Clive,
Please elaborate on this. I am not clear on what you are trying to say. Thank you in advance for your response.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I think my biggest "time waster" is either the internet or my phone. If I'm burnt out or just working on a task that I don't feel like doing, I tend to check my phone a lot or I'll jump online and browse just to take a break, but sometimes I'll find myself taking a longer break than intended because of these distractions.
Jennifer,
This might be one of the most commonly cited time wasters. Perhaps setting a timer for the amount of time you can safely "invest" in the Internet would be helpful. Most phones have timers or alarms.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Emails
I have several email addresses (personal,professional)
Checking email frequently is something expected, especially in the workplace. I find that co-workers use this instead of direct communication.
Checking email 4-5 times a day does waste time. I now try to dedicate 3-4 visits to email
morning arrival at work, mid morning,lunch, and sometime in the afternnon
Joel,
Setting an email schedule for yourself can be very helpfus as you will not need restart projecrts as often.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I completely agree that though I come to work with so many "urgent" things to do, the day definitely starts off on the wrong foot if I have not prepared the test/quizzes/lecture material for the next day. I have found that if my other "to-do's" take me longer than expected, at least my urgent paperwork prep for each class I teach is done, so I don't have to stress about ending my current task to start a new one.
I do have a hard time when I am unable to fulfill a task in one try. If I have to leave it and come back to it, I feel much less accomplished. This is when I will take work homw with me, so that I do not have an uncompleted project waiting for me at work.
Ashley,
I share some of these feelings. I would rather stay late and finish than come back tomorrow to wrap it up. Doing things this way mayy not be the best way to balance all responsibilities.
Jeffrey Schillinger
An example of a time waster for me is tutoring my students myself. They do have access to peer tutors most of the time and I should probably use that resource. I'm kind of a control freak and its hard for me to let that go because I feel like I would be the best person to tutor them because I am the "expert" if you will.
Jon,
It is tough to manage time well if a person cannot delegate or say no.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Hands down, my biggest time waster at work, is people stopping by my office to talk and over 50% of the talk has nothing to do with work. One thing I've done to minimize this,is adjusted my work schedule, so that I arrive to work earlier and when fewer people are in the building.
Thomas,
That is a good strategy. I also use that approach. I also find that closing my door for 30 - 40 minutes a couple times a day helps without offending folks.
Jeffrey Schillinger
I like to check my emails at the end of the day.so i can prepair for the next day.
Timothy,
Keeping to an email schedule is a good way to manage time well. Accessing during designated times rather than answering as emails arrive works well.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Working in the Career Center I have wasted time with alot of adminstrative and marketing duties that could clearly be handled by our student workers. Creating flyers and job postings are my responsibilty, however, someone can walk around campus and put them up. I believe it is my sense of urgency to get certain tasks done or job information out that causes me to do this. Whe I want the information out sometimes the student workers are not available and I do not want to wait. This is definitely something I can work on.
Tequilla,
Not being patient enough to let others do things for you can be a challenge.
Jeffrey Schillinger
Checking emails can be a big time waster for me because I can get really distracted. I have not tried this but I am willing to minimize this time waster by only checking emails 4 times a day.
I find that constant interruptions are my biggest time-waster. Phone calls, people stopping by my office, etc. I try to limit the duration of these interruptions, but sometimes I find it difficult without appearing rude.
My second biggest time-waster is procrastination with tasks I'm dreading. I've found the best way to avoid this is to jump right into those tasks before others. Usually once I start them I find that they aren't that bad and I dreaded them for no reason. Even if the task ends up being as difficult as I excepted I feel much better once I have it completed.
Jamie,
I have found closing my door for 30 - 45 minutes to limit interruptions is very effective. It is also a good idea to find polite ways to ask folks to come back later when you will have "more time to listen."
Jeffrey Schillinger
In the past I found myself "helping" my direct reports accomplish their tasks. I did this on my "own" time so I thought that I was really a team player. This resulted in an increased stress level for me, decreased personal time and a staff that felt they were not trusted to do their jobs. I have learned that I should allow them to complete the mission they were given, structure my personal time so that I can maximize rest and relaxation and finally have communcate with my reports to ensure they are not over burdened with work.
William,
Great post. Thank you for sharing this. I have had similar reactions when I thought I was being "helpful."
Jeffrey Schillinger
