What do you do when things are slow at the office 1

[brandonb73]

My company is probably not alone in the fact that the work load has been less than normal the past few months. It's tough sometimes to stay productive. What are some of the things you do to stay productive when the work load is light?

 

[KENAT]

Wasn't there a similar post a while back?

Things like self learning. Maybe setting up 'standard' calculations in excel or matlab etc. Basically all those things you've been 'thinking of doing' or 'wanting to do' for a while that will help when things are busy. Maybe update/create any company policies, procedures etc. document best practices and the like.

If a CAD user there are lots of things like populating libraries of standard featurs, workflows etc.

Update your filing system, both hard copye & electronic.

Tidy up your desk.

Try not to worry about the impending layoffs...

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[KENAT]

Oh, and do some self improvement on Eng-tips of course.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[SomptingGuy]

Take a book to the stalls.

- Steve

 

[Debaser]

Haven't you been told?

Things are never, never, NEVER, NEVER slow at the office!

Keep shuffling those papers for your sake.

 

[KENAT]

Update your resume.

KENAT,

Have you reminded yourself of faq731-376 recently, or taken a look at posting policies:

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484

 

[ornerynorsk]

Let me see . . . . there is internet, walking around looking busy, purposefully engaged in riffling through papers and supplier catalogs, coffee, keeping your network up to date, emails, schedule a vendor trip. And Eng-Tips, of course! It's just like the army, with a lot more choices at your disposal during the "hurry up and wait" stages. In case my company is monitoring this, this is all just a suggestion in the unlikely event that I would not have something constructive to do or a full "to-do" list !!!

 

[CanuckMiner]

World of Warcraft should help consume some of your free time.

Cheers,
CanuckMiner

 

[zdas04]

I've been thinking of writing those magazine articles that have been kicking around in the back of my head.

David

 

[casseopeia]

Creating special iTunes playlists for friends uses a bit of time as well.

I also try to come up with a project, useful or not, that forces me to use some software that I don't use much or know very well. A while back, I discovered how to use iMovie to make DVD's with my own sound tracks and convert digital video to .wav files, etc. I now use that as a service or resource for our attorney clients for our litigation work.

More recently, I used GarageBand to convert a threatening voicemail that I received to an audio file (.aiff) and stored it on my iTunes. I burned a CD of the message to use as evidence for a Temporary Restraining Order. I showed some co-workers and my boss how to do it for their own use. One co-worker wanted to save VM's from his ailing mother to have afte she's gone. I'm not going to speculate what my boss wants to do.



"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

 

[MechEng2005]

I'm basically with Kenat on this one. I actaully enjoy writing Excel spreadsheets, so that is a good one for me. Many times I will write one for the tedious, but simple calculations. Also, I like to solve problems I've come across in the past that I didn't get to completely kill. Any issue that was resolved based on a rule of thumb, senior engineer's advice, or doing it the same as has been done in the past. I will go back and run the numbers the best I can and see how things match up. Sometimes it turns out that when I start to try to solve it analytically, the problem is very complex and a rule of thumb is just as accurate as the assumptions I would need to make. Sometimes though, it turns out that we have been designing with a factor of safety of 82 or something absurd because nobody bothered to try to figure it out and just made it stout.

Also, I will often make lists of things I could have done better in the past to look back on when there is more work to do. For example, don't just send the customer the utility requirements for a piece of equipment we are designing. Send the drawings/req.s, get a signature, and actually talk to the person who will be responsible for ensuring it gets done.

-- MechEng2005

 

[21121956]

Hello everybody:

KENAT, you are tremendously right because just one year ago it was posted that same question: thread731-217601.

Bye

 

[monkeydog]

There is searching Eng-Tips for duplicate postings too.

 

[msquared48]

Market...Market...Market

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[Ron]

How about calling all your contacts to try to generate some work? If you don't have any contacts, make some.

 

[SLTA]

Things have been slow here, as most homebuilders are, so I rewrote our construction manual (a general how-to for the homeowners) and created a bunch of training modules for the project managers on code issues, shear wall issues, window size/placement/tempering, etc. I'm also updating our shipping documents and generally doing all those administrative-type things that need to get done but we haven't had time for in the boom years. Oh yes, and I occasionally get to do some engineering too.

 

[cry22]

If you succeed at billing 100% of your time in slow periods, you have now graduated from project Managment school. Can you imagine what a PM does all day long?

All kidding aside, I like to brush up on computer applications during those times (Excel, Word, powerpoint, etc.)
You look busy, and it serves some purpose.

 

[ctopher]

The last 8 months before I was laid off I had zero work to do. New idiot boss would not give me any, he didn't know what to give me. Worse boss I ever had.
So, I attended as much training as I could to keep busy.

Chris
SolidWorks 08, CATIA V5
ctopher's home (updated Aug 5, 2008)
ctopher's blog
SolidWorks Legion

 

[romulus2009]

Along the lines of what people said above (most anyways...do NOT play World of Warcraft at the office, it is an insult to professionalism and generally unethical even if you hate your company and boss and job).

I am currently experiencing the other extreme. I have so much work that I had to split it with other engineering centers, and many times I wish I just had some slow periods where I can concentrate on self-learning as well as setting up the tools to increase productivity.

As others above, I love Excel and most of my work is in Excel, so there is always work that I could do in building spreadsheets.

Organizing the server and files and the million of emails is also something that can be done.

All that is needed is a desire to improve oneself and their work environment.

Plus...you get paid for it all.

-Romulus

 

[CanuckMiner]

Romulus,

Umm...Just to be clear, my suggestion above to play WOW was meant as a joke. I wasn't condoning playing at work.

Cheers,
CanuckMiner