In the world of managed services, downtime can feel like a mythical creature - rare, elusive, and often spotted only in the wild imaginations of service managers. But when it does happen, it's worth treating as an opportunity rather than a fluke. Instead of debating Star Wars vs. Star Trek, the sharpest techs use quiet moments to build skills that make the whole help desk run better - including the kind of helpdesk automation know-how that turns a good technician into an indispensable one.
Here are ten ways techs can use downtime productively, several of which double as informal training in MSP workflow automation — the exact skill set that separates a reactive help desk from an efficient one.
Why Downtime Is a Hidden Lever for MSP Help Desk Efficiency
Most MSPs treat downtime as dead time to fill. But the techs who use it to poke around a new tool, study a certification, or tinker in a home lab often come back with ideas that quietly improve MSP help desk efficiency — a better ticket routing rule, a smarter escalation trigger, a script that saves ten minutes per dispatch. None of that shows up on a timesheet, but it compounds. The ten activities below are organized the same way the original list was, with a few called out specifically for their tie to automation and PSA/RMM tooling.
Contribute to Open Source Projects
Picture this: your techs are sitting around, and someone suggests they dive into an open-source project. Before you know it, they're fixing bugs, writing new code, or improving documentation for a cool project on GitHub. Not only does this sharpen their coding skills, but it also gives them some serious street cred in the developer community.
Potential Risks
- Conflict of Interest: A tech might, in their eagerness, use proprietary knowledge or even snippets of code from the MSP in their contributions to the open-source project.
- Time Management Issues: The tech could become so engrossed in the project that they forget their day job.
How to Mitigate: Set clear guidelines about what can and cannot be shared in open-source contributions. Encourage techs to check with a manager before diving into any major changes. Also, remind them gently (or with a Nerf gun) that their MSP work takes priority.
Engage in Online Tech Communities
Your techs are active in forums like Stack Overflow or tech-related subreddits, helping others solve problems or learning new tricks. It's like being part of a giant global tech support team - minus the angry customers and panicked phone calls.
Potential Risks
- Burnout: Too much time solving other people's problems could lead to burnout, especially if techs feel they must respond to every question they come across.
- Distraction: They might get too caught up in a heated debate over the best programming language (we all know it's Python, but try telling them that).
How to Mitigate: Encourage techs to set boundaries and take breaks. Make sure they know it's okay to step back from the online fray and focus on their own learning.
Pursue Industry Certifications - Including PSA and Automation Platforms
Downtime is perfect for studying for that AWS or CompTIA certification. It's also a great window for techs to get certified on the platforms they already use every day — including Autotask. A tech who understands PSA automation with AI at a deeper level can build smarter ticket rules, cleaner reporting, and better SLA tracking than one who's only ever clicked around the surface.
Potential Risks
- Study Overload: Cramming too much information in a short period could lead to stress or burnout.
- Neglect of Immediate Duties: Techs might prioritize certification prep over their day-to-day tasks.
How to Mitigate: Create a balanced study schedule that allows techs to prep for exams without sacrificing their regular work. Offer support and resources like paid courses or practice tests.
Develop and Share Knowledge Base Articles
Imagine your techs taking time to write or update internal documentation and knowledge base articles. This helps streamline processes and ensures that when the next big crisis hits, there's a handy guide to follow — no more relying on Bill's “secret” sticky notes. A well-written article on how your ticket triage automation rules actually work can save a new hire weeks of guesswork.
Potential Risks
- Outdated Information: If techs don't regularly update these articles, they could end up with outdated or incorrect information.
- Overly Technical Jargon: Articles might become filled with so much jargon that only the tech who wrote them can understand them.
How to Mitigate: Schedule regular reviews of knowledge base content to ensure accuracy. Encourage techs to write in plain English (or as close to it as possible).
Build a Home Lab - and Test Real Automation Workflows
Techs use downtime to build their own home lab environments. This might mean setting up virtual machines, experimenting with new software, or even creating their own little “Skynet” — just kidding! (We hope.) It's also a low-risk place to prototype MSP dispatch automation ideas: a tech can mock up a ticket routing flow, test how an RMM alert should map to a PSA ticket, or experiment with API calls between tools before ever touching production.
Potential Risks
- Security Concerns: Experimenting with new tools or software could introduce security risks if not done in a controlled environment.
- Cost of Equipment: If techs get too enthusiastic, they might start ordering expensive gear for their home labs.
How to Mitigate: Provide guidelines on safe experimentation practices and ensure that home labs are isolated from the corporate network. Set a reasonable budget for any equipment needs.
Participate in Hackathons or Coding Challenges
A tech discovers an online coding challenge or hackathon and decides to join in. They spend a few hours solving puzzles or building mini-projects, sharpening their skills, and maybe even winning a prize or two. Who knew downtime could be so lucrative?
Potential Risks
- Excessive Time Investment: Hackathons and coding challenges can be addictive, leading techs to spend too much time on them.
- Competitive Stress: The competitive nature of these events could lead to stress or frustration if things don't go well.
How to Mitigate: Encourage techs to participate in moderation. Consider organizing an internal hackathon with team prizes to keep the competition friendly.
Learn a New Programming Language or Framework
A tech decides to learn Rust or Go during their downtime, setting up a series of small projects to master the basics. They come out of it not only with new skills but with a newfound confidence in their coding chops — skills that come in handy the day they need to script a custom integration or troubleshoot an API call between your PSA and RMM.
Potential Risks
- Neglecting Core Responsibilities: A tech might focus too much on learning new skills and neglect their current responsibilities.
- Overwhelm: Learning too much too quickly can lead to feeling overwhelmed or frustrated.
How to Mitigate: Set realistic learning goals and milestones. Make sure techs know they can pace themselves and that it's okay to take breaks.
Contribute to Technical Blogs or Create Tutorials
Techs use their downtime to write blog posts or create video tutorials on topics they are passionate about, sharing their knowledge with a wider audience. This can help establish them as thought leaders — and make them famous among their peers.
Potential Risks
- Revealing Sensitive Information: A tech might accidentally disclose sensitive company information in a blog or tutorial.
- Reputation Risk: Poorly written or incorrect content could harm both the tech's and the company's reputation.
How to Mitigate: Implement a review process for any external content to ensure it aligns with company policies and standards. Provide resources or templates to help techs create high-quality content.
Explore New Tools and Technologies - Including AI Automation Platforms
Techs spend time exploring new software tools or technologies that could benefit the team. This is exactly the kind of downtime activity worth actively encouraging: a tech who spends an afternoon evaluating an MSP AI automation tool or testing an AI + Autotask integration might come back with a way to shave real time off ticket triage and dispatch. Whether it's Autotask automation software for smarter routing or an AI Autotask automation layer for prioritizing SLA-sensitive tickets, downtime is often where these ideas first get tested before anyone commits budget to them.
Potential Risks
- Security Vulnerabilities: Trying out new tools without proper vetting could introduce vulnerabilities into the network.
- Shiny Object Syndrome: Techs might get too excited about new tools and forget about tried-and-true solutions.
How to Mitigate: Set up a sandbox environment for testing new tools safely. Encourage a balanced approach to tool exploration — new isn't always better, but it's worth checking out.
Join or Start a Tech Meetup Group
Techs take the initiative to join or start a tech meetup group, either locally or virtually. They network with other professionals, share knowledge, and stay motivated by engaging with the wider tech community. Plus, it's a great excuse to order pizza on a Friday night.
Potential Risks
- Time Commitment: Organizing or participating in meetups could take up more time than anticipated, impacting work performance.
- Conflict of Interest: Discussing company-specific challenges in public forums could risk exposing sensitive information.
How to Mitigate: Set clear expectations about time commitments and encourage techs to participate responsibly. Remind them of the importance of discretion when discussing work-related topics.
Turning Downtime Habits Into a More Efficient Help Desk
None of this works if downtime is treated as an afterthought squeezed between tickets. The MSPs that get the most out of it treat exploration — of certifications, home labs, and new automation tools — as a legitimate contributor to MSP help desk efficiency, not a distraction from it. A tech who spends a slow Tuesday afternoon poking at helpdesk automation ideas is doing the same kind of work your leadership team does when evaluating new software, just at a smaller scale and lower stakes.
If you're ready to turn some of those downtime experiments into real workflow improvements, see how Rocketship's AI & Autotask automation can take the manual work out of ticket triage and dispatch - so your techs have more downtime to spend leveling up in the first place.
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