Many people that have project-based work and spend long hours in a fast-paced environment react to open, unstructured blocks of time in their schedules by trying to keep things hectic, which often just makes them less productive. These people get very used to being busy and almost addicted to that pace. So they try to recreate it in the slow times when it’s not the best use of that time. Experts tell us that the biggest time-management mistake people make is not knowing how much time they waste.
You have to approach a slow day differently to make it productive. Author Julie Morgenstern distinguishes what she calls staccato work – short-burst tasks like handling deliveries and answering e-mail – from legato work, the deeper, analytic work that requires at least one hour of intense thinking. Legato work includes writing, creating customer profiles, studying, analyzing data, and developing relationships. The legato work is actually the IMPORTANT, rather than the URGENT work. And the slow periods are ideal times for this if you plan in advance.
It’s a good idea to keep a rainy-day list of projects, such as articles to read and share with staff or colleagues, new contacts to make, new processes to implement, and following up on recent projects or something that happened when you were busy. Avoid the temptation of letting networking, sales efforts, and brainstorming slide when things are really hopping.
Plan how you’ll spend company downtime. Designate a section of your planner for legato-type projects. Then if you have an unanticipated slow period, you can turn right to that section and there’s your list of projects.
Developing relationships, organizing and designing new systems are good activities for quiet periods, but don’t multitask, because it can hurt your efficiency. Once you’re in a flow, you’re better off staying in it, than going in and out.
Making a slow day productive requires a hands-on approach, rather than a knee-jerk reaction. The least productive thing you can do is sit in front of your computer and click on your “get mail” button. Take your downtime and turn it into uptime.