How to Upside-Downtime

Many people I speak with- friends, clients, prospects, and most of those breathing air find they have more ‘down time’ than usual. In and of itself, this is an understandable sign of the times and nothing to be ashamed of. Simply put, at least a couple days of the week (if not more) we have less to do than we used to when we were too busy to think.

Granted quite a few folks are doing the job they used to PLUS another 1 or 2 people’s jobs, as I eluded to in my last post. And most of us know that times like these require more work to accomplish a fractional semblance of the production we used to have.

Here is where I would insert the old adage about the two guys in a tree-chopping contest, with one going non-stop, all day and the other taking breaks every 30 minutes; upon losing the workhorse asks the other man how he won when he had taken so many breaks, to which he replied in his ‘breaks’ he had been sharpening his axe.

So, I ask, what are you doing in your ‘down time’??

Some ogle the many things they want with online ‘shopping’- wisely leaving their credit cards in the car, technically making this ‘browsing’ (at least buy something, it may help the economy!) Others are looking for life’s career answers on job sites and planning their hopefully-unnecessary strategy, only to find they are already in a better situation than any others being offered. While still others are culminating current events knowledge by reading every headline on each of the major (and not-so major) papers, after which they find themselves dismayed that nobody really knows what’s going on and then becoming semi-suicidal from the rampant negativity!

Why not sharpen your proverbial axe.

Very simply, I would suggest taking advantage of this new freedom and turning it around to find the upside of your downtime. I have a dear friend who is considerably smarter than I am and has decided to do just this. He is among the masses who have more downtime than usual, and makes a concerted effort to learn during these lulls. First, he has identified what he wants to learn- a specific area of expertise. This went hand-in-hand with why he chose this subject, which is to heighten his knowledge and strengthen his professionalism and expertise in a specific aspect of his business. Next, he has charted a simple path on how he can become more knowledgeable in his chosen topic. Quite simply- and this may vary some for you but is definitely applicable, he reads books on the subject matter; and moreover, studies the books, takes notes, and highlights pertinent parts. He also searches for expert advice and blogs online that cater to his subject matter, and seeks others who are doing this for comparative analysis.

Emerson once said, “Every man I meet is in some way my superior, and in that, I learn from him.” (I am certain this applies to women as well) And so, I would challenge you to learn, as I have, from my good friend and upside (your) downtime!

As an aside, I have listed a few books that I recommend:

Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin
Now is Your Time to Win by Dave Dean
Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
The Servant Leader by James Autry

Power-packed booklets:

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
Common Denominator of Success by Albert E. N. Gray (free at: http://www.amnesta.net/mba/thecommondenominatorofsuccess-albertengray.pdf )

Thanks for reading; until next Friday,

Jason Weaver, VP
Executive Search and Placement
Jason@ESandP.net