December 18, 2018

Creative Ways to Get Through the Work Day

If you often find yourself staring at the clock, listlessly counting down the hours until the work day is done, it may be time to teach yourself some new tricks. Put your betting skills to good use by setting challenges for yourself throughout the day. To get you started, here are a few ideas.

Adopt a New Perspective

One of the simplest ways to make a boring day more bearable is to change your perspective. Look at your work through fresh eyes by imagining how someone else would see it. Imagine you’re a police detective, a horror novelist, a child, your grandma — anything that will help you put a new spin on things. You can also put yourself in the shoes of those who will be affected by your work and see if that sparks any ideas. Remembering the context and importance of your job can help you stay fully engaged.

Get in Your 10,000 Steps

Getting exercise is important — especially if you sit all day at an office job, then return home to other sedentary activities. Make it your goal to get 10,000 steps per day. Then, when you get bored or need to clear your head, go for a walk. Every little bit helps, even if you’re just walking around the office. An outside walk would be even better though, offering both a change of scenery and a mood-boosting dose of sunlight.

Take things up a notch by betting with your coworkers on who can reach 10,000 steps first, or who can take the most steps over a week. There are even apps that allow teams to compete in virtual races that you can introduce across your company to create some good-natured competition among departments.

Learn Something New

Make a bet that you’ll learn at least one new thing a day, and enforce it with consequences. For instance, you could adhere to a self-imposed ban from online casinos on days that you fail, or add a certain amount to your weekly spending limit for each day that you succeed.

You can pass the time and learn something new at the same time by listening to a podcast or working your way through a book. You could also make a point of talking to your coworkers. Learning something new about your colleagues should count, right?

Expand Your Job Description

If running out of things to do is an everyday occurrence, you may need to find a more permanent solution. Review your job description and look for ways to expand it. Maybe you could work toward a promotion or ask for more responsibilities. What else can you offer the company? Can you think of any projects you could spearhead or any changes you could suggest? Without new challenges, it’s easy to fall into a rut of mediocrity and boredom.

Turn Work Into a Game

Some jobs are just boring by nature, and others go through slow seasons. In situations like that, gamification can help. Turn your work into a competition, complete with prizes — whether you’re competing against yourself or against coworkers. Try to break your own records, and set goals to work toward. If your job involves a lot of mindless busywork, get your imagination involved. Pretend you’re an undercover agent, for instance, or play out some outlandish sitcom or soap opera scenes in your head while you work.

Not only will these techniques help your time at work pass more quickly, but they will also leave you with a greater feeling of accomplishment. When you pack up your things and head home for the day, you’ll know your time was put to good use.