I have nothing much to do, I am getting bored.

Last week, two successful senior professionals called me, and surprisingly they said these words to me, in confidence.

In today’s world, we all hear a lot about how busy we are, and how most people are having long days leading to issues with work-life balance. Isn't it? But very rarely, I hear people complaining – I have nothing much to do, how do I spend my time better?

·?????? I truly believe that in a career spanning 30 long years, we will have such dull moments. But probably many of us are scared to acknowledge and speak about it.

o?? I can’t deny I too had several such periods as well.

·?????? We all will have fluctuations in our activity levels/ perceived importance levels.

·?????? There will be such periods maybe between two projects, between transitions, or even on regular days.

·?????? And probably we all need such periods, as no one can remain eternally busy or overworked, else would potentially lead to burnouts.

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My question: If we can talk about our busy lives…. Why we are shy about recognizing those not-so-busy moments in our career? What is wrong to admit?

Instead, why not think about …. How do I make such a period more productive?

Here are eight tips that have worked for many, and if you are going through such a phase in your career …. may be useful for you. However, let me state that these advice are from my learning and has nothing to do with my past or present employer/s. We know every one of us is different, and hence please evaluate carefully before adopting any such point.

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1. Let us recognize and accept that we are not busy: The first thing is to acknowledge that we are going through such a period, and it is bound to happen in everyone’s career. Acceptance of such a situation is the key to moving to the next steps.

2. Let us introspect: This may be a good time to reflect on our achievements, revisit our goals, and spend time on some introspections. We seldom get time to talk to ourselves- is not it?

3. Let us re-organize ourselves: When we are busy, getting organized sometimes takes a back seat. This may be a great time to reorganize ourselves and finish those unfinished agenda that we ignored for months.

4. Let us address few skill gaps: No one knows better than we ourselves about the development we need and the skill gaps we need to address. This may be a great time to utilize our time to bridge those gaps.

5. Let us renew few relations: We all have in mind a few names who we always wanted to talk to and be in touch. This may be a good time to renew such relationships.

6. Let us build our personal brand: While most of us would acknowledge the power of a personal brand, we seldom get time to invest in those activities. May be a good time to start building your own brand?

7. Let us pick up a few new habits & hobbies: Forming habits takes time, and even more time when we are busy. Maybe this is a great period to ?start working on few habits that we would have liked to see in ourselves. Also may a great time to pick up a new hobby (or the one you always wanted to pursue) which we might have wanted to spend time on for long – write a book ? Take up a new sport? Learnt a new musical instrument? Or may be something else?

8. And let us celebrate: We seldom get time to celebrate. Why not use this time to give a pat on our back for all the great achievements we accomplished and celebrate a bit?

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I always believe in transparency. Let us be transparent about our situation with our manager. It might work two ways – 1. Your manager can assess the situation and can allocate your time better 2. He/she agrees with your plan for self-development and encourages you. Both situations are a win for you, and hence why not have an open dialogue as we plan our days?

While we may think we have enough time on hand, practically we may not have a lot. And hence, it is a must that we plan our time judiciously. These periods of low work pressure can vanish in no time. ?Let us plan well as we all know ‘if we fail to plan, we plan to fail’. Let the time just not run out in thinking ‘what next’.

?Have you gone through such a period? What was your strategy to make it productive? ?Would love to hear your story.