Three Ways to Spend Your Extra Time
It’s 3pm and you’ve already 1) watched a recap of last night’s Cardinals game 2) reviewed all your friends’ Insta stories and 3) determined that your favorite taco topping means you should be a wombat for Halloween (thank you, Buzzfeed!).
Okay, so your average slow day at work is probably not this extreme, but sometimes you have downtime on the job. How can you use that time?
Below are some ideas to get you started, no matter what line of work you are in.
Review your goals
Don’t go through the assigned task list. Instead, consider what the purpose of your job is. As a member of the content marketing team, you might be responsible for driving site traffic and brand awareness. Usually that means posting 10 pins and 3 tweets a week, which you’ve already crushed.
Now take a step back. What do you believe could double your site’s current performance?
Chances are you have some unique ideas. You might still need to get your boss’ sign-off, but now you can do the legwork and shine when you pitch them your plan.
Self educate
Sometimes, you have no real power to do work without express direction (maybe you should find a new job?). In these cases, use the time for self-improvement.
There are millions of blogs out there (yes, Confia is not the only game in town) that will provide insight into your industry, your job type, or general soft skills. You can also read up on competitors to get ideas that you can later bring up in meetings.
Reflect on past performance
The work itself is valuable, but there is a lot to be gained by reflecting on past work. Review all of the goals and tasks you worked on in the last month/quarter and ask yourself the following questions:
What did I do that had the biggest impact on the success of the organization?
What work am I most proud of?
What tasks did I enjoy?
What is one new thing I learned?
What was really hard to do?
If I could do one thing differently, what would it be?
Not only will reflection improve the quality of your work by giving you some new ideas, it can also help you continue to refine your personal mission.
Summary
If you’re going to be stuck at your desk, you might as well use the time to get ahead.
Want more career advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our blog and get weekly articles.