CAD: Six Things to Keep You Busy When There’s No Work ...

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We hear from plenty of CAD professionals every week, here at Kung Fu Drafter. From drafters just starting out to seasoned CAD managers there is one issue that comes up time and time again. “I don’t want to look like I have nothing to do. How do I stay busy when things are slow?”

The Cause

Part of this problem is completely out of the control of CAD professionals in nearly every scenario. By that we mean that it is usually beyond our privy to schedule jobs. At times we can have designed jobs queued up for months and other times everything is in construction. This leads much of the engineering and architecture world seems to suffer from the “feast or famine” syndrome.

This sort of ebb and flow is natural in many industries, however this does translate into some slow days in the drafting room. This might be fine for drafter who wants a bit of rest, but it makes it hard to be billable. That lack of billable hours can make plenty of CAD professionals nervous.

Who needs a drafter who never seems to have anything to do?

There’s No Crying In CAD

We couldn’t agree more. Who does need a drafter who never seems to have anything to do? We certainly don’t and that is why we feel it is imperative to not have “down time” in the drafting room.

How do we stay busy when there is no work to be done? It’s very simple, there is always work to be done. While it’s true that we can’t produce “paying” work out of thin air, we can all certainly stay productive. So here are our six favorite things to do on slow days: 

• Clean your desk or office – Come on, you know that your desk is a disaster area. Why not clean up that mess and make life easier for yourself?
• Order supplies – Whether it’s paper, toner, or DVD’s there is an endless list of supplies that our offices need to keep being productive. And it never fails that we will run out when we need it most. So take time to make sure you have plenty of supplies on hand or on order.
• Organize your reference library – All good CAD managers keep a library of previous plan sets. Whether they are PDF’s or hard copies take some time to make sure your set is up to date and filed properly.
• Work on the block library – How many times have we been in the midst of a project, fighting the deadline, and thought “we need to make a block of that.” So why not get to it now? Use this slow time to work on your plane silhouette, dynamic blocks, or update titleblocks and logos.
• Software updates and back-ups – Oh sure, you always meant to download that new Civil 3D update or install that new release of Revit, but did you? So use your slow time to update your workstations! And don’t even get us started on the state of your “back-ups.”
• Training – No one, and we mean NO ONE, knows everything about any CAD program or knows every technique. Use your down time to go through the included tutorials, to watch YouTube videos, read some blogs, or read that reference manual you spent $75 on.

The End of Down Time

Download our list ...As you can see there is never a shortage of things to be done in a working drafting room. All it takes is that little push to remind us that we are responsible for keeping ourselves busy. So our last tip is exactly on how to give yourself that push: Print our list and tape it on your wall. It makes for an easy reminder, in plain view, of all the productive things that await you the next time things slow down at the office.

Not only will these tasks help you stay busy and make the bossman believe you are busy little bees, it will make your job easier! Come on, you’re getting paid to make it easier to get paid. How sweet is that? Leave us a comment and let us know what your favorite “down time” activities are. And hey, if all else fails, you could always work on that resume …

- KFD -

Image credits: Catherine, Steve Kay, and Abby Hendrickson.