In last week’s article, I shared what Time Tar Pits are and how to identify them. This week I promised to give you some helpful tips on how to address some of my favorites. These time suckers include: checking your email, interruptions from staff or co-workers, spending way too much time on facebook, Linked-In or other social media, handling those pesky text messages, and chatting with coworkers…when you have better stuff to do!
Chatty Chatty Chatty
We all do it! You might want to know if someone saw the game last night, you may be dying to share with ANYONE that your daughter started crawling last night, or you might truly want to talk to a colleague that seems to be having a bad day. We all have opportunities to talk when we should be working. Sometimes it’s for all the right reasons, sometimes we just want to talk to somebody because we can’t control ourselves, and sometimes we talk because we are avoiding doing stuff we would rather not do. If you need help with excessive time-wasting chatter, ask an office mate for help. Mention that you have been catching yourself talking to folks when you should be working. Empower them to ask you politely, “Do you have more important things to do?” when they catch you being a chatterbox. If you are like me and a more direct approach is needed, have some fun with it. Find a person in your office who would enjoy and even find extreme pleasure in “calling you out.” (You know who they are.) Trust me on this one, they will go out of their way to keep you on the straight and narrow!
Not-So Smartphones and Facebook
Ok, chatting with a coworker is an example of something you may do that would be pretty easy to notice. But what happens when you do something so habitually, you don’t even realize that you are doing it? How do you get unstuck from that?
I’m not making this up, I had a client that looked at his smart phone all day long and it was so bad he continued to do it at home and even during dinner with his wife. When I asked him how many times a day he checked it he replied,” I don’t know… 20 times a day sounds right.” A little exercise I asked him to do revealed a totally different picture. I asked him to take a 3×5 card and tape to the back of his phone and every time he checked his text or email, place a hash mark down. At the end of day one, he counted 67 times! By day two it was 43, by the end of the week, it was down to 15. To get some added help, he gave his wife permission to let him know when he was doing it. (He really did want her help by the way.) This activity worked by building his self-awareness. Use the same strategy when tackling facebook, Linked-In and chronic email checking. Simply place the 3×5 card by your work computer and hash away.
I Hate My Email
I wrote a separate article; “Is Your Email Inbox Sucking The Life Out Of You?” a while ago. Here are the highlights. One of the easiest fixes is to block time on your calendar that is solely dedicated to checking email. The trick is to ONLY check email and nothing else. Usually 30 – 45 minutes three times a day is about right. Think of it as a standing appointment you have to keep no matter what. Next, sort your email the same way you would sort through your mail at home. Do you open and read each piece of mail? No! So don’t open your email until you have sorted it and open the email ONLY if you intend to respond to it right then and there. Next, sort your email into three folders; “On Fire” (must do immediately),“Important” (must do by the end of the day), and ”Get To It Later” (get to it by the end of the week). Everything else, delete! Finally, turn your email off…all the way off! During November, one of our clients implemented this strategy on a Monday, by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, she had shaved FIVE HOURS off of her work week. WOW!
Coworkers Who Interrupt You
I get this one a lot from people. You’re in the office working your guts out on something and your door is open. BAM!…someone is standing in your doorway, talking up a blue streak about God knows what…sound familiar? The first fix may seem overly simple but keeping your door shut might help. Sometimes this gentle deterrent doesn’t work and a few folks that report to you seem to always have a crisis that needs your immediate input. What then? Reiterate why the door is closed then consider having weekly scheduled one-on-one meetings with folks. Let them know that you are using a new strategy and you would like to set aside time when you are not distracted and you can devote all of your attention to their questions and needs. That way they can discuss their most important issues then. It also may empower them to come up with solutions during the week.
If you do want to have an open door policy, then have “scheduled” open door hours. Pick times during the week that you can block. Let your staff know you have scheduled open door hours and they are free to “come on in” during that time but not outside of those times. This may take time, be patient but consistent. Remember it’s a new system and a new habit for them as well.
If you have a boss that interrupts you, that can be a bit trickier. Be careful and diplomatic, after all, they are your boss – it’s wise not to piss them off. Share with them that you are implementing a new system that helps you be more productive and it seems to be working. Explain how you have been using it and how you explained it to your reports and then explain how it works. If your boss seems intrigued, ask her if she would be interested in helping you stick to your system. Remember to be polite. Usually she will say you are brilliant and want to know how she can use the same system!
BONUS!!! Working From Home and Family Interruptions
I had a few emails about this topic so I thought I should dive into it. There is a type of person that is in a class all by themselves. These are the folks that have a drive and commitment beyond the average person. These are the ones that get comments like, “I don’t know how you do it.” I’m speaking, of course, of the work done by home/stay at home parents. No door can hold back the ocean of “Mom, can you… Dad, I need help with… or Honey, will you…” These interruptions are ongoing and can make you pull your hair out. All of the same strategies I mentioned above can be modified in this situation as well. After implementing some of these modified strategies one person I was coaching said it was the most empowered she had felt in 10 years!
Having a designating room or space in your house that you call your office, preferably one with a door, can really help your productivity, your privacy and your sanity. To get the most out of it, remember when you go in your home office, go into work mode and when you come out, go into parent mode.
Another great tip is to have a conversation with your significant other in the same way you would with a coworker. Mention you need his help implementing a new system. Explain what you are trying to do and not only do you need him to help you stick to your “work” time but you really need him to help your children respect your “work time” too.
Finally those teenagers that call you up and say, “My practice is over early and I’m bored. Can you come pick me up?” If it is appropriate, stick to your blocked work time strategy. Block time from say 2:00- 4:00 p.m. to work solely on whatever business you need to focus on. It may be hard to say no to your children, but it can help you in the long run. Say something like, “Sweetie, I can get there at 4:00 as we discussed. I spoke to Jill’s mom and she said you are welcome to go over to her house and I can pick you up there at 4:00 if you want.” Of course, this might not work in all cases because your children might be too young or you don’t have someone to entrust your children. If you do, however, it can be a real productivity saver.
It’s inevitable that all of us are going to fall into a time tar pit from time to time. Learn to avoid them by recognizing what they look like and know what to do if you find yourself in one. Use some of these easy tips the next time you are navigating through the time tar pits that lurk in your office and your home!
