Slow Days

[Jim Gamma]

Looks like I get a slow day today...

Nothing's going on with the two big projects I'm working on (redesigning some corporate software and designing the back-end to another new piece of software).

I do backup work for one of the other divisions here (pricing of stuff), and the guy who normally does the work is off today so I was expecting to have a few things to do. Unfortunately the network printers are down, along with half the network drives, and because I need the physical paper printout of pricing requests to be able to deal with them (they require signoff - and both pricing division managers who I normally would go to are out today), there are no pricing requests going through.

I've had a tiny bit of work to do on some sensitive stuff that took an hour or so, but that's it. So - SLOW day today!

Does anyone else get days that are just really slow because of a mass of different reasons? If so, what do you do when that happens? I did all my admin stuff a few days ago, so I'm up-to-date on that...

 

[SPOCKED]

I never have slow days anymore. My boss is retiring next month and we haven't even begun to talk about a re-hire for this department. Plus he's been on vacation all week and I'm managing both jobs while dealing with near endless crises daily. Another project has me here at least one weekend day. Lately, it's just been insane.

 

[Jim Gamma]

I'll swap you

Seriously though.... I think it'll get busier in a few weeks, then die down over Christmas/New Year, then take off again.

 

[Plecostomus]

I'm told we have a major project coming down the pipe, and if what I've seen so far is any indication I'll be begging for Slow Days shortly.

Of course that's just Day Job. Church Job and Workshop are also keeping me busy as well.

 

[TheBrew]

Yeah, Friday's and Afternoons are usually slowish for me. Most people who could have broken their computers go home early.

 

[nevermore]

Almost everything I do is dependent on someone else getting something to me to work on, and being academia, the pace of progress tends to be quite glacial. So, I probably have more slow days than otherwise, but when I'm busy, I tend to be very busy, especially because nobody ever gets me anything in advance, so I tend to have to turn things around pretty fast, and even if there's no deadline, it annoys me so much when I have to wait an unreasonable amount of time for something that I try to never make the next person wait.

And at a University, Fridays are a joke. Half the staff doesn't show up at all and the rest take a 2-hour, 2-beer lunch and leave by 4.

 

[Holdfast]

I probably have more slow days than otherwise, but when I'm busy, I tend to be very busy...

Yeah, pretty much good for me too. I'm a good time-manager but occasionally things can get a bit hectic. This week is a good example - Wednesday I was able to go in late, do a leisurely assessment, then go out for a long lunch with a pretty girl, before having to go do about a half hour's light pen-pushing in the late afternoon. By contrast, Thursday was totally non-stop for 8hrs- ward round at one hospital, followed by a meeting at another which required some urgent dictation afterwards, before heading to a home visit, then an urgent assessment, then a couple of routine appointments. Still managed to get out by a few minutes after 5, having done all the letters and other associated paperwork. This is made possible by good time management, like being able to multitask and do dictation while driving, for example. My secretary insists I turn the car radio off when I do this, though. The first time I did it, she could barely make out anything I said on the tape.

So it varies.

Sometimes I wish I could even it all out a bit, but that would probably mean no occasional long lunches, so it's a sacrifice not worth making.

 

[Ward Fowler]

then go out for a long lunch with a pretty girl

Hey, wait a minute. It seems like you buried the lead. Lunch with a pretty girl?

 

[Zulu Romeo]

On rare occasions that I have a slow day (usually due to being on a slow assignment with little to do) I often use the time to do any admin or audit work, or sit in a library and study, or pursue some other directed learning. Sometimes, however, I just unwind and look at the Net.

 

[WillsBabe]

I never get slow days. I'd kill for a slow day. Most days I don't even take a lunch break.

 

[Holdfast]

then go out for a long lunch with a pretty girl

Hey, wait a minute. It seems like you buried the lead. Lunch with a pretty girl?

What can I say? Sometimes it's good to be me.

(don't read too much into it though, just a nice lunch, not a date)

 

[RJDiogenes]

I never have slow days. Unlike my old job, this one is all out from start to finish. But, also unlike my old job, I don't work 10-12 hours a days and carry a Pager nights and weekends.

My secretary insists I turn the car radio off when I do this, though. The first time I did it, she could barely make out anything I said on the tape.

So your H&Ps are all interspersed with Beatles lyrics?

 

[Holdfast]

My secretary insists I turn the car radio off when I do this, though. The first time I did it, she could barely make out anything I said on the tape.

So your H&Ps are all interspersed with Beatles lyrics?

You should hear my mental state exam summary when Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is playing, and I reach the bit where I have to describe any hallucations...

 

[MANT!]

I Have "DEAR GOD WE MUST HAVE THESE OUT TODAY!!" days..and others are a bit mixed..like 3 hours of boredom with 2 hours of sheer terror and another 3 hours of boredom..

Yesterday was a "Shit the Bed" day, all day..today..was glacial to say the least..

 

[Maestro]

This being the first Friday that our school district was in session for the whole day in almost a month, and given that we won't be in session at all next Friday, today was exceptionally slow. I also make it a habit (because our Fridays do tend to be somewhat "optional") of overbooking my lessons on the early part of the week. Mondays, I'm running my butt off, but today was quiet and peaceful. I got a lot of music ready and ready to go, got a lot of score study time in, did a lot of listening.

Monday, however, I'll be begging for 3:45, as I'll be ultra-busy.

 

[tharpdevenport]

No slow day for me. Woke up at 6:00 a.m., did a bit over ten minutes of vigerous weight lifting (while watching "Angel"), did one and-a-half hours on a stationary exercise bike, then went to the park and did nine miles (about three of which were spent running), came back did a nother 30 minutes on the bike, took some hours off, then had to go clean for two hours.

I have no "slow" days. ;-)

 

[RJDiogenes]

My secretary insists I turn the car radio off when I do this, though. The first time I did it, she could barely make out anything I said on the tape.

So your H&Ps are all interspersed with Beatles lyrics?

You should hear my mental state exam summary when Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is playing, and I reach the bit where I have to describe any hallucations...

That's perfect. You should marry it to some appropriate artwork and upload to YouTube.