January 5, 2026

In a typical role, you have the same job that you do for as long as you’re employed at a company.

At a consulting firm, you tend to bounce from project to project, which means there can be days, weeks, or even months between a project ending and a project starting.

This in-between time is called the beach or the bench. So what do consultants actually do during this period?

External Facing Things

The first thing consultants do when they’re on the bench is external facing work, mostly sales.

This includes working on new proposals or sales efforts to find a new project.

It’s an opportunity to contribute to business development and potentially secure your next engagement.

Internal Projects

The second focus area is internal projects. This covers learning, education, and building materials for future sales efforts.

Consultants use bench time to up-skill, develop new capabilities, create thought leadership content, or build tools and frameworks that can be used on future client work.

Vacations

The third way consultants spend bench time is taking vacations. It’s usually easier to take a vacation when you’re not on a client project than when you are on a client project.

This makes the bench an ideal time to recharge before jumping into the next engagement.

Conclusion

The beach or the bench is how consultants spend their time in between projects, usually on internal work, external facing activities, or vacation.

While it might sound like downtime, it’s actually a productive period focused on three key areas: contributing to sales efforts, investing in professional development and firm resources, and taking well-deserved breaks.

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