How to Make Your Work Day Go By Faster
Even if you have a job you absolutely love, chances are there are days that just seem to drag. You look at the clock only to realize an hour has passed and you feel hopeless. You start to calculate how many hours of your life you will spend behind a computer screen and as you come to a final number, you realize you just wasted 10 minutes of your life. But hey- that’s 10 minutes of your work day that wasn’t spent working, right?
My current job is your standard 9-5:30 job. Which I’m thankful for. But even 8 or 9 hours is a long time to be staring at a computer, so I find that there are certain things I can go each day to make the workday go by faster.
Have an awesome lunch
Whether you get a full hour or have to shove your sandwich in your mouth in 15 minutes, take advantage of your lunch break. If you have the time and money, treat yourself every now and then to take-out around the corner. Pack some homemade chocolate chip cookies to brighten up your mood. For me, lunch is the half-way mark of my day, so I look forward to getting a break to eat. Days when I bring yummy leftovers or have fresh fruit always seem better to me. And when I can, I try to get lunch with my co-workers at our building’s cafeteria.
Break up your day into shifts
For some reason, it helps the day go by faster when I look at it in terms of fractions. After one hour, I’m 1/8 of the way done. This obviously sounds lame, but when you hit 1:00 PM, you can say you’re halfway done! This gives me motivation to finish the day off strong.
Reward yourself with distractions
As silly as it sounds, the best way to not be distracted on social media while you should be working is to reward yourself with bursts of fun. If you have a long day of editing, you may want to set a goal for yourself- after every article you edit, you get a 5-minute Twitter break to see what’s going on in the world (yes- the celebrity world counts, too!) It motivates you to get your work done in a timely manner and helps break up your day.
What do you do to make the day go by faster?
There’s a froyo spot in my building sometimes my coworkers and I just go grab some and walk back extra slow lol.
That sounds amazing!
I’m constantly playing the clock game and it’s not fun! I find that when I bring something really yummy for lunch, it helps. I’m 110% cookies would help, too. I also like to get up and do laps around the building to get the blood (and creative juices) flowing!
Food is my main distractor/driver haha
I totally use the reward myself method. Work for an hour straight on something, reward myself with a 10-minute social media break, etc., etc. It really works! 🙂
Yes that’s a great idea!
YES! I totally needed this post to get me to noon today. Seriously…. work has been DEAD this week and it’s killing me.
What a brilliant post!! So true..
I totally identify with this! I love my new job, but the days still feel long sometimes being here from 8-4:30. I do all of the same things though… I make sure I eat something or do something during my lunch break to refresh my brain and motivation, mentally break up the day into segments, and definitely give myself little ‘rewards’! If I have a slow day I’ll work a bit on blogging (like right now), but even if I’m busy I take little social media breaks to give my mind a break and learn something new!
Yes! Those small breaks to tweet something or message a friend totally help
bah, i wish i could actually take a full lunch break! i know it would make me happier but i never can get away from my desk.
Lunch gets me through my day! Great tips.
I think having a good conversation is the best way to make my day go by faster. Like at lunch, if I call a friend and just catch up and vent about what’s not going my way that day, the rest of the day is easier!
Yes that’s a great idea!
Lunch breaks definitely help! I’ve also been filling out my planner as a distraction because it helps me realize what I have to look forward to that night or weekend and motivates me to get through the day/week!
That’s a great idea, and would keep me organized!
Great tips. I try to cut my day into cycles too. I’ll tell myself go tackle a certain dreaded frank and allow myself a quick break once done. Good way to have time good and then get a reward!
Lol I feel ya on that meme. I think the lunch break totally makes a difference! I also like to get up and stretch, walk around the building a bit and then get back to work if I’m feeling sleep or unmotivated.
I’m guilty to not walking around enough, I really need to
I have a new activity bracelet that vibrates if I have not moved in 45 minutes – it encourages me to get up and move around!
I need one of those!
Genius!
Great tips and I agree with all of them!