Do you ever catch yourself in a slow season, maybe in-between projects, or waiting for feedback and feeling that shadow of unproductivity lurking? I've been working in an architecture firm since I was 19, at large and small firms. Before then, I worked at coffee shops, golf courses, and smoothie shops since I was 16. There is always a slow hour. Always. When I worked those jobs, it was second nature to me to start deep cleaning or organizing. I found myself at a loss when I entered the professional setting for what to do in my downtime. It just wasn't second nature to me to do something besides keep my hands moving. I've put a lot of thought into what can be done to maximize the time that is usually the calm before the storm. This post is directed for CAD (Revit) users, but most items in principle can be adapted to any job.
Spell Check. It’s quite self explanatory, but I‘ve always caught a mistake after spell checking any document I’ve worked on. Spell check never fails to save my ass and my pride.
Make Families. Make a list of families that need to be made as your working through your project, or just families that you would find helpful to have on hand but have not yet been made where you're at. When waiting on redlines, create those families.
Keyboard Shortcuts. Revit has the abilty for you to create your own shortcuts for whatever you need. Hit the link tagged for a how-to. This is basically the definition of efficiency.
Anticipate Needs. Review the scope of the project and strengthen the muscle of anticipating what will need attention next. Maybe your in SD, but you know CD's are coming eventually, and maybe look into the code and verify that everything is compliant. This can be time-consuming (music to my ears when I'm slow) but it is an exercise that will make you a more precise employee.
Ask your supervisor for work. I know it can sound obvious, but if you're anything like me you actually hesitate to ask for more work out of fear of creating more work for someone else. The linked article explains how to relieve the feeling of being a burden by coming to your supervisor with thoughtful suggestions of what you can work on.
Organize your inbox. I'm not sure if everybody does this already, but I set up project folders in my Inbox and keep every email in its respective folder, because I inevitably find myself searching for a past conversation. I use the "Rules" feature in Outlook, so any incoming email with a specific name or number in the heading goes directly to that project specific folder. I am all *clap* about *clap* automating away mundane tasks.
Professional Development. Watch tutorials to become more proficient in Office 365 / Revit / Sketchup ... or research new programs that are being used in the industry and how they can benefit the company. I can't tell you how many times I've thought to myself, while scrambling & usually close to a pressing deadline, that I wish I was better at Excel. There are so many features in the plethora of Office programs, that its impossible not to learn something new.
Educate yourself on company benefits. A company's benefit program was probably handed to you amid a slew of papers during your onboarding process. I skimmed over most things, just trying to keep up with the pace, but I never got as in depth as I would like to. I've found myself even getting familiar with the dress code during downtime. This certainly feels like grasping at straws, but at least I have gotten familiar with the minute details.
Clean your desk. DUH! Maybe now that we've survived 2020 - the year that we cleaned our bags of chips with disinfectant wipes - that this is so obvious. But seriously, disinfecting your desk, dusting, and straightening things out DOES make you perform better. As Jordan Peterson says, "Clean your room"... clean your desk. Your mind has less distractions when things are organized. Less "Where did I put that redline", less "I can't remember my password but its written down somewhere around here". Less decisions to make on piddly things optimizes your decision making clarity when it really matters.
Research upcoming industry events. Do you want to network with people in your local community? Or attend a webinar? Or volunteer with Habitat for Humanity? Research an event that can help you advance professionally.
Schedule a coffee date with a mentor. I can't remember where I heard this, but someone said ... "The best time to get to know someone is three years before you need to." That hit me. I remember how I got the job I have now, and I had two "ins" with the company. This wasn't only beneficial to me when they served as recommendations when I was looking to get my foot in the door, these were people who gave me an organic POV of the firm before I even started working there. In particular, I remember hearing one of them say that this firm had a private room for nursing mothers, and she said it had a comfortable chair, a little rug and a mini fridge. As I was used to pumping in a public bathroom stall, that would be living in LUXURY. When I got the job (still a nursing mother), I certainly cried a little thinking about not having to cringe whenever somebody walked in on me pumping. It was just a little detail, but it mattered so so much to me.
I hope you find this helpful. Thanks for reading :)
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