Time is money. And where there’s money, thieves usually prowl around.
What happens is that, when we talk about time thieves, they are often stealthy, even invisible. They hide where you least expect them and suddenly they’ve taken half your day without you noticing.
When we talk about time thieves at work, their methods can cause hours and hours to slip away, causing serious damage to your performance and/or your company’s performance. Are you going to keep allowing it?
In this article we will look at some of the most harmful and most common time thieves at work. Check ’em out!
1. Disorganization.
Do you keep your company documentation between the cookie boxes and rolls of toilet paper? Is your computer desktop full of files ranging from client contracts to a direct access to the Youtube video of a dancing parrot?
At both company and personal level, bad organization can make you throw away countless hours. Repeating tasks, disorientation, difficulties in finding things… If your office looks more like the Marx Brothers’ cabin than a workplace, you may need to implement some changes. There are many ways to prevent disorganization from spreading during your workday, such as the GTD Technique. Choose the one that best suits your way of being, and go ahead….
2. Distractions.
Yes, we already know that the video of the angry baby is cool and that you have 57 emails from your extreme crocheting group still waiting to be answered, but maybe it’s a task you shouldn’t be doing during your working day. It’s one thing to rest for a while and another to spend all morning with these entertainments. You’ll have time to do it at home…
3. Procrastination.
Icon of lazy bones from all over the world, and work thief par excellence, procrastination finds many ways to manifest itself (from having a coffee or going to the bathroom to doing simple tasks) and has a clear effect: it’s a waste of time. If you are one of those who tends to leave everything until later, you should know that solving this problem is easier than it seems.
4. Bad task distribution.
Do you distribute the work of others or your own? Watch what you’re doing! Inadequate distribution of tasks can be a huge waste of time if, for example, you are not able to delegate or you attribute tasks to people who do not have the capacity or training to carry them out.
5. Poor goal setting or lack of objectives.
The expression “running around like a headless chicken” is terrible (headless chickens, for God’s sake!), but it expresses well what we mean. Setting wrong targets – or even failing to set them – is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made in a company, and it is a huge waste of time. Set short, medium and long term goals, and keep you or your people from drifting around aimlessly.
6. Lack of concentration.
Sometimes factors such as a long working day, stress or fatigue can eat your energy away and make it very difficult to stay focused. This will mean that your time will yield less. You may get to the point of staying still, for example, in front of a screen, without having the strength to do anything else. Try to rest as much as possible, eat healthy and get some exercise. Your health and your ability to concentrate will thank you.
7. Poor internal communication.
Duplicated tasks, misunderstandings, problems that do not reach those who must solve them… A bad internal communication in the company is another of the sinks of time that we must avoid. To achieve this, there are many interesting tools, such as internal chats or incident management software.
8. Interruptions.
Is there a “nuisance” in your company that won’t stop interrupting you? With manners and some tact, stop that time thief! Interruptions not only waste your time, they can break your concentration, so you’ll need a few extra moments to get it back.
And don’t lose sight of other good anti-breakage measures, such as disconnecting your phone or asking someone to come into your office when you’re doing a very important job.
9. Meetings.
Although sometimes are necessary, meetings can also become a recurring waste of time. Some companies overuse them. Others prolong them for too long. Keep in mind that the extra time lost at a meeting will affect the work of everyone who’s in it, so multiply that time by the number of meetings. You may be surprised…
10. Trips and commuting.
From home to work, from work to home, and on multiple trips throughout the day, not only do transport tends to be the biggest time thieves you can encounter during your working day, but they are also a real bore and can be a great source of stress.
Measures such as flexible working hours, teleworking or remote assistance can help you solve or at least alleviate these time losses. Why don’t you think about it?
Conclusion
And now that you know 10 time thieves who can make your workday much less expensive than it should be, we’d love you to take a moment to get to know Pandora RC.
Pandora RC is a remote computer management software that can help you scare away some time thieves, such as commuting. Want to know what Pandora RC has to offer? Enter here: https://pandorafms.com/en/remote-control/
Or you can also ask us anything you want about Pandora RC, in the contact form at the following address: https://pandorafms.com/en/contact/
Pandora FMS’s editorial team is made up of a group of writers and IT professionals with one thing in common: their passion for computer system monitoring. Pandora FMS’s editorial team is made up of a group of writers and IT professionals with one thing in common: their passion for computer system monitoring.
