What can I do to keep busy at work?

October 15, 2006 2:00 PM

What do I do all day to keep myself busy since my job doesn't do it?

I have an unfortunate problem. My decently paying, good benefits job is super boring. It's seasonal, so for a couple months I'm very busy, the other 10 months of the year I sit at a desk and attempt to look like I'm not playing solitaire (which of course, I am).

I have access to the internet but I can't stream anything. I can't stay on it for extended periods of time either or I get a lovely slap-on-the-wrist email from HR.

I've asked for more work. There isn't any. The bosses don't LIKE to see me doing nothing, but since they know there isn't anything else to do I'm in no danger of getting fired. What can I do with myself all day? I have to sit at my desk, that's my major restriction. Any suggestions for anything constructive I can do? (or even just good time-wasters?) Thanks.

*I know I need to look for another job, easier said than done, but it's definitely part of my future plans.

posted by CwgrlUp to Work & Money (19 answers total)

Do you have any technical skills (i.e. scripting languages, programming languages, etc.)? If not, do you have any interest in learning said skills? While at my super-boring technical job during college, I spent time that my bosses understood I didn't have anything to do learning new things-- I actually learned how to use Python, for example. When we got our hands on a copy of Visual C# Express, I learned C# and made a series of little games and utilities. It furthered my knowledge of computers and when it came time to move on to a new, better job, I had a set of new skills I could add to my resume.
Even if you don't have a technical background, scripting languages like Python can give you a good introduction to programming and give you a chance to sharpen the ability to think logically, translating human tasks into a series of machine-readable instructions. Manuals can be downloaded in HTML format from the web so that you will be reading documents locally, not constantly accessing the web.
posted by ckolderup at 2:09 PM on October 15, 2006

learn how to knit? listen to audiobooks? play sudoku? get a nintendo ds and play games?
posted by youcancallmeal at 2:09 PM on October 15, 2006

Nanowrimo is coming up in November.... you could write a novella!

Another good one is DailyLit, previously mentioned here, where you can get pieces of public domain novels e-mailed to you at regular intervals.
posted by Lucinda at 2:13 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

This has been asked before many time. Here's one thread.

I echo the general suggestions of:

1. Read.
The web is full of great classic texts available in many formats including PDF. Download once and then read.

2. Learn
The web is full of entire classes online. Learn about physics or stars and galaxies. About psychology, history recent and old. Learn a foreign language by going through texts online - a dictionary by your side. Practice your pronunciation by meeting with a tutor on weekends.

3. Write
This is your chance to start writing your memoirs. Write, write and write some more. Post your writing to your own blog if you like. This will help you in so many areas of life too - encouraging thoughtfulness and precision in the way you communicate.

4. Solve
This one is reserved for math geeks like me but I can take a problem like the ones on IBM's Ponder This and enjoy a few hours tackling the problem until it gives.
posted by vacapinta at 2:15 PM on October 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

Do things to build your skills for that new job you're looking for. If these are the same things you'd do to build your skills for your current job, you could probably get away with a lot.

Also, spend some time (an hour?) each day writing something. Anything. Even if you can't think of anything to write other than what you've done so far today. Writing is a valuable skill that improves greatly with practice (even if you're already good at it). And typing on your computer looks good.
posted by winston at 2:17 PM on October 15, 2006

Another idea: you could make your own text adventure game using something like Inform. It looks a lot less like play (even when testing it!) than most other game-related things.

(my ideas involve not using books or other real-life apparatus because we were not allowed such things at my old job. They wanted students to at least appear like they were using the computer and working at all times)
posted by ckolderup at 2:18 PM on October 15, 2006

I had this problem on a six month stint. It's amazing how much more difficult it can be to look busy than to actually be busy. I got very good at the New York Times crossword puzzle in short order, although I am not sure that I would counsel such diversion. I had a bit of a time easing back into hard work after that stint. I think I got used to a life of leisure and the first month or two back in the real world were hard. ckolderup probably has better advice. Find some personal enrichment, perhaps even something that can take you to a new level in your career or even to a new career. This seems like a good time for night school -class at night, homework on the clock, and everyone is happy because you are still getting all your assigned work done. Of course, the easy thing (if they might be even interested) is to just tell your bosses that you could take on some new projects for them, streamline things, new systems whatever.
posted by caddis at 2:19 PM on October 15, 2006

You could find the busiest, most stressed person in your organization and informally arrange with them, as appropriate, to job share. You're their stress angel, you maybe lower your own boredom and resultant stress, your bosses don't have to make any painful task delegations that will just have to be re-delegated during your 2 month busy season, and HR doesn't have to write nastygrams.

Win, win, win, win. Damn, I'm good !
posted by paulsc at 2:28 PM on October 15, 2006

I second winston's suggestion: develop your skills for the next job in a way that's also compatible with advancement/improvement in your current position. If you choose carefully, you can probably even get management approval for it: "Dear boss, I would like to allocate X hours per week during the off-season towards Y training in order to improve my ability to serve the company in Z capacity." Unless you want your next job to be something utterly unrelated to the present one, you can find something that's at least peripherally related to both.
posted by rkent at 2:32 PM on October 15, 2006

Pick up some web design gigs on the side? Bring the files in on a thumb drive and code using whatever text editor you have. (or run Nvu off your thumb drive)

Read free ebooks? (project Gutenburg)?
posted by chrisamiller at 2:36 PM on October 15, 2006

he, I learned HTML that way. Go do some studying, and if it is work related somehow, you can even score points with your boss for doing so!
posted by KimG at 3:10 PM on October 15, 2006

Get the boss to pay for an executive MBA program. You get an awesome vita line and the boss gets a go-getter for a few more years.
posted by jmgorman at 3:30 PM on October 15, 2006

Just leave and get a new job.
Pay and benefits aren't worth as much as a fulfilling job.
posted by matholio at 4:02 PM on October 15, 2006

I, uh, got my MBA while sitting at my day job. A lot of the course work was reading and regurgitating cases, so I got a ton of work done without actually being online, but still on my computer. You work with spreadsheets, databases, presentations, etc., so you can make the point that you are improving your skills in those areas if your boss won't agree to actually paying for the program. Or, alternatively, it is super easy to hide that you are doing homework - easier than hiding solitaire.
posted by blackkar at 4:19 PM on October 15, 2006

If you find an online course that is semi-related to your job function, you kill two birds with one stone: you learn something new on the company's dime, AND you get HR off your back about the internet usage.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 5:37 PM on October 15, 2006

Keep a book of plans and sinister/brilliant ideas on how to become the grand Poobah of the universe. Plot in it

Learn Spanish

Learn to code
posted by juliarothbort at 7:14 PM on October 15, 2006

Get an EVDO modem and 'net all you like without anyone knowing.
posted by trevyn at 7:20 PM on October 15, 2006

After I had written up my goals for the next 5 - 10 - 20 years I would spend some time clearing up any current issues - as much as I can while sitting at a desk and then start doing things that move forward to those goals. You may have to learn goal setting first. But you have the time. Time only moves in one direction.
posted by ptm at 8:36 PM on October 15, 2006

I have a friend who is an airport firefighter. The whole profession suffers from the same problem you descibe: everybody has to at least look busy for some of the day when there is really nothing to do. His preferred solution is to find a hiding place where he could read or even doze. He can also a great story teller, accomplished player of cards and a keen sketcher.
posted by rongorongo at 1:59 AM on October 16, 2006