No one is immune from boredom at work.
There are times when there is simply nothing to do. Someone is having a chair race. Someone puts pictures on the windows with stickers. Some people drink coffee ten times a day and gossip.
But remember, idleness destroys. You, of course, have heard about burnout syndrome and its sad consequences. The bad news is that burnout can be caused not only by stress at work, but also by boredom.
In medicine, this is called “chronic boredom syndrome” - boreout syndrome. The term appeared back in 2007. Chronic boredom can lead to depression, insomnia and decreased immunity. You understand that during a pandemic, immunity is our everything, and boredom at work becomes deadly.
We will tell you what to do in your free time at work - for the benefit of your career and not only.
Let's communicate
Each of us needs communication. So why not talk to someone when you're bored at work? Here are some ideas.
- Find a funny picture or demotivational message online and send it to your colleagues by email or in a corporate chat.
- Invite a colleague with whom you are working on the same project to have a cup of tea or coffee and discuss the details of your joint work. It will be useful for both of you.
- Think about whether someone needs your help? If you still have nothing to do, help a colleague. Rest assured, he will return the favor in return.
- If one of your colleagues recently helped you, do not be lazy - write him a few lines with words of gratitude.
- Call a relative you haven't spoken to for a long time. Or a friend. Do not forget your old friends.
Train your brain
If your job causes you to lose your mental sharpness, then this section is for you. See what you can do at work in your free time or on a break.
- How long have you been reading self-development literature? It's time to start. You will get new ideas that will allow you to become more successful.
- Download lectures on the Internet on a topic that interests you. If your work allows it, listen to webinars using headphones.
- Audio podcasts can be recommended in the same way. The topics here are varied: from politics to style.
- Learn a foreign language. Today there are many applications for smartphones, even free ones, that will allow you to repeat foreign words anywhere, learn grammar, etc.
- Find the crossword puzzle and try to solve it. Puzzles, Sudoku, etc. are also suitable.
There are no tasks yet - upgrade your skills
If there are no restrictions on Internet access, engage in self-development. The main thing is to be consistent and finish what you start.
The skills you acquire will also be useful for your career growth. Choose an activity you like and don’t complain about boredom anymore.
Sign up for online courses
The biggest difficulty is choosing what you like.
If the course is useful for work, why shouldn’t the employer pay for your training? Everyone will benefit from this. Anyway, ask the boss.
The most famous platforms are Coursera, Open Education, Geekbrains, Lectorium. There are many paid and free courses here. You can study anything - from theoretical physics to Chinese.
Decide what interests you and sign up for the course.
Learn to work with pictures
The ability to edit photos is always useful. Or maybe there is a talented pictorialist sleeping soundly within you?
The most popular free photo editors are Photoshop Online, Canva, Crello, Pixlr, Fotor.
By the way, when you master the photo editor, you will have something to occupy your free time.
Read for work or for fun
Another great way to spend time is to read professional or fiction literature.
Don't know what to read? All sorts of lists and ratings of good books have already been compiled for you. Check out 100bestbooks or ReadRate and start reading. If we are talking about classics, any book can be downloaded for free, if we are talking about modern literature, you can read it online.
If you need special literature, choose a list of interesting portals for your profession and keep track of the news.
Buy crosswords
But what to do if Internet access is limited or non-existent?
Buy a collection of crosswords, scanwords, Sudoku or puzzles. Scientists from the University of Exeter and King's College London have proven that those who solve crossword puzzles begin to age 10 years later in their brains.
Logical tasks are real fitness for the brain: they improve blood circulation just as well as working out in the gym.
Ways to cheer up
If you have nothing to do at work, if you are tired, then here are some options to cheer you up.
- Invite your colleagues to go get coffee for everyone. Or go to the nearest deli to get some buns. Or for sushi. You will take a walk, and your colleagues will be happy. I recommend an article on how to gain authority in a team.
- Take a walk around the building where you work. If you leave for 5 minutes, it is unlikely that anyone will object. But you will be filled with energy, especially in sedentary work.
- Even at your desk, you can do a little physical education. Stretch, bend, move your legs and arms. This will help relieve tension in the body.
- Make yourself some orange juice and drink it. To do this, you need to bring to work the simplest and cheapest citrus juicer. Rest assured, your colleagues will thank you again.
- Offer to arrange a five-minute airing in the office. After it, everyone will feel more comfortable working.
Part-time work on the Internet - beware of scammers!
The Internet is simply replete with advertisements for various remote part-time jobs at home via a computer. But what is important to know is that among them there are often fraudulent advertisements.
Fraudsters publish their advertisements even on large job sites, promising attractive working conditions and earnings from 15,000 to 45,000 rubles and more .
❗️Be careful! Such scammers often offer to contact you through
. In the future, under any pretext, they will try to lure money out of you, explaining this for various reasons (for example, “insurance contributions”).
Here is an example of such an advertisement on one of the large job portals jooble.org :
Example of a fraudulent ad (click to enlarge)
Therefore, if you come across such a vacancy, treat it with caution!
☝️ Very important! Therefore, in order not to waste your money and be left without a part-time job, never agree to “prepayments”, “contributions”, “payment for training”, “payment for materials”... Since in
98% of these are scammers !
In fact, it is very possible to find remote part-time work (for example, on the same freelance exchanges), you just need to take precautions that will protect you from scammers.
