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Subject:What to do in slack times? From:Geoffrey Hart <Geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA> Date:Fri, 9 Apr 1999 15:52:37 -0400
Given the low level of planning around here by certain individuals
who shall remain nameless, I tend to end up with periods of slack
time too between crises, and find all kinds of useful things to do to
fill in the time:
- Read all those journals that have been accumulating during the
busy periods. Ditto books on online help, information design, or
whatever else looks interesting.
- When possible, head out to training courses I'm too busy to
attend the rest of the year. Failing that, noodle around my main
productivity tools looking for new skills or productivity boosters.
- Cultivate my relationships with my authors. This is the time to
build up brownie points with the folks I don't really like well enough
to call friends, and to rebuild friendships that may occasionally get
strained by deadline pressures.
- Keep my ear to the ground and find out what management is up
to. Ditto for the guys who I know will be showing up with a last-
minute crisis (because it's been far too long since their last crisis).
- Tidy up and get the office back into fighting trim. It's amazing just
how much debris accumulates during the crisis times.