You finished all your work. Your manager is busy. You don’t have anything else assigned to you that needs to get done. You don’t know what you should do next.
You’re bored.
Many corporate office workers have found themselves in this situation. It could be because you are new to the team or company, and it’s difficult for your manager to hand things off to you. Or you may be in a role that has slow and busy seasons. Or your manager may be swamped and unable to find time to sit down with you to go over things.
Regardless of whey you are bored at your corporate job, it’s easy to waste away the minutes and hours and have little to show for it. Instead of wasting your time, find productive things to fill it.
I’ve worked in corporate finance and accounting for nearly ten years, and I certainly have had my fair share of busy and slow times. What I’ve learned is a little motivation to spend your time productively can go a long way. There is always something you can do with your free time. I also have learned to count it as a blessing when things are slow, because once things speed up you never know when you will get another slow stretch.
Here’s a list of productive things you can do when you are bored at your corporate job. Please keep in mind that what is and isn’t acceptable will vary by company, department, manager, and what your role is at the company. In other words, some of these may not be relevant or acceptable at your workplace. A majority of these things will be relevant to most office workers, though.
Let Your Manager Know You Have Capacity
If you haven’t already, one of the first things you should do is let your manager know you have extra capacity. Unless they are huge micro-managers, it’s unlikely that your manager has a pulse on how much extra capacity you have. If you truly do have a ton of extra capacity it probably makes sense to mention to your manager that you can take on additional work.
To be blunt, but your workload may not be on the top of your manager’s mind. By mentioning your ability to take on more work it may trigger them to take some time to think about what can be handed off. It can also result in them talking to other managers or directors who may need help with something.
Some advice with this is to be smart when approaching your manager. Your manager may not be thrilled if you reach out and ask for more work if you consistently fly through your work and spend little or no time editing and revising it. They also likely have a reasonable expectation that you will proactively improve processes and reports that you work on. It’s one thing to reach out every so often and ask for more work, but you should also be proactively improving and expanding on the things already assigned to you.
Which brings me to the next thing you should do if you are bored…
Spend an Hour Brainstorming Areas for Improvement
If you truly feel like you have completed all your work and are unsure of what to do next, take an hour to brainstorm everything you can do to improve and expand on the work that you already have. To take an example from corporate finance, we have tons of spreadsheets and reports, and almost all of them could use some improvement. And it’s not just about improving an existing report, perhaps a brand new one is warranted. Even if it’s just back pocket support for a process, there is usually value in creating it.
During your brainstorming session throw everything onto a piece of paper (or if you live in the present day, a word document). Ask yourself:
- Of the files, documents, reports, spreadsheets, and slide decks I currently use, how can they be better? What sort of improvements can be made?
- Are there new files that should be created?
- What is something that my manager hasn’t asked me for, but likely will ask for in the future? How can I get ahead of it so I’m prepared when the question or topic comes up?
The last question is an important one. Many times over the years I have thought “I knew this request was going to happen!” Anticipating what questions and requests will come your way can be a big win from a career perspective. Even if you aren’t 100% of the way there when the request comes up, the fact you anticipated the request and started prepping for it will show your manager you are proactive and take initiative. This will also set you up for success if you move into a busy time at work where you don’t have the luxury of getting ahead of requests.
When you finish your brainstorming session go through your list and prioritize things. Don’t just do the things that are easy – tackle the difficult tasks as well. It’s much easier to start working through something difficult before you are tasked with it.
Inbox Zero
Clearing out your email inbox is a great way to leverage your downtime at work. I do this every so often because I like the satisfaction of inbox zero, but the number of emails really add up during my busy times.
This has an added benefit because you can jot down takeaways as you go through emails. It can function in a similar way as a brainstorm, where reading through emails may remind you of something you need to do or should do. As I go through my emails I jot down takeaways and, to be honest, things I simply didn’t have time to get to.
Develop Your Technical Skills
My first corporate job wasn’t the most challenging. One thing I did to make it a little more interesting – and worthwhile – was to develop my technical skills. Since I was in finance, the skills I focused on were:
- Pivot tables
- Automating spreadsheets with VBA
- Formulas
- Microsoft Access Databases (and automating them)
- Dashboards within Microsoft Excel
In a later job I had to create PowerPoint slides often, so I spent time developing that skill. Technical skills will always be in demand, if not a minimum requirement for jobs, so it is worthwhile to spend your time honing them.
What you focus on will depend on what your job is. If you are going to develop your technical skills on-the-job, it has to be relevant to your current position. Considering how important and integral technology is to corporate work today, it shouldn’t be difficult to identify which technical skills you should learn and develop for your job function.
Learn More About Your Company
If you work for a large corporation, it’s likely difficult to even keep up with the weekly and monthly changes, let alone understand all the ins and outs of the core business. Even at small- and mid-size companies, there’s a lot to learn.
Unfortunately many corporate employees only learn what they need to know to get through a request. This is one reason I constantly stress to my employees that an understanding of the business is valuable and something they should regularly dedicate time to. Sure, some businesses are simpler than others, but we live in a complex, fast-paced world and corporate employees need to have a comprehensive understanding of the business to be effective.
If you are newer and/or don’t know much about the business, it could be a reason that you aren’t getting much handed off to you. If something is needed ASAP a manager may fulfill the request themselves or hand it off to an employee who has gained an understanding of the business. All the more reason to spend some of your free time digging into materials and learning about your company.
Learn More About Your Industry
Don’t just stop at learning about your company: learn more about the industry.
Let’s use the classic example of Blockbuster. The leadership at Blockbuster may have understood their business, but they totally lacked an understanding of the industry they were in. While they were busy refining the experience of their stores, the industry was shifting to a home delivery model, which quickly shifted to an on-demand-from-anywhere model. They totally missed the boat.
There are many other examples where companies that were doing well or okay struggled and eventually collapsed. They didn’t understand the industry, which is an incredible thing to think about because some of these examples are billion dollar companies that eventually were worth nothing!
One thing I’ve done from time-to-time is read the earnings release transcripts of competitors in the same industry. There is a wealth of knowledge shared in those earnings releases. It can also put things in context. If a certain aspect of the industry is getting focus from all the major players, it might explain why your own company pursues a specific strategy or all of a sudden is lazer-focused on a particular metric.
I rarely see people in corporate who dedicate time to understanding competitors and the industry as a whole. There is a lot of focus internally, which isn’t surprising or “bad” per se, but if you are bored it can make a lot of sense to spend some time looking into the larger industry and seeing what competitors are doing and how the industry is shifting.
Is your company too small or your competitors primarily private companies? You still fit within an industry or industries. Learn about the strategies of the publicly traded companies in your space.
Create an Accomplishments Spreadsheet
The best time to prepare for an annual review is months before your annual review. If you wait until your review, you may have trouble remembering the things you accomplished the past twelve months. Heck, you my have trouble remembering what you were working on a few months ago!
One thing I’ve started to do is keep track of my accomplishments by month. I do all of this within a spreadsheet, but you can do it within a word doc or whatever way works best for you. That way when I get to filling out my annual review, I have all the support I need to craft a solid narrative of the value I provided to the company and the team.
Alissa Carpenter, a workplace expert and communications consultant, suggests an alternative to the digital spreadsheet. Carpenter suggests creating a physical folder where you can print out and store all of the “thank you” emails, client appreciation, or accolades from your supervisor and colleagues. She says, “I have carried my accomplishments folder with me to every job I have had and continue to add to it. It not only helps come promotion time, but if you’re just having a bad day and questioning if you’re good at your job.”
If you have the time, you can take this a step further. You can keep track of everything you do on a weekly or even daily basis. This also serves as a CYA (Cover Your Ass) in case anyone ever questions what you spend your time on or what value you provide. There’s also the fact that your manager may be unaware of much of what you do, which may sound counter-intuitive but many companies have a matrix organization where you may be pulled into projects or work on requests that your manager has nothing to do with. It’s worthwhile to keep a list of these things in case your manager ever asks.
Proactively Reach Out to Customers (Including Internal Ones)
Carpenter suggests being proactive in reaching out to clients and customers. She says “we usually get so busy during the day that we ‘don’t have the time’ to build relationships and get to know the people that work with us. If you’re in a client facing role, take the time to give your clients a call, send an email, or a message and ask them if there is anything that you can help them with. ”
Take the time to truly understand their pain points and keep track of them. The more information you know about you’re their needs, the better you will be able to help and sell. This could be selling an idea to your organization or products or services to new client. Since you’ve taken the time and built relationships, you know exactly what your clients want and can speak their language.”
I agree with Carpenter, and would emphasize that internal customers are still customers. Throughout my decade of corporate finance and accounting experience I’ve always been removed from our external customers. But I’ve had many, many internal customers. Taking the time to get to know them has almost always been a good use of my time.
Organize Your Files
I may not hoard physical things, but I definitely hoard electronic files. I “might” need them someday, or at least that’s what I tell myself, and they never get deleted. It also takes a surprising amount of time and effort to organize files and folders, so most people simply don’t do it.
If you have the time, though, you should go folder-by-folder, and file-by-file, and re-organize your electronic files in a logical way. If you are like me and would rather have something and not need it than not have something and need it, create an Archived folder that you can drop stuff in. This will help keep the clutter out of your desktop and other folders, and you can always go to the Archived folder if you need it down the road.
Network
I don’t think I’ve ever said no to chatting with someone who asks me, whether they are at my level, below my level, or above. Taking that time to get to know someone better can help you work more effectively. Even if you don’t work directly with them, opportunities may come up because you got coffee with someone and they have a connection to you.
You don’t have to fill all your free time with coffee one-on-ones, but you should definitely consider slipping in a couple of them if you are in a slow time. Don’t be offended if someone declines, though; remember that they may be in a busy season where they are struggling to stay afloat.
Review Your Benefits
Your salary or hourly pay is typically only a piece of your compensation, with benefits making up the remainder. If you aren’t taking full advantage of your benefits you are missing out on something the company is factoring into your total pay package.
A few things to review:
- Health Insurance – What options were available to you when you signed up last? If you could go back would you still choose the option you went with, or is there an option that is a better fit? Set yourself up for success next open enrollment season by having a better understanding of your health insurance benefit – including the options available and how they differ.
- Retirement Plan – Does your company match contributions? Are you contributing at least up to the company match? And if you already are contributing up to the company match, should you be contributing more? You should also review what you are invested in. Are you selecting low-fee index funds? You can use this spreadsheet to analyze the funds your plan offers.
- Health Savings Account – Are you contributing to and taking full advantage of your HSA? If not, you should: it’s a retirement account on steroids. I personally a trying to build a $100k+ HSA, which is difficult because the maximum you can contribute each year is relatively low.
There are other benefits your company may offer such as paid parental leave, an employee stock purchase plan, a discount program on products and services, and more (here’s a list of 13 employee benefits that may be available to you). Spend your downtime getting familiar with your benefits and make sure you are taking full advantage of them.
Plan for Your Next Job
Sometimes the reason you are bored is because the role you are in is a bad fit for you. If this is the case, consider thinking about what sort of job you would make you happier, and then start making a plan to transition to that job. Update your resume, browse job postings, and build the skills and experience that will qualify you for your ideal job.
If you are going through the process of finding a new job it can be a great opportunity to get a pay bump. Do some salary research to see what other companies are paying for the jobs you are considering applying to. This is a good exercise even if you aren’t considering moving on, as you should regularly be looking at public salary data and potentially having the difficult conversations with your manager about your pay. Here’s a free raise request template that can help.
Find a Mentor
Finding a mentor can be difficult, but when you find the right mentor it can be a rewarding and potentially career-changing experience. This can start as a simple coffee one-on-one to see if someone is a good fit. If the meeting goes well, follow-up with them and see if you can meet regularly. Once a month usually works well for frequency, as there inevitably will be times when you can’t meet, making your meeting frequency more like ~9-10 times a year.
__________________________________
When you think about it, most corporate jobs have an endless number of things that can fill spare time. You could easily spend all your free time, and then some, learning more about your industry. The same could be said for developing technical skills; there’s always more you can learn.
Commit to spending your downtime productively and not wasting it. You will thank yourself later!
Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:
Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)
Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer
Get the First Chapter Free!
Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!
interesting point of view!
I’m currently planning for my next job and working on my side hustles. We’ve had 2 directors in 3 years here. I want to work for a company that actually cares for their employees.