Comments on: The immense value of “slop time”

By: Jessica Owens

Jessica Owens — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:00:16 +0000

Great point, Kevin! I’ve always been pretty good at time management but lately I’ve begun to understand that there are only 24 hours in a day and I know just what it takes to max out a day. But you’re right, when I put in some slop time, it’s almost a recharge time and the rest of my work flows much more effortlessly!
Also, thank you for the great book suggestions. I’ve read How We Decide and found it very fascinating! I’m going to check out the rest of the suggestions.

By: Kevin Ertell

Kevin Ertell — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:57:50 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Jay. I appreciate you making the point about who should be thinking. My answer is that everyone should plan for think time to help them be more efficient and effective with their time and efforts. I believe any employee should be accountable for his or her results and should have the authority necessary to accomplish those results.

By: Jay Konigsberg

Jay Konigsberg — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:36:18 +0000

My question is: who do you want thinking?
As a tech, we get saddled with task tracking systems (like Remedy) that measure how well you’re doing your job based on the number of tasks completed and if found chatting away from ones desk (especially when there is some problem), being told to “get to work” is a common occurrence. It doesn’t seem to occur to many managers that techs benefit from think time as well.
You are 100% correct that think time is very important, but when done by team members that are not high enough on the food chain, it is altogether too often viewed as screwing off and discouraged.

By: Kevin Ertell

Kevin Ertell — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:43:25 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Megan. As someone who has benefited from the great insight that has come out of your slop time, I am very happy you’re ensuring you have that time.

By: Kevin Ertell

Kevin Ertell — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:42:03 +0000

Thanks for your thoughtful comments, Jason. We certainly all still need to devote time to “getting things done.” But, using our think-time wisely can help ensure we’re getting the RIGHT things done, and that can make all the difference in the world.