I realise that what I’m going to write about comes from a place of extreme privilege – not everyone has the luxury of having a job that has its slow periods. Listen, I know that essential workers are overburdened, as is anyone in academia. I’ve been there and ran. But I also know that some people are lucky enough to have these days or even hours when nothing in particular seems to be happening. My workload is fluctuating by design, with extremely busy weeks (like, 4 days in a row on 4h+ calls where I normally take notes, plus I have to prepare in advance) and some slower ones inbetween. On top of that, this year I had to take a workation during the busy period (which meant taking calls from my cousin’s car and presenting important stuff 2 days after a wedding, not mine at least. But still 2/10 would not recommend). That meant I burned through most of my leave and during the slow and hot Italian August I’m having a bit of tumbleweed and crickets experience, usually alone in the (well-airconditioned) office.

The thing is – I actually respect my employer and have it ingrained in my brain that work time is for working, so I’d feel less than great if I spent my working hours doing completely unrelated stuff. And I’m a Leslie Knope/Amy Santiago type of person when it comes to situations like these – I conquer such situations with a binder or a to-do-list. So here they are, 10 things to do during the slow season at work (which we call a cucumber season in Polish, in case you were wondering about the pic for this post). Most of these should be applicable whether you have an hour or a week to keep yourself busy with whatever you want. So put your favourite music and enjoy, I guess?

Read More