Category: Time management

How to Be Productive During Downtime at the Office

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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Photo courtesy of Pixabay

As summer crawls to an end, you may find yourself in the middle of some serious downtime at work. Every business has its busy seasons and not-so-busy times. For some businesses, the months of July and August are the slowest, while for others, the slow time may fall in January and February.

No matter where your slow season falls, don’t hang your head. Those slow times happen for a reason. Think of them as breathing room, a chance to catch your breath, recharge your batteries and prepare for the busier season that lies ahead.

Instead of feeling bored or hanging out on Facebook trying to look busy when you’re not, here are a few ways to be more productive during those inevitable downtime periods.

1. Follow up with your clients. If your company relies on regular or frequent client interaction to be successful, downtime might be an opportune moment to check in on them. What’s happening with their business? How are they using your products or services? With a more relaxed pace at work, you can take your time with your client and enjoy an easy conversation with them. No pressure. Not only are you helping to maintain your business relationships, you might unearth a need that your business might be able to solve for them.

2. Do some housekeeping/clean out old files. Got any old files still lying around the office taking up valuable space? Downtime is a good opportunity to roll up the sleeves and dig through them. Depending on how old the files are, you can either put them in storage or if they are really, really outdated, say more than seven years old, bring them to a recycling center. Just be sure to clear things with the bosses before you destroy any important documents. If in doubt, ask.

3. Catch up on billing and record keeping. During busy times, it can be easy to let receipts and bills stack up. Downtime is the perfect time to sit down and go through all your receipts, process paper work to your accountant and just get organized. Imagine how good you will feel when you are all caught up.

4. Catch up on reading and studying industry news. Like most professionals, you probably have a stack of magazines or clipped articles from your favorite business websites that you never had the chance to read. Now is the time to do that. You might pick up a tip or two that you can implement right away.

5. Brainstorm and innovate. Throughout the year, you’ve probably had a few insights about how your business operates. Perhaps you realized that there might be a better way to get customer feedback or an easier way to update your database. Jot them down. Grab a note pad and brainstorm all the different ways you can improve your business. Better yet, keep a small notebook with you throughout the year and jot down ideas as you think of them. Then during these downtimes, review these collected ideas to see if there are any worth implementing.

6. Attend a conference or workshop. Perhaps you’ve read a few magazine articles that have whetted your appetite for more knowledge about a particular topic. Take the next step. Check listings to see if there are any workshops or conferences that would fit your interests. If you can’t step away from the office, consider one of the free online courses that you can do at your desk, such as Udemy.

7. Review your business and marketing plan. Plan for the year ahead by reviewing your business and marketing plan. Are you on track with meeting your goals? Is there something you can do differently now to meet those goals by the end of the year? Downtime is ideal for reviewing your business goals, revising them if you need to, and figure out way to market your business so you achieve them. Don’t have a business and marketing plan? Downtime is ideal for getting started on one.

Don’t let downtime go to waste. Downtime is a gift to catch your breath after a long hectic stretch of meetings, sales calls and presentations. Downtime is the best time to review the past and prepare for the future.

Nine Ways to Survive Without Communications Technology

~ The Regal Writer ~ 1 Comment
closeup photo of person holding panasonic remote control in front of turned on smart television
Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

There are times when you need to take a technology break; other times you’re forced to take a break due to circumstances beyond your control.

That was my predicament last week when I lost my cable Internet and TV service. In the meantime, the battery on my mobile phone went on life support and I had to order a new battery. While I waited for the new battery to arrive, I had to keep the phone plugged in at all times.

There’s nothing like losing your cable TV, Internet and mobile phone service all at one time to make me appreciate communications technology.  One wonders what any of us did with our time when we weren’t tethered to our mobile phones, cable TV or Internet service.

Modern technology is wonderful – when it works. But what do you do when it doesn’t? What are our options? How can we communicate with one another when there’s no phone or Internet? Messenger service? Smoke signals? It made me feel that the Universe was forcing me to tap into my own personal reservoir of resources by cutting out the extraneous noise that could interfere with my creative genius.

It was a tough few days, to say the least. After losing technology, I felt I had lost touch with the rest of the world. Rather than wallow in self-pity, I looked around at things I could be doing instead. I found I had more time to do other ore meaningful things, such as volunteer work, communing with nature,  catching up on reading and writing, catching up on sleep, to name a few.

Without technology hogging my time and attention, I was able to get more stuff done in less time. It forced me to slow down my work day, to pay more attention to tasks in front of me. I didn’t feel the added “busyness” of life that I usual did. The experience taught me the value of a “noiseless” environment to help me accomplish my daily writing goals.

If you ever find yourself in a similar predicament, without technology, without access to the world at large, don’t fight it. Use the time and space to complete unfinished projects or work on tasks that you’ve been meaning to do. Think about other things you can be doing instead, such as:

1. Volunteer. Get out in the community and do something constructive to help others, whether it’s caring for someone’s pet, helping at a local shelter or food bank, or teaching someone to read. Whatever you do will be good for your soul.

2. Enjoy live music. It’s summertime and that means outdoor concerts and festivals. Tune out the phone and tune into the music.

3. Catch up on reading. Without cable TV and Internet service, you have plenty of time to indulge your reading passion.

4. Catch up on sleep. Oddly enough, without TV and Internet to overload my senses, I fell asleep more easily at night and slept longer than usual. I guess it is true that our technological devices can interfere with our sleep habits. If you need to sleep, turn off your tech tools a few hours before bedtime. Your body will thank you for it.

5. Catch up on housework and home repairs. Without tech distractions, you can tackle those home repair jobs you’ve been meaning to get to. Paint the living room a new, fresh color, fix the leaky kitchen sink, or clean out the closet.

6. Get cooking. Without tech interference, you have more time to explore new recipes or put a spin on an old one. As I like to say, when the going gets tough, the tough get cooking.

7. Catch up on your writing. Got a novel you’ve been hankering to work on for months? Now is the time to work on your manuscript. No technology is needed either – just good ole’ pen and paper and your imagination.

8. Start a conversation. Sometimes we can become so immersed in our phones and laptops that we forget what it’s like to have a real, down-to-earth conversation with a real live person. Head to a nearby coffee shop and leave the phone at home. Instead, look around you and strike up a conversation. Isn’t that what coffee shops are for?

9. Take a hike. You don’t need a mobile device to commune with the great outdoors. All you need is a good sturdy pair of shoes and some sunscreen. Then sit by a pond, or walk in silence through the woods. When you don’t have access to cable TV or Internet, when your phone is running low on battery, it’s time to soak up the sun, the clouds, the moon and stars. How else will you be able to hear yourself think? Sometimes you have to shut out the distractions of your life to hear the messages Mother Nature is sending you.

It’s never fun to lose technology tools. You might find yourself feeling upset and anxious at first, knowing you have to live without these modern conveniences, but after a few days, you may find yourself chilling out more, not feeling rushed and perhaps even feeling a little more clear-headed.

So while you may lose your connection to the outside world, you may find a better connection with yourself instead.

Tips for Working Productively in Open Office Environment

~ The Regal Writer ~ Leave a comment
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I recently began working in an office with an open space plan. My staffing representative warned me about the open space when she set up the interview, so I was prepared to see how the space differed from previous offices I worked in that weren’t as open. My initial reaction was that it reminded me of a news room, with a line of desks facing outward toward the windows and another line of desks facing inward toward the inside offices.

Noise can sometimes be a problem in the office. One co-worker who sits near the front reception area often slips into a small conference room nearby with his laptop to concentrate on his project.  Other times, he wears headphones to escape office chatter while he works at his desk.

Open space floor plans have been around for several decades, but it’s only in recent years that they garnered criticism from employees who claim that they don’t provide a lot of privacy and can be noisy. Do a Google search about open offices, and you’ll find loads of articles that downplay their strengths, such as these stories from The New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal.

True, they have many good points, such as letting in more natural light, allowing employees window views that they would not have had otherwise, and producing a closer, cohesive working unit among workers. Open office spaces were designed to encourage better collaboration among employees, but studies show that isn’t always the case. The truth is, not everyone works productively in an open office environment. Some people work in positions that require more privacy for interviews, such as human resources (or as they call it these days, “talent management”), while others need quiet time to read or write reports or technical information.

The good news is that many employers are offering their workers alternative arrangements for dealing with noise issues. By adding sound proof rooms, creating quiet zones and rearranging floor plans, many employers have been successful at accommodating workers’ need to escape disruptions.

Open office spaces are here to stay, but that doesn’t mean they are easy to work in them. Here are a few tips for working more productively in an open office environment without losing your sanity:

* Move to another location in the office. If things get too noisy, and you really must concentrate on a project, see if you can slip into a nearby empty office or conference room if it’s available. Another possible solution is to put out a “Do Not Disturb” sign at your desk.

* Keep headphones handy. You don’t have to be listening to music or a podcast. When you slip on headphones, you subtly and clearly communicate to others that you are not available. It’s comparable to putting up a “Do Not Disturb” sign.

* Alter your work schedule. What are your most productive times to work? For some, getting into the office a little earlier, say 7:00 am, before everyone else, gives you at least two hours of quiet time to work on a project with no disruptions.

* Work from home. Sometimes working from home may be more productive than working in an office. If you really need quiet time and you know you can be productive there, and as long as your supervisor approves the time outside the office, then working from home might be an option worth looking into.

Open floor plans at the office are here to stay. But knowing how you work in any environment and knowing what options you have to deal with unwanted distractions can help you remain focused so you produce your best work.