four. It is not a challenging game like a crossword, where you spend lots of time finding the word.
After playing and winning it, you will feel refreshed and learn something new every day. The game involves little logical thinking, which pushes your brain to develop cognitive skills.
A smart way to beat boredom without wasting time. You can play the game and even enjoy its past episodes with the play archive option.
Wordscape
Wordscape is yet another option you should try. It is an amazing crossword game where you have to find words from a set of tiles. The best thing about the game is its serene background and aesthetic, calming sounds, which make you feel relaxed. The game is not very hard, but it needs your good linguistic skills.
Playing this game will help you learn new vocabulary that you can use in office work. You can play Wordscapes on mobile with apps or an online website and spend the time whenever you feel bored.
4- Update Resume
We all forget about updating our resumes or LinkedIn profiles, which are essential for our careers. Updating experience and new skills opens up a path for new opportunities.
In your free time, you can upgrade your resume to get ready for the next career level. Next time, you can apply for the role more confidently and quickly. Use the following tips to update your resume.
Add New Project
Whenever you get bored at work, think about important projects and accomplishments you have worked on. Mention these numbers in your resume, like increased sales by 15% for a long-lasting impression.
Update LinkedIn Profile
Nowadays, your LinkedIn profile matters most; the hiring manager goes through your profile before hiring. So, update your current title and company, and add a recommendation to get out of your time.
5- Do Networking with Office Colleagues
Networking is not the name of a huge event, where you especially take time to attend. Even small talks with the intention of learning can also help share industry insights.
It’s all about maintaining strong relationships and creating a better work environment. Follow these tips to network in your boring time.
Start the conversation
Starting a conversation is always tricky. It is essential to walk through the breakroom or grab a coffee for someone you want to interact with, especially from a different department. Start with generic questions like “What are your biggest projects working on right now?”
Keep Brief
Don’t go for a very long personal conversation; build connections to learn something new so that you can use time productively.
6- Plan your Goals
In everyday activity and daily workload, it is easy to lose track of your goals. You forget about these goals. When you feel bored, review previous goals and adjust the progress to check them. You can do these things in your free time to plan for your next goals
Monitor Progress
What you can do is check your previously defined goals. Whether it was personal or professional, check how close you are to your goals. What possible steps are necessary to meet those goals?
Adjust Strategy
Think about what strategies you opted for and didn’t work out. Now plan and adjust goals to align with the upcoming goals.
7- Listen to Productivity Podcast
If you are tired and don’t want to read something, or are getting bored, you have various other options as well. Listening to a productive podcast is one of the options you can choose to avoid getting bored at work. After COVID-19, many YouTubers have created podcasts to educate and entertain people.
Search Media
Do a little search on platforms like Spotify, Soundcloud, or Apple Podcasts that excite you and find interesting.
Find a Podcast
Many business owners and managers listen to podcasts on productivity tips, managing mega projects, and how to deal with risks in projects.
Soundcloud has a series of podcast episodes on project management, PMP software, and much more regarding business. All you can figure out is what is important to you to do in your free time, to help level up a skill.
8- Have a Look at Industry Insights
We often ignore news from our profession, which is essential for professional growth. It is necessary to stay current with industry trends and the latest best practices.
In your free time, you can open up your browser and read what’s going on in your field. You can utilize your free time in reading industry news.
Subscribe to Newsletter
If you don’t want to read a full detailed article on a topic, you can subscribe to the newsletter of your particular industry. Search for famous newsletters around the world, such as Business News, Morning Brew, The Hustle, CB Insight, etc.
Use Google Alerts
It is easy to get news from a specific industry with Google Alert mode on. You can type your desired keyword, and Google will send a notification when something new happens around the globe. It is one of the best ways to keep updated with the world in your free time.
9- Schedule your Upcoming Week
We end up performing tasks randomly, which lessens our productivity. It is always a good practice to plan your next week ahead of time so you can get the most out of your time.
Planning and prioritizing tasks ahead, rather than leaving them to the last minute, reduces stress and anxiety. You can utilize your boredom time in the office for planning a schedule
Create a To-do list
First thing you can do is to create a bunch of lists you have to do for the next week. Put your tasks in priority order. What to do next? And what is the most urgent work? In your free time, you can do these activities.
10- Share your Expertise
If you are a senior and in top management, you can build a great team that pays off by sharing your knowledge.
In your free time, when you are bored, you can discuss experiences with junior colleagues. They can have experience from your work. As a leader, you can make a difference.
Offer Guidance
Instead of giving a simple answer to their queries. Briefly describe them through the process of solving a problem. It will show you as a team leader creating a difference in the workplace.
Final Thoughts
Next time when boredom hits your mind, don’t simply sit at your desk. Spare some time to do productive tasks such as cleaning the desk, clearing and sorting digital space, playing brain games, having industry insight, and much more.
All these boring time activities at work will not only keep you engaged but also benefit you in career building. For long-term personal and professional development, you can focus on the above-mentioned productive activities in your free time.