Imagining yourself working effectively at your work place and becoming a top producer in your company. How will your life change? Here are the ten common reasons why people waste so much time at work and the solutions for the problems. Enjoy!
1.) Waiting for the photocopying machine: You have to get some documents photocopied, but your co-workers are lined up in front of you. You don’t think it is appropriate to ask them to do the job for you.
Solutions: Create yourself a folder filled with documents that you need to use regularly. Photocopy all of them at the same time. If there are documents that only require to be photocopied once, try to do it the day before you need your documents, when nobody is lined up at the photocopy machine.
2.) You are handling your tasks based on your habits instead of how the tasks should be done: There is so much to do and you don’t step back to see how you should handle each task. You work on the tasks based on your own habits and you never get your work finished. At the end of the day, you find you have hardly accomplished anything.
Solutions: Understand that if you approach your work differently, you may save yourself a lot of time. Instead of setting up two meetings, one each in the morning and afternoon, can you combine the two meetings? Just because keeping your meetings separate is how you have done things previously, it doesn’t mean that it is the best way to do the job.
3.) Too many distractions: In a typical workday, there are many distractions when you are trying to concentrate on your work. You know you need to prepare for a meeting, but the phone won’t stop ringing. You know you need to get some letters typed out but your co-workers keep asking you to help them with their computers.
Solution: Figure out the busiest time of your workday and avoid doing the things that require your absolute concentration during that time. Study the time pattern of your work environment and adjust your tasks according to it.
4.) You want to do it all by yourself: You don’t trust others and you believe that you are the only one who can do things ‘right’. You believe that in order to guarantee the quality of the work done, you have to basically handle everything yourself, so you find yourself spending a lot time doing things that could have been done by others.
Solution: I was once watching a video on network marketing and Tim Sales, the host, introduced the concept of leverage. He said “Wealth is hidden from those who must do it all themselves, and wealth exposes itself to those patient enough to train others.” If you are a manager or supervisor, understand that people are your invaluable assets. Instead of doing everything yourself, set up a training program to help them and yourself succeed.
5.) Forgetting what you have to know: You are on the phone with a client but you cannot recall off the top of your head some important figures. You feel embarrassed and you have to spend time looking through your documents.
Solution: There are things that you have to pre-read and review all the time. Not only will it save you a lot of time by knowing your basics, but you will also feel much more confident with your clients when you “know your stuff”. Store essential materials that may be very hard to memorize in a location you have easy access to.
6.) You are spending too much time doing non-valued added things: You are doing things that are not important for your job. For example, you may be spending too much time tidying up your desks or deleting files from your computer. You spend so much time on this that you don’t have the time to do the more important things.
Solution: Apply the 20/80 principle as discussed in the “How to Completely Control Your Time” ebook. Always prioritize your tasks and understand which tasks are the most important to your job. Spend 80% of you time on these activities.
7.) You are spending too much time on lunches or dinners with your clients: You know that this client is very important to you and you want to do whatever you can to please him/her. You have the tendency to believe that when you spend more time talking with this client, he/she will trust you more. At the end of the day, you find that you have done nothing but have lunch with your client.
Solution: Understand that spending more time with your clients doesn’t necessary mean that you will form a better relationship with them. Sometimes when you have already made your main points to your clients, the worst thing to do is to keep repeating them, in order to force them to make an immediate decision. Also, never forget to make an appointment before meeting your clients. This creates a positive image, as your clients will sense that you are an organized person who avoids any unnecessary waiting time.
8.) There are too many documents and binders: You have been working at your current job for more than 2 years but you have never thrown anything away. When your boss asks you to locate a document, you have a hard time finding it.
Solution: Set a specific date every month to clean your office and to discard any documents that you no longer need. You will be amazed at how good you feel when you start seeing your garbage removed from your office.
9.) You accept your own excuses and refuse to be honest with yourself: You realize that you have not accomplished much by the end of the day. You tell yourself that everything was not under your control and that you have already tried hard. In fact, deep down, you feel guilty about the time wasted but you don’t want to admit it.
Solution: Don’t kill yourself for wasting your own time, but be very honest. Ask yourself what you can do next time to improve your time management, but don’t buy any excuse generated from your mind. Tell yourself that you are either going to have an excuse, or have results. You simply can’t have both!
10.) You haven’t clearly stated to your co-workers what you intend to do: You have to leave the office to do some work but you do not tell your co-workers where you are going. You have a client who is trying desperately to call you. Your co-workers answer the phone for you but they cannot help him find you.
Solution: Get into the habit of communicating with your co-workers. Tell them your mobile number and email address. Let them know your plans and even your schedule. If you are the boss, make sure you communicate with your secretary all the time.
(BONUS TIP!)
You never set a time limit for tasks you assign: You are a group supervisor and you have assigned a project for your group to do. You tell them that the quality of the project is the most important aspect and you want the project to be done as quickly as possible. When a member of your staff asks, “When is it due?”, you answer, “As soon as possible.” A few weeks later, you realize the work is still not done and you become frustrated!
Solution: You need to set a deadline s for projects assigned to your staff, even if the projects may not be very important. If you are a worker and your boss does not give you a deadline, you should set a deadline for yourself and tell your boss when you will have the task done. That way you will be forced to use your time wisely.
Stanley Cheng is the author of the popular new eBook,
‘How to Completely Manage Your Time’. Discover the Hottest
and Proven Tips on time management, start today at:
http://www.hypertracker.com/go/stancheng/article/
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