Productive Ways to Use Your Free Time at Work

Today’s employees know that spare time is not easy to come by. With only a few minutes here or there, what can you really get done? Well actually, a lot.

These little blocks of time are perfect for taking care of pesky tasks that you’ve been putting off, like cleaning out your inbox or updating your calendar. You can also use this time to get ahead, research an assignment or expand your social network. Here are some tips for taking advantage of free time that will help you boost your productivity and even relax a little in the process.

1. Clean up your desktop. Make your computer easier to navigate by getting rid of all those unused icons and making folders for the ones you use.

2. Delete old computer files. Get rid of all that baggage slowing down your computer.

3. Clean up your inbox. Do you really need those emails from three months ago? Make it easier for yourself and trash them.

4. Clean out your newsfeeds. It’s easy to let these build up, so take care of them while you have a minute.

5. File. Never a popular pastime, filing will save you loads of work down the line.

6. Update your calendar. Take a minute to see what’s in store for the week and to make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything.

7. Brainstorm ideas. Get ready for an upcoming project or just start generating thoughts for future work.

8. Outline. If you have a big project or report coming up, get the basics down with an outline. You’ll thank yourself later.

9. Research. Jot down some notes and get a head start on work.

10. Arrive early. You can leave a good impression on whomever you are meeting and give yourself some extra time.

11. Network. Shoot an old colleague an email or call that conference speaker you met last week.

12. Update your finances. Pay your bills, log your recent activity or balance your checkbook.

13. Work on your goals. Make news ones, evaluate progress on old ones or think about how to best achieve your goals in general.

14. Make phone calls. Most employees are never short on phone calls that they need to make, so keep a list and knock some out whenever you get a chance.

15. Make some extra money. If you do any freelance work, like writing articles, use these spare minutes to work on a project.

16. Work on your reading file. You should always keep a folder with interesting articles or reports that you come across. When you have a few minutes, add to it or go through it. This content can be used later for ideas or research.

17. Update the log. If you keep track of anything, make sure you are up-to-date.

18. Clear your mind. Meditate, go for a walk, do yoga or bust out some crunches. Whatever you can do to relieve stress and clear your head will make the rest of the workday more productive.

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