As we head into the dreary winter months, I am reminded of the seasonality of business. In most organizations, there is a natural ebb and flow that occurs. Things get predictably busy at certain times of the year, just as things get predictably slow at other times. For my business, the month of December is always blessedly slow—and I like to take advantage. In fact, I have a whole list of projects I’ve been saving up all year! I can’t wait to dive into it.
Unfortunately, even though slow times are totally normal and often very predictable, a lot of professionals fail to adequately plan for them. As a result, they find themselves complaining of boredom and struggling to keep busy. They’re hardly able to enjoy the slower pace, for fear that they’re not being as productive as they could or should be.
[Read more…] about How to Use Downtime at Work Productively