Down Time

When I’m not working, I feel lazy.  It’s a product of my Catholic upbringing.  Idle hands and all that…

But the nature of research work is such that it’s often feast or famine.  When I was part of a traditional library setting, I was either really busy, or waiting for the phone to ring.  (Granted the latter is rare in both cases.)  Being an embedded librarian is pretty much the same.  Librarians are, by nature of the career, somewhat reactive.  We wait until we are called on for help and then we jump into action. 

Currently, I’m feeling lazy because requests for assistance and research are at a low.  This is pretty natural at my company for July and August.  People are taking summer vacations, getting their ready kids ready for school, hitting the golf course, etc.  They’re not initiating projects. 

When I start feeling lazy, I start looking for things to do.  This year to make myself feel productive, I’ve switched from research mode to organization mode.  My department has two collections of electronic material that could use some organization and I’d like to use my “down time” to at least give some thought about how that could be done, and if possible, start on it.  (Actually, my partner already has an idea that will likely work. I just need to polish it up.) 

Other activities I sometimes/should engage in during “down time” include:

• Sitting in on more meetings for the teams I support.  Admittedly, when I get busy with requests I sometimes don’t attend as regularly as I should. 
• A “health check” with the teams I support.  Asking them… Am I providing valuable information?  Is there anything they’d like to see that they’re not getting?  Am I being a pest?
• Professional reading/continuing education.  I’m nervous to engage in these in the new department though.  It’s a very heads-down area and I’m afraid taking time for self-development, even if it is work related may be seen negatively. 
•  Ask colleagues if they need help with work they’re doing.  
•  Marketing & outreach.  You can never do too much of either of these activities. 

 All that said, as soon as I post this I’ll probably get a flood of requests.