There are some holidays your client may observe that you may not: MLK Day, Washington’s Birthday, Columbus Day, and maybe even Veteran’s Day. That’s almost a full week during the course of the year! What do you do during those days when you can’t schedule meetings and push on with your project? The short answer is catch up (or even get ahead) and plan.

Honestly, I love these days and look forward to them. They are meeting free and leave you with the ability to concentrate on what you need to do without interruptions.

Recently my client had a day off, where I started on the Product Roadmap. It was great to have some time to gather my initial thoughts and get started. Before I knew it, I had spent almost 3 hours uninterrupted preparing it and had a really good draft that otherwise could have taken the entire day.

Here’s a list of things you can do during the days where your client is out but you’re still in:

1. Clean up your issues list. Are there little ‘to-do’  items that could get done quickly and easily without having a SME around?

2. Plan out what needs to happen within the next month or more. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day that we forget to plan to ensure we’re heading in the right direction.

3. Take a real lunch break. Eat and enjoy it!

4. Update your documents and PowerPoints with any new project info that has been revealed since you last updated them.

5. Prioritize your ‘to-do’ list.

6. Start prioritizing your features into future releases.

7. Take time to have an uninterrupted requirements writing session with the information you have in your notes.

There are many more ways to spend your day productively without your client. Post your own ideas!