Nope, I am bored all day too, but also get the added benefit of suffering the scorn of others for no reason.  What can we do?  Well I am going to go back to school, no matter how in debt I get.  To me there is not much worse than being bored 8 or 12 hours a day, or having a job that makes you unhappy.

I know the grass always greener, but....  I left a job I was bored to tears with last summer so I could do my own thing as part of my hubs company.  I have been to two coasts with clients, putting out fires constantly, I've not had two consecutive hours with my thoughts since around August 10th, doing my own accounting and billing (which BTW, I just got a call from our accountant and it seems, due to my own accounting blunder, I over-claimed my income by 30K last year!) and now I want to throw up.  As I rushed home after another panicked call, I kept thinking "I just need to go back to a nice steady paycheck, no drama, no BS, I can't do it all..." 

blegh  :P

Isn't there a nice happy medium?

I work 3rd shift at a nursing home and I usually have a lot of down time. I'd say in an 8 hr shift I'm probably doing actual work 2 to 3 1/2 hrs. I mostly read books, magazines, or the newspaper or socialize with others.  I'm on the look out for a job that pays better, but my hours here are great (mon-fri 11-7 no weekends). I didn't get a job at the hospital I applied for and I haven't heard back from a nursing home I applied to last week. So I'm probably not going anywhere anytime soon.

Don't hate me.  I have the happy medium.

I have more than enough work waiting for me, but I do as much as it as I'm self-directed to get through.  I basically pick my own projects, but I'm not required to do a certain amount of them.  I can have lots to do each day or coast - depending on my mood.  I try to stay motivated because I believe in my job and want to accomplish things.  I get a mostly predictable schedule, three day weekends, quirky coworkers who are awesome, and a monthly check that has afforded me a house.  The downside is that my immediate supervisor calls me kiddo (I'm 35).  The good news is that his supervisor is great, so I just turn my work into him instead.  It truely is nearly ideal.  I still can't believe I landed a job out of college that is great enough to keep through retirement.

Edit:  I had the world's worst boss the job before this one.  It was an office of three (including myself) and the admin woman was horrible and I loathed my boss.  Also, I worked discount retail when I first went to college.  If someone left their credit card behind, when they claimed it they'd mention to their companions about how they'd have to cancel it because we (lowly paid hourlies) probably commit credit card fraud; a coworker was shot in a holdup; and the managers would talk to us in sing-song voices like we were complete dolts.

I have the annoying habit of making daily tasks or even projects become automated or so easy that I end up spending most of my day, bored.  What I have done (and do) to pass the time?  Learn a new skill.  Read up on all the Excel formulas or learn Word so you are a pro.  Any office program I have access too, I scour for information, basically self teaching it.  Oddly enough, that knowledge is how I landed my current job. 

Also, help out your neighbor.  If you work in a 3 or 300 person office, there should be someone looking for help or drowning in work.  If you go over and file for them for a few hours a day, you are not only helping yourself be not bored, but helping the company and your coworker.  Plus you boss should notice how proactive you are in helping others in need of help!

Also, you can play games online.  Solitaire, Sudoku, Freecell.  Heck, I have two dozen web comics I read daily, over a dozen veg*n blogs, a Neopets account, a Kingdom of Loathing account and various gaming message boards that I frequent to kill time.  At least with that (at a desk job) you 'look' busy.

Good luck and if you find something fun, let us know!  :)

Wow, everyone is going back to school. 

I want a soil science masters  I have all sorts of excuses, like I work 12 hour days.  My no-excuse coworker found me a soil science online degree program at North Carolina State Univeristy.  So, then I have the excuse of out of state tuition, but my employer will pay half. 

So, if y'all go back to school and report back that it's not entirely painful it would help get me motivated.

It's not about the paycheck, it's that you're wasting your time!  If your employer can't give you enough to challenge you even after you've requested more work, you should consider searching for a new job. 

We were discussing that at work today.  The paycheck is only half of it.  We get paid regardless of what we do, but we take jobs expecting them to be interesting.  Afterall, job announcements make positions sound so exciting.  What job description mentions that you will have the exciting and challenging opportunity to be the office solitare champion?

Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone in the boring job dept! I hear all the time "how nice" it must be to have so much free time...
Yeah, free time where I'm trying to figure out what to do, or stay awake trying.
I do data entry type work - it used to take me about an hour or so to do real work, maybe an additional half hour or so to get ahead for the week.  Now, I'm working with another clerk, so we split that. ::)  Thank goodness I love to read.
And I've been addicted to solitaire. I'm slowly going crosseyed.

Well, yay. Have you started this new job yet? Much good luck and may you have lots to do.  And may it be interesting. And may it move you right on up the career ladder. Happy for you.  :)