They’re not called the lazy days of summer for nothing. With many people away on vacation, you may find yourself with less to do as clients and co-workers disappear to a beach somewhere. ?Plus, who can do their best work with such beautiful weather outside the window (or is that just me)?

Thankfully, WSJ columnist and author Alexandra Levit has some ideas on how to make the summer slump more productive than the Facebook checking and Sudoku completing you has originally planned.

Write down your goals for the ��school year.�� Imagine that you are about to start a new school year. Think hard about what you want to achieve at work in the next several months, and specific steps you��ll need to take to make it happen.? If your boss is around, set up a meeting to talk through what you��ve come up with so that you��re both on board. Have lunch with a networking contact. Now that you actually have some down time, why not use it by spending a little more than an hour with a person you��d like to get to know better and who could possibly help you in your career?? After all, informal, in-person networking is the most effective kind. Organize your files. If you haven��t read an e-mail from January yet, you��re not going to.? Clean up your Outlook inbox and the hard drive of your computer so that you are able to start fresh in the fall.? Make sure important files are backed up and archived for safekeeping. Walk down the hall. If you had to process some financial paperwork for a client, would you know how to do it?? The dead week is a great time to better understand how company systems work and the people you should talk to in order to most efficiently get things done. Read neglected industry publications. That would be , , or the , not .? Stop by the mailroom and pick up the summer issues, or hop online.? Focus your attention on trends pieces that will help you better understand where your industry is headed.

Do you have any other tricks or tips for keeping the summer slump short and shallow?

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