Time Thieves In the Office... Recognize Any of These?

[tamalahuntley]

It's hard enough to stay focused on work as it is. Add pesky time thieves and your day gets stolen pretty quickly. Let’s expose some of these thieves so you know what to avoid, otherwise it'll be 5 pm and you'll be wondering where the day went!

• Having No Daily Game Plan

Whether you keep a to-do list or not, you should have a plan for each day. You should have at least 3 goals or tasks that you want to accomplish… and, you should have them identified the day before. Now, when you walk into the office, you should have clear objectives for what needs to be achieved that day.


• Failing to Unclutter Your Environment

Who can focus when they’re trying to find something every 5 minutes? I don’t know about you, but when my work enviroment is clear, I think better and have more clarity. It is said that one piece of paper on your desk will distract you at least 5 times a day. So clear the clutter everyday before you leave your office. When you come in the next day, you’ll be refreshed and ready to tackle those “Big 3″ goals.


• Failing to Prepare for Meetings

When you hold a meeting or schedule a meeting for your boss, make sure everyone has the agenda ahead of time. Include start and end times in the agenda. Make sure the intended outcome of the meeting is clear. Steer wayward conversations back to topic. You can do this tactfully, by simply asking a question about the topic at hand.


• Letting Office Invaders Steal Your Time

You’d be amazed at how much time can be wasted from chatty co-workers stopping by every 10 or 15 minutes. Not only do they stop you from working, but it will then take you about 10-15 mins to get back into your productive groove. Here’s a trick: when someone comes into your office unscheduled, immediately stand up and meet them at the door… whatever you do, don’t let them come in and sit down. You can also get rid of extra chairs, or keep a couple close by and only bring them in for scheduled meetings.

Have you noticed any others? How do you handle them?

[BillysLady]

This post made me smile as I worked in an office environment for a big chemical company for 22 years. One of the biggest time consumers of all is not on your list. The constant ping from incoming emails! For these I would set a time to check, one time in the morning, one in the afternoon after lunch and one before I left for the day, no cheating allowed. Now that I'm working from home the rules are different, the one that catches me most often as I move from one set of items to the other though is I must admit clutter. What do I miss about the office the most? Those chatty co-workers ; ), and the ergonomic and very comfortable office furniture.

[tamalahuntley]

Good one BillysLady. Email and phones are two big ones too. I've learned to have "Power Hours" throughout the day, mostly in mornings. Helps productivity like you wouldn't believe. Glad it made you smile.