opinion: Making The Most Of Quiet Times

As a consultant, my life can be divided into two 'seasons': busy times and quiet times. In busy times, I'm flat out juggling multiple projects, with little time for anything else. In quiet times, there's still work, but the urgency eases, and I get some hours free. This isn't unusual; most in IT experience some kind of busy / less-busy cycle. I see these quiet times as an opportunity. Let me explain why.

But these quiet times are when I invest in learning, preparation, and pro bono projects. For example, it's the time when I work on the Lookup Mainframe Software project, or tools that may help me in the future. This is the time when I write articles like this one or put together presentations like GSE UK.

This is also the time when I try to learn: from conferences like IBM Z Day this November, to reading articles and papers. My favourite article from the past month: a Planet Mainframe article about CICS and non-executable heap storage. New things and features can be explored during these times, like AI features in IBM watsonx Code Assistant.

These quiet times also give me time to take a step back and reflect on mainframes and the work I do. Is there something that can be done better? Is there something I can do better? This thinking and insight can be invaluable when talking with clients and other mainframe people and can even inspire more articles and presentations.

I also spend more time on marketing during these quiet times. I'll fix problems with websites, reach out to clients I haven't heard from for a while, research what is happening in the industry, and look for opportunities.

Quiet times are an invaluable period when the pace of work slows down, allowing me to work on my knowledge and skills, and prepare for the busy times ahead. I believe that maximising the benefit of these quiet times will increase the busy times and prepare me for them.

David Stephens

LongEx Quarterly is a quarterly eZine produced by Longpela Expertise. It provides Mainframe articles for management and technical experts. It is published every November, February, May and August.

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