It's a dirty little secret of most jobs: There are times when you aren't that busy and you're just killing time. In some careers, these moments never happen, but for those who spend at least half of their time behind a desk in front of a computer, there are slow days. In self-storage, the amount of time needed to manage a facility, or keep track of your facilities as an owner or executive, varies based on the size of the operation and the number of coworkers to share responsibilities with.
A new poll question on Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community, asks members to reveal how many hours they "actually" work in an average day. The most popular answer so far is "more than seven or eight hours a day," but nearly 45 percent are reporting less than that. More than 27 percent work something closer to a half-day, listing 3-4 hous of work. Of course, the poll doesn't differentiate between full- and part-time, so the numbers may not be perfect, but it's interesting the full disclosure from the voters so far. It also seems most of the respondents have been facility managers, but any member of the site, regardless of industry role, is allowed and encouraged to vote in the poll.
Though my perspective might be a little biased, I think there's no better way for a self-storage pro to spend downtime than to jump on SST. It has more than 4,400 registered members, it's the official forum of Inside Self-Storage, and it's an online, 24/7 consortium of smart industry people, which amounts to a great resource. In short, you can spend your downtime getting better at your job, looking for answers to ongoing questions and fixes for nagging problems. Best of all, it's free and easy to register. So, if you're not participating yet and you'd like to post or vote in a poll, register at www.selfstoragetalk.com/register.php.