Ways to Control the 10 Most Common Time Wasters at Work
No one can afford to waste time at work these days. Maximizing your time at work can mean the difference between leaving at a reasonable hour (i.e. holding onto your sanity) and staying late unnecessarily. You have a life outside work - don’t you want to live it? This article makes you aware of some of the ways that time is wasted at work and how to minimize this:
1. Instant Messaging: While instant messaging can be a useful intra-office tool, its generally informal (and instant!) nature can also make it productivity’s worst enemy. How many times has a work related discussion degenerated into a half-hour gossip session? And there’s always someone with a lot less to do who will draw you into a long chat. The solution: While you can’t disconnect completely, at least set your status to “Busy” for a good portion of the day. 2. Over reliance on email: a lot of time is wasted sending emails back and forth when talking for a few minutes can easily resolve the matter. The solution: If there’s something that needs to be discussed, opt for a face-to-face conversation or call them. And if you still want a written record, write up a quick email after the conversation outlining where things left off and send it to all concerned. 3. Meandering Meetings : “Meetings about meetings.” You know the kind – you get together for an hour or two and nothing is achieved. This a huge waste of time. The solution: Meetings should have a purpose and a set of clear goals you want to reach. There should be a set agenda, which is distributed to attendees well before the meeting begins. Stay focused on the task at hand. If what you have to say is not related, save it for a group email later. 4. Short Gaps between meetings: If there is a series of meetings scheduled for the same day waiting for the next one to start is dead time. The solution: Meetings should be planned to incorporate a proper lunch break, but with as little time between meetings as possible. Breaks should be short and well spaced, and ten minutes should mean ten minutes! 5. Reacting to interruptions: by emails, phones, or someone stepping in your office with an issue. The average employee works for just 11 minutes before being distracted. No wonder we’re struggling to get things done. The solution: The trick is to learn how to react to them without being distracted from the task at hand. If you’re busy, let your phone go to voice-mail. Set aside three times a day where you check your email. Of course, there are instances when an email demands an urgent reply. But more often than not, it doesn’t - now the difference. 6. Ineffective multi-tasking: Everyone likes to think they’re great at multi-tasking. And maybe you are. But there’s a limit to how many things you can do at once without reducing the quality of your work or slowing down the process. Shifting between five different projects at once? You’re probably wasting your time. |
The solution: Prioritize and then plan your day accordingly. It’s the key to successfully completing any project. Write down everything you want to get done and the time needed and then make a to-do with the most important tasks first. Don’t move on to the next task until you have completed the one before.
7. Messy Desk: Your main work space might be the top of your desk or your desktop computer, probably both. If either is a mess, you’ll end up wasting a lot of time searching for things. The solution: Before you leave the office, clear your desk of cans, cups, food and paperwork. Use that file cabinet for something more than your box of saltines. Throw out paperwork you’re never going to use, and recycle it. Whenever possible store your documents digitally. 8.Personal Communications: If you’re checking Facebook regularly, g-chatting with friends or responding to personal emails along with professional ones, you are wasting a lot of time! The solution: Leave your personal correspondence for your lunch break. You can check your various accounts all at once, guilt-free. Be firm with your friends and family about contacting you during work hours 9. Websurfing breaks: Taking time out from what you are doing to have a quick look at a movie review does not really take 5 minutes! Later you wonder where the afternoon went - your browser history says it all. The solution: Leave this type of search for your lunch break or the end of the work day. It’s just too easy to get sucked in when there’s an endless amount of information at your fingertips. 10 . Cigarette/ Coffee breaks: Everyone needs to step away from their desk every once in a while. In fact, it’s been said that taking breaks may make you more productive. But if you’re going out for a smoke or a coffee run every half hour (sounds extreme, but not totally unrealistic), you’re reducing your productivity to the bare minimum.
The solution: It’s a good idea to look away from your computer every fifteen minutes or so. But when it comes to breaks outside the office, reserve them to three a day: one mid-morning, one at lunch time, and one in the afternoon. Taking your full lunch break is key. If you’re out of the office for a solid hour, you’ll feel less of a need to step out for smaller breaks. And you’ll be able to get into the work groove – and stay there! |
Subscribe to our Coffee Break Newsletter |
Similar Event Management for trainers Articles: |
Come and Visit Your Online
Training Material Store!
Training Material Store!