One of those pesky things that bothers the hell out of everyone in the working world is spare time in the day. Those hours that seem to float away because of a project that involves waiting, down time, etc. This begs the question:
What to do with that spare time in the office?
I come from a work background that has always involved a high amount of activity. This has been in construction work (concrete basement walls to be exact) or working in a rehab. In these situations there has always been a fire to fight, or something of reasonable importance to do with the spare minutes of the day. However, office life leads to a brand new problem of how to deal with this time. I set up filters and specialized folders to sort my emails for me (so it is hard to browse emails that are already organized). I spend extra time learning about the organization. (Sometimes just from reading public record you can learn the damnedest things this way). Cleaning the desk can only be done so often without it being pointless. There is also YouTube, internet radio, learning new tricks with software, organizing work-related files, reading the news, and checking the markets.
In past internships I have spent the extra hours creating side projects for myself and creating guides to help those who would eventually replace me. The last one is an odd way to spend the day, but the intention is to create some sort of institutional memory for future interns. Often, it is full of information I had wished that someone had written down for me.
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I agree with your thoughts on "downtime" at work. It is sort of a necessary evil sometimes, and the waiting game can get agitating. However, I find myself reading, understanding more about the organization, and tinkering with excel, ppt, and word to try and learn new things too.
ReplyDeleteI am a firm believer in idle hands creates problems, and it is healthy to be busy. Even finding extra little challenges or hobbies during those downtimes can make you more well-rounded. Sounds like you are an extremely productive worker, and the public sector needs more of these personalities.
I agree with you both about how to handle the time in between projects. I especially like Blake’s comment about idle hands. Like Reggie I am new to desk and a 9-5 schedule. Working in the field on a slow night for me meant I went out looking for trouble. Now however, it’s best if I stay at my desk. It sounds like you two have a firm idea of what to do when you are not working on a specific thing. I don’t know if I would have thought to tinker with the different Microsoft products or write a reference of office jargon. Thanks for the ideas though.
ReplyDeleteFortunately for me, on my first day I was handed 8 projects and the different priority levels for each one. So when I get to a stopping on one I continue on another. A benefit of forced breaks for an ongoing project is that whenever I revisit it, it is like reading it for the first time all over again. I get a fresh perspective on the project. Perhaps you guys have the option for this and maybe you don’t. It sounds like you might sort of be doing this already. I enjoy the variety and change.
Very thoughtful and funny post. I am really glad to hear that you use your downtime to develop guides for those individuals that will eventually replace you. Although institutional memory is such an important concept, organizations often do not have formal systems in place to maintain and transfer institutional memory. I believe this is particularly true for lower level positions, which, often, are the most critical "training" periods for future senior management and executives.
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