Last week I had a friend mention that he had nothing to do for the next two hours at work. One of my pet peeves is when someone who works in an office says they have nothing to do. What it really means is that they aren’t trying hard enough to think of things they can do to provide value to the company. Yes, there are some jobs (like ticket-taker at the State Fair) where literally all you have to do is sit in a chair. For a large majority of jobs – and pretty much every job where you are working in an office – there will always be something you can do to provide value to the company or develop yourself into a better employee.
Here are five ways to stay busy at work:
1) Learn how to better utilize the tools and resources available to you
I work in finance so a tool that I use every single day is Microsoft Excel. Within Excel there is a coding language called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) that can help in automating manual tasks. If you use Excel but have never spent the time to learn VBA or even how to better use formulas, charts, formatting, etc. then there is always something you can be doing at work: learning how to better use Excel.
I use Excel as an example because it is relevant to my life, but you might work in an area where you use different software or tools that you can learn more about and use more efficiently. In all honesty most people don’t want to put in the time and effort to learn how to better utilize these tools, because I’ve seen many cases where people “have nothing to do” but could easily spend that time training and improving themselves as an employee.
2) Improve processes
Processes can always be improved. An example from finance is the monthly accounting cycle. When we close the books each month we have a lot going on in a short period of time. In the middle of the month, not surprisingly, there is a lot less going on. I use this time to improve processes, even if it’s just a small improvement here and there. I know others who complain constantly about being swamped during close but then during the off-weeks complain about not having enough to do. If they simply spent more time improving their processes they could have an easier close and stay busy during the off-weeks.
Think about your own work. What can be improved? Can you use the software and resources better so that processes run smoother and more efficiently? Is there a way to spread the work out so that the busy times are easier to manage? I’m sure there are plenty that
3) Create new job responsibilities
My friend has someone at his office who is really good at making reports with visually-pleasing charts. It’s something he enjoys and is good at. The executives liked what he was producing so much that they authorized a certain portion of his time to be dedicated towards creating executive reporting. This was not part of his original job description, at least not to the extent it has become part of his job.
I think this can be a lot easier at a small business than a large corporation, but as you can see from the above example, it is possible. At a small business there is usually a ton of demands and not enough people to fulfill them all. If your company doesn’t do much on social media, but you enjoy it and are good at managing social media accounts, consider offering to take it on. Who knows? Maybe you will do such a good job your boss will want you to spend more and more time on it.
4) Gain industry knowledge
I work in health care so there is literally an endless supply of information for me to consume so that I can better understand the health care system and subsequently improve myself as an employee in that industry. No matter what industry you are in, I guarantee there is industry knowledge that you have not soaked in yet. Plus, industries change at such a rapid pace that if you aren’t picking up on these changes fast enough (think publishing industry, software, etc.) you could be left in the dark.
I should say this doesn’t mean reading random articles is gaining industry knowledge. It has to be something relevant to the field you’re in, otherwise you are doing nothing more than browsing the web.
5) Make a list of “nice to haves”
At work I have a list that I add to from time-to-time. I also take things off it from time-to-time. This list is my “nice to have” list of things that I don’t technically have to do for work but would be nice to accomplish. Whether it’s documenting all your processes so that you can give your backup an easy-to-follow training manual to learn and reference, or automate some tasks through VBA (that’s on my list!), add anything and everything that you think would be beneficial to get done if you had extra time at work.
Keeping a list like this will ensure that in the slow times you will always have a list of things to work on.
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The bottom line is that there’s no reason you shouldn’t be busy at work. Even when things are slow, there are things you can do to stay busy and provide value to your employer.
What do you do to stay busy at work?
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Its a shame really that a lot of people are idle in offices or do so little in a day. Downtime should be the time to lay down strategies for how you are going to add value to the company, look at what competition is doing and generally gain valuable knowledge that is going to help you in your career.
Its also a time to get creative and innovative. At the end of the day though, its not just about staying busy, its about results and downtime should be used to plan/produce more of the latter.
Simon @ModestMoneyI agree, downtime can be extremely valuable if used correctly.
Good post DC. I don’t know that I’d agree with the always aspect though. I had a job several years ago that was extremely busy in the morning and extremely busy once the stock market closed its standard session and there would generally be a block of time each day (up to 2-3 hours per day) where there was nothing to do. When you have that each day, it can become a little difficult at times to fill up each day. I personally did all of these on my own and as a part of the team, but down time was just a nature of the beast.
That said, I think you can do a lot of things during down times to where you’re growing yourself professionally or helping the company in some form or fashion.
FrugalRules Agreed. In that case, it becomes management’s problem. How come management isn’t engaging workers during the downtime with training to do their job better? It’s a waste for the company and employee.
AverageJoeMoneyFrugalRulesEven if there is nothing at all to do directly related to your job, I think there is always new skills that can be developed in the free time. I think management should push this but it really falls on the employee to take initiative.
DC @ Young Adult Money AverageJoeMoney FrugalRules I would definitely agree, in theory. However, when you have three hours everyday to fill up it can be difficult at times to balance. In my particular situation, I was looking for anything and everything I could do and the crazy thing is that I was on a team of 8-10 people in the exact same situation. I think it’s a shared issue between management and employee and when one side is doing all they can and the other provides no support or framework then it becomes increasingly difficult. At the end of the day, it was much of the reason why I left. I was developing myself and growing in something I wanted to do, but there was no way to use it or be compensated for it.
That’s one thing I didn’t like about my old job. A lot of my work was at an “as need” basis. So, when we were busy, I would be swamped and when we were slow I wouldn’t have anything to do. But, I did still find some things to do. Sometimes I would clean windows if I got bored enough!
Holly at ClubThriftyYeah that’s the nature of the beast with many jobs. You have little control over when the work comes in. My wife and I were talking about this, actually, that worst case scenario you can always clean and organize!
When you’re out and about, it’s amazing the number of employees who are just watching the clock, waiting until they can leave.
The ideas that you covered will help to provide more value for their employer, improve their skills and make it feel like the time passes quicker.
However, in many roles employees just don’t have the authority to show any initiative.
Stuart @ DailyMoneyBucketIt really does vary by job as far as how much freedom employees have to pursue development. What I’ve seen, though, is that even if employees do have that freedom they seem to prefer to sit on their hands and/or complain about not being busy.
Great advice here DC. No matter what business you’re in, there’s an almost limitless amount of things you could be doing better. Making an effort to find and do those things is a great way to advance your career.
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money Especially for young adults because honestly when you’re in your 20s and 30s the biggest thing you lack is the background knowledge and hands-on experience. It’s important to pursue both.
Pretty silly to announce that you have nothing to do at work…I’m sure that can easily be fixed. But, yest great advice. If you have free time and are doing nothing, that means you’re not taking initiative. So if you have free time, definitely do something that creates value for your employer or improve your knowledge and skills.
Andrew LivingRichCheaplyMy friend doesn’t say it too often to me anymore, but when he does I tell him I have some work for him to do! Unfortunately he doesn’t work in the same department as me ;)
I’ve worked form myself for so long that it’s ingrained in me to look for process improvement and think strategically. What could I be doing right now that will advance the ball 20 yards instead of 3 (sorry for the football analogy, but it’s that time of year, baby!)
AverageJoeMoneyGo Vikings!
Nice list DC. I’m a big fan of doing online training to pick up new skills during the slow times. Coursra and Code Academy are lifesavers!
ayoungpro I need to check out Code Academy. I’ve heard of it but haven’t used it.
ayoungpro Never heard of Code Academy, I need to check it out. So far I’ve done two courses with Coursera
Hey DC! My problem with trying to stay busy at work was not biting off more than I could chew. Since I don’t always do well with being bored, I was usually searching around for things to stay busy with during downtime. Out of these moments were born projects and possibilities that often took off and became much more than I can handle. The bosses would love it but it usually left me feeling dizzy and overwhelmed.
My current goal is to work within my job description and not create these huge make-work projects just because I’m having a slow day. I know – it’s a weird problem. It’s like what you’re writing about but in reverse. Thanks for the tips though! I like reading up on articles and books in your industry to stay current!
Lindsey at Sense Haha yes that sounds like a different problem than most people have!
I totally agree! There’s always something you can do , whether it’s catching up on industry news, or even getting ahead on the regular monthly/quarterly tasks.
I agree with what you are saying. Unfortunately there will always be slackers in every company that do as little as possible. And yet they still get paid at the end of the month just like everyone else. It use to really upset me, and the slackers I worked with knew it too. There are people that give 110% all the time and find ways to stay busy and there are those that don’t care.
TacklingOurDebt I absolutely agree. This is a big reason it’s hard for people to stay motivated within an organization.
TacklingOurDebt This is true. I once worked in the finance department of a big chain company, and I used to get so pissed off every month end when salaries were processed. Seeing the slackers walk away with an undeserved salary is disheartening. DC I agree with you that it is usually a major factor in staff morale.
On the other hand I have learned that those who work hard will eventually see the fruits of their labour. As long as you stay focused on working hard on your own goals and personal development then your work ethic and integrity will shine through. The right people will come along and acknowledge it.
Boo_Hadlay TacklingOurDebt Great words! It can be difficult to deal with the short-term implications of working hard while others who slack off or really don’t do much at all get paid the same (or more!) than you do. Long-term hard work pays off, especially if you are intentional about identifying opportunities to move forward in your career.
One of the worst things you can do as an employee is to tell the boss you need something else to do. If you can’t find something productive to do, at least don’t announce it.
I’m with Kim in that you don’t necessarily want to announce that you’re bored but more so just mention that you’re able to complete assigned tasks in a little bit faster fashion than your boss may realize so you’re open to taking on additional tasks. I’m really big on finding new things that need to be improved. If you’ve got spare time, finding ways to improve the way tasks are done or things are stored is another way. Who doesn’t have a messy kitchen fridge that needs to be cleaned or a storage closet that is scarily full? Even without actual tasks to do, there’s always cleaning.