How to Survive a Boring Job

You hate your boring job. It’s so boring that you consider drinking the white out on your desk just for the fact that you’d have to get your stomach pumped and be out of work for a few days. There are ways to keep yourself entertained throughout the day that don’t involve self harm and make the 8-hour day pass faster.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Take breaks from whatever your allotted boring task might be to surf the Internet. Surf the Internet on websites that are pretty generic, such as MSNBC.com, CNN.com, Weather.com and ESPN.com. Do not attempt to access sites that are blocked or could send warnings to your company’s IT administrator.

2. You could access your personal email websites such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail if your company doesn’t have such sites blocked, but don’t open email forwards that arrive in your personal email account that might have questionable content. Should your computer freeze, you don’t want to have to call the IT person come fix it with an embarrassing page of inappropriate jokes on your screen.

3. Pressing the ALT key and the TAB key at the same time will switch your desktop back to whatever other program is open on your desktop. Always keep your work email account or an Excel or Word document that you are currently working on open and minimized on your screen. That way, if a boss or coworker comes over and you don’t want to be seen checking the Entertainment gossip column on MSNBC.com, you can simply press ALT + TAB and this will flip your desk top back over to the Excel chart full of your boring data entry fields.

4. If getting away from your computer is what you need, go for a walk around the office. Stop in the bathroom, by the water cooler or coffee machine, in the kitchen or lounge areas, or even outside to take or make a brief personal cell phone call. Best are frequent trips to the water cooler or the coffee machine, as these will prompt more frequent trips to the bathroom. No one can fault you for a 10-minute break here or there to stretch your legs; just don’t get caught doing this too frequently throughout the day, as it’s likely you could get a talking to.

5. The office supply closet is your friend. Checking for a needed office supply is a great way to get yourself away from your desk, if you want to be wandering around the office with a clear purpose. Paperclips, pens, post-its, tape, white out, rubber bands; go look for something whether you need it or not. Stock pile these items in your desk, even if you clearly have more paperclips than you could ever hope to use in a life time; you can even use trips back to the supply closet as a way to return some of these items. If questioned, you could simply say that you “accidentally” took 3 boxes of paperclips when you really only needed 1.

6. Make sure you take your lunch break. When you’re so bored you want to scream, taking that hour to get away from the office, even if it’s just sitting in your car while you eat your tuna sandwich and read some of your book, is just as important as taking that hour when you’re so busy and stressed.

7. When you do finally get home at night after escaping your boring job during the day, watch an episode of "The Office" or a portion of "Office Space." Two of the best sources for office-related comedy, both will have you laughing out loud and saying “That’s so true!” to nearly all of the office situations presented. Keep these situations in mind when you’re back at your own boring job the next day and remind yourself that you’re not alone; everyone hates their job at one point or another.

[wishuponastar]

on 3/16/2009 My day job is really boring.LOL..I only stay b/c the insurance is good, and by keeping that and my crummy paycheck, I can pursue things that truely intrest me....Hopefully, I won't be at my boring job anymore in the next 2 years after I am out of school.....