What is stealing your time?
A time robber is the nemesis of the effective time manager. We need to identify them, acknowledge their existence, and work out what we’re going to do about them. Time robbers come in different shapes and sizes – some are self-imposed, some are manager imposed, others can be company imposed. Do you think it’s time to stop the time robbers? Let’s consider examples of each one and decide what we’re going to do:
Self-imposed time robbers
These time robbers exist purely because of your own preferred habits, behaviours, and ways of working. This also means you have direct control over them and can reduce their impact. Examples include:
- Poor planning or a complete lack of it!
- Indecision (is this a time robber, I’m not so sure?)
- Socialising at work (during work time)
- Poor personal organisation (mess = stress!)
- Ineffective delegation
- Procrastination (notice I left this one until the end!)
If you struggle with planning, ask the great planners for hints and tips. Perhaps you are indecisive. Ask questions and do your research so you can make effective decisions. If your workspace is a mess and you’re always looking for things, find a system for processing paperwork. If your delegation is poor, consider training or read up on the subject. Dealing with personal matters is really down to your self-discipline, as is procrastination – set deadlines and stick to them!
Manager imposed time robbers
Your own line manager may be creating these! Examples could be:
- Interruptions (for a social chat?)
- Unrealistic deadlines (I need it ASAP, or yesterday!)
- Task duplication (someone else is doing the same job)
- Makes you attend unnecessary meetings
- Pretends to delegate (but keeps interfering)
Many of the above issues can be addressed using a more assertive approach, e.g. I attended the last meeting and learnt nothing and contributed nothing. Push back for a realistic deadline: I’m happy to do this job, but help me to help you. When do you really need it by? If tasks are being duplicated, or delegation is ineffective, give your manager feedback about the negative impact this is having: I find it frustrating, and I’d like us to avoid it in future.
Company imposed time robbers
It may also be time to stop the time robbers imposed on you by your company! The biggest time robber here is usually the culture of the company (it’s the way we do things round here!). If the company has been around for a long time, then people may be stuck in a rut, blindly following traditional methods of working. It may be time to consider certain company systems and processes to be out of date and inefficient.
What can you do to increase productivity? Bringing about cultural change takes time, but you’ve got to start somewhere! Give factual, evidence-based feedback to your manager regarding things that steal time. Sell the benefits of changing working practices for you, the team, and the organisation. It won’t happen quickly but be resilient and don’t give up!
Conclusion
Time robbers fall into different categories, but there are tools and strategies available to help you deal with them. You know they’re out there, just waiting to steal your day. Don’t let them. It’s time to stop the time robbers!
