Employers want to keep the workplace as productive as possible. The upper management ensures that the employees remain busy with work, and there is rarely free time for them to look around. This is what the common idea is about a workplace.
In contrast to the common notion, the management teams of many companies have now started to reduce the workload on their employees. It has become a trend to have some spare time even during working hours. The spare time may also arise because of a technical issue like server down or power cut (in rare cases).
This is the time everyone sees as a gap to sit back, relax, and perform productive activities. While many would prefer mingling with colleagues and extending water cooler breaks, productive nerds can leverage this time to be effective in one way or the other. This includes listening to audiobooks, watching a Ted Talk, or even solving a game of Mahjong
If you are ever going through a ‘me time’ phase within the office space, check out these five ideas to keep yourself productive.
Make A List
Don’t get into the mood of partying over the weekend. We refer to the list of groceries here that you can prepare while you have nothing to do at work.
Grocery shopping is not as interesting as it sounds. The time to shop is supposed to keep us excited, but when combined with groceries, we prefer to stay at home in our comfortable clothes even if there is nothing to eat. Having a list ready comes in handy at this time. You already know what you want and how much of it you want. All you have to do is visit the store, take a trolley and shop.
Having a grocery list handy prevents a person from getting into impulsive shopping, a culture that burns more pockets than one can estimate. Impulsive shopping happens mostly to satisfy our short-term needs. Preparing a list when you get time gives a better clarity about the things that you want.
Work On Your Vocabulary
The ideas of a person are limited to the number of words he or she knows. This is an undeniable fact that is easy to prove.
Knowing more words and sentence structures widens your thought process. You discover more than one way to express yourself. This is useful when you have to deal with many people in your life. A colleague may be less qualified. So, you will need to have an idea about simplifying your thoughts. Your manager may be better equipped with the technical terms of the job. Using similar terms while conversing with your boss makes you a better candidate for the upcoming Employee Of The Month ceremony.
Learning a new language is yet another way to utilize the spare time productively. Every language that you learn, even its basics, acts as a valuable asset on your resume.
Help A Colleague
Extending a helping hand to a colleague, or anyone for that matter, does not pay anything unless you are an NGO that seeks funds to continue its noble operations. What you do as a person or as an employee still counts and goes a long way in your life. Helping a colleague struggling with their work is a noble cause that you may consider doing when you have nothing to do.
Helping a colleague establishes better professional relationships in the office. Start with one person and then seek to help others. You will automatically become a Star, if you will, of your office. This fosters collaborations among team members as well, ultimately improving the output of your team. The best part is that you get noticed by the management as an upcoming leader of the organization.
When you help a colleague, you learn many things. This is on similar lines to teaching someone something new. You may even come across a problem or a drawback of your work.
Play A Game
We have all the emotional feelings for you if your company does not allow you to play a game on your work system. But, you can always go back to classic card games like Solitaire Bliss and let the time fly.
If not, you can download a nice game on your mobile that you can play at any time without disturbing others or hampering the output that the company expects you to maintain.
Games have been looked at as something that ruins the lives of people. It is known to suck a person in the world of fiction. However, gaming has several advantages that have now started to come to everyone’s attention. Playing a game improves the time a person can focus on their tasks. Gaming teaches a person the value of persistence. Many games have missions to be accomplished and cross levels, each being more difficult than the previous one. A person needs extreme focus to complete the desired level or mission.
The person in real life applies the same. The output of people who play games occasionally has been observed to be better than others. Gamers are also known to be better at solving problems.
Update your Resume
Even if you are not planning on leaving your current company, it’s always a good idea to count with an up-to-date resume in case a good job opportunity shows up. So if you have time to spare, take this time to update your resume with your current role, add newly gained skills, edit your past experiences and even create a few different designs and resume formats.
You never know when you will need a copy of your resume, so it’s best to follow the saying, ‘It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Review Your Finances
The world revolves around how much money a person has in his or her pocket. The picture often looks cheerful until it is analyzed properly. The spare time at the workplace can be spent reviewing the finances of your life.
Understanding how much you earn and how much you spend will offer you clarity about asking for a raise or a promotion. Companies respect a logical argument and don’t hesitate to offer increments to their employees if they need it. In case the issue is severe, then the company may help you with your finances. Every company has a department that is dedicated to financial operations. While the department is well-versed with corporate finance, it may be able to offer you a piece of advice about managing your finances.
Companies even organize sessions on wealth management, where you may gain an understanding of different investment opportunities. You can explore the option to invest in the stock market. If you already have your investments live with the relevant agencies, review them and keep track of how much you have made.
Final Words
Following the tips mentioned above can help utilize spare time at the workplace in a productive manner. Irrespective of how bored you are, picking up any of these activities will kill time faster.