Down time
Down time
Down time
Down time
Down time isn’t great. You’re bored, your boss thinks that you’re not doing much and
everyone seems to be losing.
I sometimes see people surfing the net or having pointless conversations (and hence
stealing the time of others) as they haven’t got enough to do.
Well, without doubt it can be very hard to self-motivate yourself when you haven’t got much
to do. Each request or task starts becoming a chore or at the very least a distraction from
watching sport live on the web or perhaps doing your shopping on line.
So what should you really do?
• Remember that one of the most effective ways to get on in business is to impress
your boss. So tell them the situation as it is. Hey, what if they decide to make you
redundant? Well, to be fair I can’t legislate for that but what I can say is that all the
managers I have worked for have held me in high esteem for my honesty and
transparency. This has culminated in them having the trust to send more, normally
juicy, work down my way. Now let’s make this clear. If you are being lazy and
simply not doing the work you are meant to be doing that is bad. However, if you
have completed all your work to an acceptable standard (or higher) then that’s good.
I can’t give guarantees here, but if I was a betting man I would expect your boss to
see such honesty and openness as a good rather than bad attribute.
• However, before you go running to your boss you should really make sure that you
have done all you can from an added value point of view. Like what? Well, like this:
o Review your weekly (or other frequency) task list to ensure all the jobs have
been done. Complete the ones that you have pushed to the bottom of the list
time and time again. If they are of no value then discuss this with your boss
and get permission to eliminate them; they may not agree with your point of
view but it is certainly worth a try.
o Review the way you work to see whether you can come up with any ideas to
help you do your job better (your boss should admire you for this).
o Review your work area to see whether there are any other added value tasks
you could perform.
o See whether you can assist other team members if they are struggling. Do
this in a transparent manner so you receive the credit where this is due.
• If none of the above yield more work then consider the following:
o Read more widely (trade press, relevant articles etc). Let your boss know
that you are doing this as they will enjoy seeing the initiative you are
demonstrating.
o Offer to assist others outside your department if that is possible. This could
also be good for your profile, but take care not to become a general dog’s body. I’m talking about stuff that will help you gain knowledge and
experience, not introducing tasks into your job that do not make use of your
skills and/or experience.
o Write up notes on your tasks and procedures (if this is not already done).
That will help focus the mind and will also help the next person to do your job
when you move on to better things.
o Consider applying to other jobs within (or outside) the company if you believe
that the situation will not improve in the longer term.
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