How to handle downtime at a company as a “full-time” consultant

[marshallant]

I'm wondering how other consultants handle billing / keeping busy at a company in which you are a "full-time" consultant but there is no work at the moment and everyone else is out of the office.

For instance, everyone is out of the office until after the new year and there was little to no work planned. However, as a full-time consultant for the company I still depend on putting in my hours to make a living. As well, I don't want to take time off now because I have vacation planned later in the year. Is it wrong to bill for sitting and staring at the screen? Is it wrong billing for watching training videos?

I'm stuck between taking days off or refactoring the same code for a 10th time.

What are your thoughts?