11 Great Ways to Pass Time at Work

February 21, 2024

We all have that slow day at work. 30 minutes feel like 30 never-ending working days. What do you do on those days? Scroll through social media, drink coffee, or chat with coworkers? These aren’t necessarily terrible ideas, but there are other ways to kill time until you need to punch out. Here are 11 creative, productive, and fun ways to pass time at work.

Table of Contents

Listen to Podcasts

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If you don’t want to let others know you have some free time, get your earphones and listen to podcasts or audiobooks. Depending on your preference, you can find an ideal podcast for history, disasters, games, politics, sports, crime, or entertainment.

Read

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Don’t have a podcast or audiobook subscription? You can always just read.

“I had a very boring job about 7 years ago when I finished my entire day’s work in the first hour. So, I downloaded the Kindle app for PC and read the entire Song of Ice and Fire Series. Easy to click out of if someone comes up to you and doesn’t look like anything but a PDF of text,” shares a reader.

Write

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Writing is an “excellent way to pass the time even if you’re not a good writer.” One user says, “I like to write at work, and I usually do it in shorthand so no one can understand what I’m writing.”

Fake a Computer Update

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One of the problems with finishing your tasks ahead of schedule is that somebody (your boss or a lazy colleague) will give you more work. The solution? Fake a computer update. How? Visit www.fakeupdate.net.

Just a heads up, though. You should only use this trick occasionally, or your coworkers will become suspicious.

Learn New Skills

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You can also upgrade your skills during your free time at work. You can “learn to program simple scripts and automate your job,” American Sign Language, a second language, how to use Excel, and more.

Find New Music

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A user recommends, “Spotify’s radio feature is great for this because it allows you to find tracks by similar artists, songs, albums, etc.”

Try GeoGuesser

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“This site dumps you somewhere random in the world on Google’s street view, and you have to guess where you are. You get more points the closer you guess,” shares a GeoGuesser player, with many people agreeing it is satisfying to play.

Teach Yourself Excel

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Also, learn how to accomplish different tasks in Excel. A poster details that he learned Excel formulas and automating things using VBA. He says, “I have no background in technology, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. I had multiple reports in Excel that would open themselves up at scheduled points in the day, update themselves, and then email themselves to the correct people.”

Plan Vacations

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“I plan vacations, read about places, pick out accommodations, and research the transit options. It makes me happy,” shares a poster.

Learn a New Language

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You can also learn a new language to pass the time at work. Many people recommend Duolingo.

Use Google Street View

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“I love going on Google Maps and visiting foreign countries and continents via Google Street View or 360-degree pictures uploaded by users. It is really interesting if you find travelers that took several pictures of their trip, and you can kinda ‘come along.’ Super relaxing too,” details a commentator.

Source: Reddit
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