Refreshing! (02/08)
By Leanne Battle
February gets a lot of attention for being the shortest month. I feel like I’m rushing to do the same amount of work in two or three fewer days than usual. I even wrote a previous February InfoPro column about shortcuts to getting information. This year is different. It’s a Leap Year. We have a whole extra day this month! How refreshing!
Refresh. I hear that word a lot these days in many different contexts. Feeling burned out at work? Go on a vacation and come back refreshed. Experiencing a little afternoon lull? Have a refreshment to perk you up. Need updated information from a Web site? Refresh your browser. Are some of your skills getting rusty? Take a refresher course. In fact we’re starting to use it as a noun. Is your intranet site looking a little dated? It’s time for a refresh. So, are you feeling refreshed; revived, restored, enlivened, invigorated? No? What now? What can you do in the course of your day to refresh your work product, your employees, your colleagues, your work environment?
Reorganize your office. I don’t mean that you need to get rid of all of those piles. If you’re like me you know exactly what’s in those piles and you’d be lost without them. I mean really move things around. It has always amazed me how changing your physical surroundings can change your outlook. Move your desk so that you face a different direction. Change the pictures on your walls. Swap out a square desk for a round table.
Exercise your creativity. Is it faster to do things the way you’ve always done them? Maybe. Does that make it the best way? Not necessarily. Check out some new resources. Package your work product differently to make it more helpful to the end user. Create a theme for a series of training sessions.
Find a mentor. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in this profession. There is always someone who has a new perspective to offer. Let the AALL Mentoring Committee help. You might benefit from a mentor outside the legal or library communities. Reach out to another local professional association or networking group to expand your contacts.
Read. Anything. Everything. Inspiration sometimes springs from the most unlikely places. Read professional journals, business books, biographies, fiction, comic books, blogs. It doesn’t matter what you choose as long as you are open to the ideas that you find. I realize that I’m preaching to the choir on this one!
Exit the office. We all do it. You get to your desk early. You eat your lunch there. You stay late to take care of that last-minute request. Even twenty minutes outside the building can make a difference. Take a walk to the post office. Return an ILL to a nearby firm yourself instead of sending a courier.
Share the workload. Often I am inclined to take on a project because I have more experience than someone else and it seems easier that way. It might be better for the work to have a different perspective. It might be good for a colleague to have a chance to take on something new. I find myself partnering with the same people over and over because I know how that person works and how that fits into my work style. It might be energizing for me to learn from someone new.
Have fun!
