Do you find yourself being bored out of your mind at times with nothing to do? Do you feel that your boss could offer you more tasks, but keeps telling you that they're putting things together for you, but never do?
This, of course, is heaven to some, but like me, can't stand being bored. I always need to keep myself occupied with some sort of task, whether it be filing, updating our company's database with client information, etc. It really does make the time go by faster, especially during the slow periods, which doesn't happen too often for me. I do enjoy taking it easy at times, but still need to keep myself busy, so I don't feel like I'm going insane.
Unfortunately, one of my readers is in the same predicament as this. They write:
He doesn't have anything for me to do.
I know some might say that's a blessing, but I AM SO BORED and I feel very unproductive. I frequently tell him in different ways, "I don't have any tasks to do for you right now...." or "I don't want to be wasting your time or money, so if you have ANYTHING for me to do, I'll gladly do it."
His reply is usually, "I'm working on some things that I'll get to you soon...." and he never does. What do you think this means?
I've tried to exhaust all the possible things I could do that he doesn't ask me to do - organize emails, files, clutter, contacts, create procedures. I'm out of ideas! I know that he doesn't like the company we're working for. I think it could be a lot of things, but I would think that he would drop me if he didn't have anything for me to do!
My response to this is:
You have to look at the bright side. Quite a lot of people, especially in today's world, don't have a job, so you should feel lucky that you do have one. But on the other hand, I know exactly what you mean. Having nothing to do is such a time waster.
My suggestion to this is to be persistent. That's how I ended up getting my current job. That's how I get things done around my office, since I work for about 30 staff, which includes 5 managers. You should see my follow-up list. It's quite large. I usually follow up ever 3 business days on outstanding items.
Another thing that I can suggest is to have a meeting with your boss. Explain to him that you're in a situation where you feel unproductive and give some examples. Mention him that you are here to help in any way you can. Remind him that this is why he hired you.
I hope that this has shed some insight on getting your boss to help out by asking you to help him out.
If there are any other points you can mention, please leave a comment. Share your thoughts and suggestions on this topic!
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Until next time,
Take care - of your clutter!
Post from: Administrative Assistant Tips
2 comments for this post
I had this same exact problem as an Executive Admin. Asst. to the president, 3 VPs, and the HR manager. I did all the things suggested and got no where. I finally created an e-mail outlining what my responsibilities are and how much time it took me to accomplish them - 4 days a month! This resulted in the 5 people I support having a meeting, brainstorming outside the box, and developing a list of meaningful responsibilities. Now I stay busy making a real contribution, and the responsibilities continue to grow as I prove I am handling everything in an efficient, productive, responsible manner.
Hi,
Great comment! I hope that this will also help the reader that asked this question out.
Thanks,
Richard