Make the most of unexpected downtime
How to use time you don't know you'll have
Life can feature a lot of unexpected free moments. Sometimes this suddenly open time can feel like a present — for instance, when an unpleasant meeting is canceled. Phew! But other times you get a call from the school nurse that a sick child needs to be picked up. Now you’re home from work, and while your kid is watching a movie, you’re feeling stressed about all the work you’re not doing. Or maybe you’re suddenly getting a lot fewer hours at work. It’s leisure time — but not leisure time you wanted.
Regardless of why the downtime appears, though, anyone in this position still faces a choice. Unexpected downtime can be spent unintentionally, and then be gone. Or it can be used in ways that help you build the life you want. Good time managers set intentions for time they know they’ll have. Time management masters figure out how to embrace time they don’t know they’ll have.
Make a list
To make good use of time, it helps to be strategic. So make a list. If time suddenly appeared, what would be wise or fun to do? What could you do if you’re home? What could you do if you’re elsewhere? Maybe you have long term projects where parts lend themselves to picking them up here and there. Maybe you have a hobby that can be done on short notice.
In many cases, sudden downtime can be repurposed for working ahead. For instance, each week I need to write and record five episodes of my Before Breakfast podcast. There are always some weeks when it is harder to do this than others. So if I’ve got time somewhere, I can write ahead. Banked episodes become part of my “time emergency fund.” Work done in the past opens up time in the future when I might really need it.
Maybe you know that you’ll need to write up evaluations of all your direct reports next month. When a 2-hour meeting is canceled you could start deleting random stuff from your inbox. Or you could realize that the evaluations will need to get done eventually, and you can get a head start. Future you will be a happy you.
Making the most of a situation
Of course, we can’t always be uber-productive with unexpected time. If you’re suddenly home with a young sick kid, for instance, that is your primary focus. But there might be enjoyable things you could do with this unexpected time — like watching a favorite movie or starting a series that’s on your want-to-see list while you’re snuggled up on the sofa.
These things can be hard to think up in the moment. When you get a message that your friend is running 30 minutes late to meet you, the inclination is just to check email or scroll through social media. These things are easily accessible. They’re easy to do. You won’t automatically think hey, I’m going to send notes to two former clients that I’ve been meaning to reach out to — unless you’ve already made a wise-to-do list and know that’s on there.
But if you do know, well, suddenly that late friend has created found time for investing in your business’s growth. What an opportunity!
I don’t think people have to fill every minute with something productive. But most of what we do when we don’t know what to do isn’t particularly enjoyable. Why not do something you do want to do? When one of the clients replies that “Hey, I’ve been meaning to reach out to you because we have this project we’re starting…” you might even thank your friend for being late.