What To Do With Downtime at Work

PowerPoint PresentationOverview
When you're productive at work, you may find yourself with some downtime. You may not have any
assignments left to complete, and you might have a few minutes or a few hours of scheduled work time
remaining. Understanding what you can do with your downtime can help you have an even more
productive day. In this article, we define downtime and explore ideas for what to do with it at work.
What is downtime?
conditions that they can't control. Downtime can
occur due to unexpected circumstances like
equipment malfunctions or power outages.
Additionally, downtime could also potentially
occur because of the low availability of
assignments. Planned downtime is especially
common in businesses that operate on seasonal
cycles. Whether you're experiencing planned or
unplanned downtime, it's important to know
how to handle it to maintain productivity as an
employee.
This one should be obvious. If you don’t have
enough to do, just tell your supervisor that you
would like a few more extra work duties. Your
employer will probably be impressed by your
initiative.
If your colleague is struggling to meet a deadline,
you can offer your assistance. This simple act can
help you develop strong relationships with your
coworkers. Alternatively, you can also offer to
assist your manager or supervisor with a project
that you're not currently assigned to. Your
superiors may appreciate the initiative and be
more likely to consider you for a promotion in the
future.
You can also use some cleaning supplies to sanitize
your space. For example, you can use antibacterial
wipes to clean the top of your desk to get rid of
germs. You can also use a washcloth and dusting
spray to wipe the dust off your computer screen
and keyboard.
Go for a walk
If you typically sit idly at your desk for most of
the day, consider getting up and taking a short
walk. You can go outside and walk around the
block to get some fresh air, clear your mind and
prepare yourself for incoming work. Alternatively,
you could stay within the building and visit your
coworkers' cubicles. This might allow you to have
conversations with people you normally don't get
the chance to talk to.
Clean your email inbox
inbox. If you have downtime, consider going
through all your spam emails. Block unwanted
senders and unsubscribe to irrelevant newsletters.
These actions can prevent the accumulation of
unwanted emails in the future. You can also delete
other unimportant emails from your main folder
and check your spam folder to ensure that no
important emails are present there by accident.
Read industry news
can also summarize your findings in written form.
Record the factual details from your research and
analyze how they apply to the work your
company is currently performing. Then, consider
sending your findings to your supervisor or your
coworkers. As a result, other employees can use
their downtime to make themselves more
valuable assets to your organization.
Compile a list of contacts
Create your list in a spreadsheet application,
adding columns for the contacts' first and last
names, email addresses, job titles, work phone
numbers and personal phone numbers. You can
organize the information however you'd like to,
whether alphabetically or by your professional
relationship with them. Creating this list can help
you network better and contact individuals more
easily.
sure to include your name, your organization's
name and an invitation for the caller to leave a
message. Keep your message brief so that you
don't lose the caller's interest.
Write a note of appreciation
A thank you note can let someone know that
you appreciate what they have done to help
you progress in your career. You can thank a
coworker for their recent contribution to your
project or a former professor for writing you a
letter of recommendation, for example.
Consider writing a handwritten note and
delivering it in person, or else send a short
email expressing your gratitude.
If you have been using the same passwords for a
while now, it may be time to change them. This
will ensure that your digital information is secure
and protected.
Drink Water
concentrate better, increase your energy levels,
decrease your stress levels, help you loose weight,
and put you in an overall better mood. If you don’t
want to do anything else on this list, you should at
least do this!
Handbook
that is expected of you as an employee within
your company.
A good starting point is to go through a month
or two of bank statements and jot down all bills,
subscriptions, and other recurring charges. Write
them all down in a spreadsheet or planner and
subtract the amount from what you make
monthly.
This is also a great time to get a good look at all
the subscriptions you currently have and to
decide which to keep and which to get rid of, if
any.
calendar but don’t know where to start, a good
idea is to gather some new ideas and see what fits
with your lifestyle, family, budget, and calendar.
Setting time aside for fun activities is also a fantastic
way to ensure you’re carving out some stress-free
time to enjoy your time off.
Set your appointments
While not as fun as planning a day trip, setting
your appointments for the next few months (or
even the year!) can make sure you have the time
to actually get necessities like doctor and
dentists appointments out of the way.
Better yet, if you’ve been putting off a routine
cleaning or flu-shot, get them done quickly during
your downtime and take the opportunity to
schedule your next visits in-person.
Take a course
learning something new has never been this easy.
You can simply sign up to any of these sites, for
free, and begin learning right away!
While most of these sites offer free trials, they
also offer a hefty variety of free or discounted
courses, which makes it easy and inexpensive.
If you prefer the traditional face-to-face route, you
may want to check your local recreation center or
community college for upcoming courses as well.
Discover the educational side of
YouTube
can be an excellent resource for educational
videos and even free courses. From TED Talks to
learning to change the oil in your car, there are all
sorts of things to discover on YouTube with a
quick search.
Get in some exercise while waiting in line
• Calf raises – stand on the balls of your feet while keeping your legs straight, then return to your
normal standing position. Repeat while you’re in line—it’s that easy! The benefits of calf raises include
strengthening your calves, improving your jumping ability, and of course, burning some calories.
• Standing on one leg – Don’t worry: you don’t have to look ridiculous in line to do this one, either.
Slightly raise one of your feet off the ground so you are standing on one leg. Alternate every five
seconds as needed. Standing on one leg can help build muscles throughout your leg and improve
balance.
When thinking of new productive things to do,
sitting back and listening to something might sound
counter-intuitive. However, enjoying a good podcast
is a great way to add some extra productivity to
your time off. Podcasts can help you learn about
your industry, hobbies, and get you more involved in
your community.
can also help to inspire you and aid in self-
improvement, which in turn raises productivity all
around.
Learn a new career skill
• Volunteer – While you’ll be hard-pressed to land a job using a skill you’re just starting to learn, often
you can find volunteer opportunities that will let you learn within their organization. Learning in this
environment is beneficial as it allows you to make a change in your community, looks great on a resume,
and can even provide unique networking opportunities (but more on that later).
• Use a multimedia approach – Don’t be afraid to collect any and all resources pertaining to your new
skill. In fact, reading books, articles, listening to podcasts, watching videos, and attending events centered
around the skill are all great ways to develop the skill in a well-rounded manner. Of course, don’t forget
to practice!
• Use your resources – If a friend or family member has your new desired skill, reach out! Chances are,
they’d love a helping hand with their own projects and don’t mind teaching a few tricks along the way. A
bonus to this method: Family and friends might give you a deeper or more unique insight into the skill,
unlike a book, event, or course normally would.
Start a blog
Writing for your own blog is the perfect way to
learn by practicing, and also provides an
opportunity to build a community of readers and
other writers as well.
content marketing) as a highly valuable skill that
can often help their companies or even their
clients. It looks great on a resume and can even
give you an edge over colleagues when it comes
down to a competitive promotion process.
Build your brand
• Determine what you want to be known for: Do you want to be known as an expert in your field?
Or do you simply want to show the world your baking chops? Either way, what you put out to the
world online can and will be seen by many users, including the people in your company and community,
so make it something great!
• Decide where you need to be: Though they seem to blend together on occasion, every social
media platform serves a different purpose. Decide which purpose will help you build your personal
brand and stick to it for best results.
• Keep things consistent: Consistency across your social media platforms is key to establishing your
personal brand. By demonstrating your personality through consistent and relevant posts, users will be
able to quickly identify your posts from the crowd.
Conclusion
Although the occasional stretch of downtime at work is often considered a negative thing, it can be
extremely valuable to those who know how to use it effectively.
It’s good to take a pause every now and again, too. Sometimes, downtime is an opportunity just to step
back and reevaluate where you are in your career efforts. From there you can more confidently choose
to either continue on the path you’re on or pivot to a new one.