What To Really Do During A Downtime and What Actually Happens
Hint: It’s not crying.
I recently had the privilege of giving a webinar on how Filipinos can ‘Work Anytime, Anywhere,’ where I got to share easy-to-follow and actionable advice on becoming a digital nomad for people who wanted to transition to online work.
During the Q&A, someone asked me:
What do you do during slow periods or when you don’t have clients?
‘I cry.’
This is a joke, of course. I don’t cry, although there have been times where all I could do was cry… but that’s another story.
So what do you really do during a downtime?
What I actually do during these slow periods, or what I call ‘downtime,’ is take time to learn a new skill or improve an old one.
I use it to catch up on chores, articles, books, or shows I’ve continuously put off. Things that spark my interest or bring me joy.
I also take this opportunity to reflect. I ask myself, ‘is there anything that I’m doing right now that I can do better?’ If the answer is yes, then I’ll try to figure out ways to streamline it. If the answer is no, I leave it alone.
This could be about anything.
For instance, I recently used my downtime to think about the way I do my laundry. Since the pandemic started, I constantly ran out of clothes. I didn’t like this, so I asked myself if there was a way I could improve this area of my life. I came up with different ways and tested them for a month, before settling on one.
In that same timeframe, I caught up with a show I’ve been meaning to watch, articles I’ve wanted to study, and started reading the first few pages of Ask., a book I ordered from Ryan Levesque about a year ago (which you can get for free here.)
I also learned new skills related to developing designs for click funnels, email marketing, branding, and social media graphic design. While simultaneously brushing up on my skills as a B2B writer and content strategist.
My point is…
There’s usually always that one thing I want to do, try or catch up on, but can’t find time for — and I’m sure you, and other people have that one thing too.
This is what downtime is for.
It’s perfect because:
- You finally get to take a break. You get to think about yourself and what you want. Was there something you promised yourself you’d get back to? This is the time to revisit them.
- Your schedule is essentially free. There are no deadlines, no heavy workloads, no unexpected tasks to stress about and eat up your time.
- You finally have time to do the things you’ve been putting off.
And the best part is you don’t have to feel guilty about indulging your curiosity. Because it’s ‘you’ time!
Managing expectations of what actually happens
I want to clarify ahead of time that I am not a productivity machine. I do not devote all my time to improving and learning, though I do understand how it comes across that way with the example I gave. But that’s really far from the truth. There are countless interludes to my process.
I have days where I really don’t want to do anything; days where I stall that one thing I want to do, try, or catch up on. Sometimes, all I do is lie in bed, eat, and sleep. And that’s good enough.
Which is why I want to say this:
You don’t have to be learning or improving something every single day.
I always make sure I take active breaks. I designate rest days and, on days when I genuinely don’t feel like doing the thing, I adjust my workload and reschedule.
Taking breaks is essential. Especially when you find yourself feeling pressured by all the goals you’ve set out. After all, the last thing you want to do is stress yourself out and lose sight of what you really want to do.
Learn how to Make Time for the Things You Want To Do in my next article.