Recruitment Blog 2024 | Firefish Blog

7 Ways to Kill Time Over Christmas in the Office

Written by Megan McBurnie | Tue, Dec 22, 2015

You’ve used your holiday allowance and treated yourself to an amazing summer holiday, some well-deserved duvet days and super relaxing long weekends. But they’ve come at a cost. You my friend are working over the festive period with only the national holidays off.

It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom though, here’s seven things to keep you busy and help those office hours fly by. Some are serious and some- not so much. We absolutely won’t admit that Firefish staff would do any of these things and we don’t endorse all of them if your boss finds out…

1. Build your personal brand

Your personal brand is one of the most powerful weapons you have so you want to be building it and networking. Look at the big publications, networks and companies in your industry and check their events calendars.

Give your social media pages some love and schedule social into your 2020 plan and make it a resolution to dedicate more time. Search for new connections or people to follow and ear-mark people of interest who you’ll want to make contact with in the New Year. 

2. Clear your desk

Did you know, 57% of workers admit to judging their co-workers based on the messiness or cleanliness of their desks? And productivity has been proven to be higher with employees working in clearer spaces.

So clean your desk and kick off 2020 the right way. 

3. Set your goals

Your boss may have arranged to meet you and set your individual/ team targets for the next year or you may have already had that meeting. Now it’s time to think about what you want. Can you do better than you’ve committed to? “It’s better to under-promise and over deliver”, remember that old chestnut? Perhaps you sold yourself short to your manager… set out to knock their socks off, set a personal best, be the Usain Bolt of your office. G’wannn, g’wannn, g’wannn! 

4. Get your favourite colleague a present

Head to Poundland or the 99p store and stock up on the wrapping paper. When you return to the office choose your favourite colleague - you know the one, they’ve probably got a fortnight off over Christmas and New Year - and give them a present to come back to.

Wrap the big stuff first; the desk, the chair, drawers and then get started on the pen pot (and every single pen), the computer/ laptop… the lot! It'll be a great laugh for the entire office when they see it.

5. Play the Wiki Game

Have you ever heard of the Wiki Game? Who hasn’t been on Wikipedia and fallen down a wormhole of clicking on all the blue links and opening page after page after page. This is the aim of the game! How do you get from Paul Bettany to tea? Well he’s an actor born in Shepherd’s Bush which is in England and when you look at English cuisine you get tea. Have a go. 

6. Spend your dolla dolla billz

While all your colleagues are eating their way through twelve selection boxes each and watching It’s a Wonderful Life, they’re missing out on all the great sales and discounts. You’re not. You’re snapping those bargains up online! Take that, Gary from Accounts. 

7. Set yourself new KPIs 

Get ready to smash 2020 by setting KPIs that'll put you on the path to become top biller. Download our eBook to find out which KPIs will put you on top of your agency's leader board: