The productivity losses caused by time wasters are considerable. The modern world has increased its market share with the emergence of new sources of distraction that constantly affect your work. Know how to detect them.
Between your phone constantly ringing and your X account constantly calling you, it’s not easy to make it work! The worst enemies of efficiency are the so-called “time eaters”. You may have the feeling of a horrible, hungry “Pacman” eating up your time little by little.
There is no going back with time and that is why time is precious. First, there is the question of time eaters. In fact, this is a real questioning of some of your habits and actions and to see who is running your life, the time eaters or you? There are time-consuming activities, including social media, but also harmful attitudes, habits and behaviors such as clutter and procrastination.
Social networks
Their use has become common in business. Although they allow you to stay connected with information, see current trends or simply communicate with your contacts, they are time-consuming. In an ultra-connected and ultra-addicted world, they are one of the great things to tame! Of course, yours X Account (Twitter) brings you a lot of information about your sector of activity, and Facebook allows you to unite your community around your business. But be careful not to find yourself permanently attached if that’s not your role. Put up fences to drastically limit their use. You can quickly find yourself wasting precious minutes and even hours every day.
Harassment by mail/phone? Constant emails and phone calls can quickly eat up a lot of time, especially when you need to concentrate. Don’t hesitate to turn off your phone or even close your email inbox to avoid being interrupted. During your concentration time, you can put an auto-responder message indicating when you will be available or have limited access to your email inbox, especially as an emergency procedure if the task requires several hours. You can also do real “drop out” sessions. Also, after a few hours, you might find it funny, you’ll taste it, you’ll see!
Multi-tasking = multiple time wasters
You are not necessarily going faster because you are doing several things at the same time. You must escape the illusion that you are more efficient by doing several things at the same time. Obviously, it is possible to do two things at the same time when doing a boring task and it can help you forget about the tedious task. Keep in mind, however, that for tasks that require a strong ability to concentrate, this may lead you to increase the time spent on the task rather than saving time. You are not like a 2 in 1 shampoo, it is rare that we can do 2 things well at the same time. Focus on one task at a time and do it well!
Countering info-obesity
It’s time for a little information diet. Today we live in an era that has developed a hunger for information that is so addictive that we are never satisfied. Managers are full of information that comes to them from all sides: news about their sector, data of all kinds, etc. Set clear indicators that will serve you and allow you to quickly control the situation. Learn how to clear your email inbox of all those streams of information that don’t do you much good except make you information obese.