Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Entertaining Yourself
Another important lesson you will not learn in library school is that you must be able to entertain yourself in order to be a successful librarian. Why? Frankly, there will be down times when your magnificent brain and skills will not be needed. And during these times, if you act bored or restless, you will be targeted for brainless tasks.
Librarians are hired for their knowledge and brains. But, like computers, there are times when we are not needed and we must go into standby mode. Anyone who has been on the reference desk about 4 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon knows what this feels like.
Even after you do busywork such as reading ALL your professional publications, catching up on your emails, and filing, there will still be dead time. What to do? Play Internet games, engage in on-line shopping, pay bills, update one's blogs, etc. The key is that YOU LOOK BUSY even if you are not.
Otherwise, coworkers and bosses will immediately presume that you have TONS of extra time and need extra work or shifts on the reference desk. If you find you have more standby time than actual work, then perhaps you DO need another task or shift. If you need to brush up on ways to look busy without actually working, check out Dilbert's co-worker Wally. He will inspire you.
Librarians are hired for their knowledge and brains. But, like computers, there are times when we are not needed and we must go into standby mode. Anyone who has been on the reference desk about 4 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon knows what this feels like.
Even after you do busywork such as reading ALL your professional publications, catching up on your emails, and filing, there will still be dead time. What to do? Play Internet games, engage in on-line shopping, pay bills, update one's blogs, etc. The key is that YOU LOOK BUSY even if you are not.
Otherwise, coworkers and bosses will immediately presume that you have TONS of extra time and need extra work or shifts on the reference desk. If you find you have more standby time than actual work, then perhaps you DO need another task or shift. If you need to brush up on ways to look busy without actually working, check out Dilbert's co-worker Wally. He will inspire you.
Labels: down time, looking busy
