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When head counts are low, take time to save time

For those of us still lucky enough to have jobs during this Not Quite a Depression (Yet), the cratering economy has likely affected our workdays in one of two ways. In places like luxury stores or high-end brokerages, some workers find that their tasks have dwindled in step with the number of people still shopping for US$3,000 suits.

Those employees are desperately trying to look busy as their workloads plummet.

I don't know any of those people.

For the rest of us, the financial meltdown has intensified the existing mantra to "do more with less." To-do lists are multiplying as resources evaporate and profit-strapped companies scale back on investments that could help employees be more productive (like replacing aging computer systems or upgrading ancient software).

So it's up to savvy IT professionals to use the technology they already have not only to boost productivity, but also to make the workplace a little less grim.

One simple way to achieve this is to invest time in training.