I’m sitting at my desk, working through emails and following up on people for what feels like the umpteenth time. Everyone is busy. I get it. However, far too many people are busy being busy!
Here are my Top 10 Time Wasters at Work. Let’s create a global movement to stop these busy practices and work smarter, not harder!
- Endless Email Chains:
As essential as emails are for effective communication, they can quickly spiral into a vortex of wasted time. Constantly checking, replying, and forwarding emails without a structured approach wastes time. Streamlining email management processes, such as utilizing filters, folders, and prioritizing messages, can safeguard against this time-draining trap.
- Social Media Temptations:
While social media platforms serve as a means for networking and staying informed, they can also effortlessly steal large chunks of our workday. Mindless scrolling, checking notifications, and engaging in unnecessary online conversations chip away at productive hours. Setting designated time slots for social media usage and limiting personal internet activities can thwart this time waster.
- Multitasking Misconceptions:
Contrary to popular belief, multitasking rarely leads to increased productivity. In most cases, dividing attention among multiple tasks only dilutes focus and quality of work. Instead, adopting a singular-task-oriented approach and dedicating focused time blocks to different activities often proves far more efficient.
- Procrastination Pitfalls:
Procrastination, the bane of productivity, is an easily underestimated time waster. Learn to prioritize and stick to your schedule. Set realistic deadlines that you can commit to. Catch yourself when you see the procrastination start. It’s a quick decline, so catching it quickly is essential.
- Overcommitted Optimism. Are you realistically going to get 15 hours of work done in one day? Look at your to-do list. Do you have an unreasonable amount of work you plan to do today? Your brain knows you can’t do it and gets overwhelmed by your Optimism. Make sure you don’t plan to do too much in one day. It won’t happen, and then you become demotivated.
- Snap Decisions. When you haven’t got time, it is easy to make snap decisions based on insufficient facts. Do your research when it comes to office decisions. The time wasted having to redo or revisit issues can be avoided.
- Boundary Smasher. Can you say no? Or I’m not the right person for that task? Or do you smash your own boundaries by saving everyone when they come to you in a panic? That keeps you from doing what you must do (although they appreciate that you always save them).
- Faulty Filer. Use folders, colours, and a system to retrieve what you need. In the same way we don’t throw things on the floor in the corner, we need to rely on organization systems for our computers, emails, attachments, and anything else that comes to your desk.
- Patty Perfect. Is perfectionism getting in the way of you getting things done? Wasting time making things perfect or getting bogged down in tiny details is wasting your time. Some things need to be perfect, but not all are worth the time investment.
- Batching and Sorting. Batch your tasks. When responding to emails, respond to all emails and then do the associated tasks. If you respond to one email, do everything required, and then go to the next email, you’ll never prioritize. When doing one type of task (email, phone, documents), stick with that task for a block of time. Don’t jump all over the place all the time.
Am I perfect? Far from it! The list came from identifying what I need to do to be smarter with my time. I hope they help you too.
This article was written by Rhonda Scharf (and from your ideas from participating in our Top 10 lists) and not from artificial intelligence.
