Down-Time at Work

@lifehackorg There are a lot of productive things to do when bored. On Quora, user Visakan Veerasamy proposes the use of elimination. I took that theory one step further, expanding to also include two other types of activity. Here are fifteen productive things to do when bored based on the principles of elimination, consumption and work.

You have a great idea for a new project-a marketing initiative that's going to reach new audiences, a revamped tagline for a flagging product, or an efficient new way to organize the team's records. You're probably feeling excited (way to innovate!) and slightly apprehensive (um, how exactly am I going to convince my boss it's worthwhile?). Tips from @dailymuse

via @mind_tools It's Monday morning. As Linda sits down at her desk she experiences that familiar sinking sensation in her stomach... She's not dreading the day head of her - she's dreading her email inbox! Linda's in charge of a large team, and she receives at least 50 emails every day.

via @michaelhyattExecutives who do not ask themselves, 'What can I contribute?' are not only likely to be aiming too low, they are likely to aim at the wrong things. - Peter Drucker This is where we enter the realm of goals. In my first job out of graduate school, I was given a massive task that [...]

@lifehackorg You may think that you don't have time to organize your office, but if you really knew how much time that disorganization cost you, you'd reconsider. Rearranging and moving piles occasionally doesn't count. Neither does clearing off your desk, if you swipe the mess into a bin, or a desk drawer.

@thirdmetric I loved hearing from so many of you that you want more meditations -- it really makes my heart sing! And today, I'm happy to give you more!

Meetings are an inevitable part of the job for many people, and sometimes you know you're going into a meeting that will drag on and on. How do you prepare yourself to be engaged and alert? Here's a few of methods to survive those long haul meetings. via @lifehacker

The war between being and nothingness is the underlying illness of the twentieth century. Boredom slays more of existence than war. - Norman Mailer I'm not one to get bored, ever ... but a number of readers have written in with the question: What do I do if I'm bored out of my skull at work?

Where you work affects how you work. Working in a cluttered, messy, or distracting environment will affect your work, and probably in a negative way. If you're like the average knowledge worker, you spend most of your time sitting in front of a computer screen.