Most workers are spending on average eight hours a day at their desks, so it’s not unexpected that we may not feel motivated to do our job. time wasters It’s just normal, right? But sporadic lapses of concentration aren’t the only way that we waste our time working. As per Executive Management Advisor Jim Alampi, “You’d be shocked at how much work you’re doing each day.”
Why? What occupies the most hours of our work day? You may be shocked. I’ve listed the top six time-wasters that we all deal with (some higher than others) and provided tips on how to deal with the distractions.
Most time-wasting activities at work
The #1 time waster: Email
Email is now the. first method of communication at work because it’s easy and an excellent method of keeping an electronic log of all your correspondence. But, a significant portion of your time at work is spent dealing with constant emails that can result in us losing as much as 10% of our IQ points (the equivalent of missing the entire night of sleep). Additionally, many mails are sent to internal. An investigation of the Halton Housing Trust found that among the 95,000 emails they sent to employees, 75,000 were internal.
Solution 1: If there’s something to be discussed choose an in-person or phone conversation instead. It could mean something different between hour’s work and a week-long email exchange.
Solution 2:Never check your emails early in the morning. Instead, you should spend at minimum 30 minutes (or longer if you’re able to manage) doing something that is important. This is a time saver since you’re focused on the task you have to do and not distracted or overwhelmed by emails.
Time Waster #2 Time Waster #2: Meetings
Do I even have to mention the work-related events and meetings? A majority of employees think that their work schedules detract from their work and can be a massive time-waster.
Solution 1: The next time you’re invited for a meeting you should have a discussion on the agenda with your meeting host. Ask them what they think is the reason you should go. Set up the system that other executives can go to your place and inform your on what you’ll should know. This will help you save time.
Solution 2:Consider Jon Petz’s (author of Boring Meetings Suck) “first in first out” method. When you’re invited to a gathering then respond with a statement that you’ll be there however, you should also request to meet with the host prior to the meeting to discuss your ideas since you may not be able to remain the duration of the meeting. So you’ll appear to be interested and you’ll also be able to leave early.
