Time gets lost. People kill time. Time flies. It gets wasted. Sometimes, we have no time left; we're out of time. Easy Green Shop looks at the time spent at the office and provides tips for managing time.
Because you spend a great deal of your time working, meeting your employer's expectations becomes increasingly important. Managing your time effectively, however, is often hampered by interruptions.
Think back to your last day at work. You arrive, sit down and slowly begin to get into a groove. You begin working on that report that's due at the end of the day. After about an hour, you quit to go to a meeting that was scheduled a few days ago. After the meeting you think, "What a waste of time. They could have just sent a memo for us to read and not interrupted my work day."
You go back to your office and try to get back to that report. The phone rings. It's Tom. You decide not to answer. Whatever it is, it can wait.
Two minutes later, Tom is knocking on your door. You bite your tongue and invite him in as you're thinking, "Can't he take a hint? I'm busy!" He spends 20 minutes discussing the meeting you just had and how he thought it was such a waste of time. He leaves.
The phone rings again. It's Jenny. You don't answer. You really need to get this report completed by the end of the day. Jenny sends you an e-mail. You open it. She needs to discuss a matter of mutual concern regarding another work matter. She'd like to do this at your earliest convenience. You e-mail her back that you will meet with her later in the afternoon. Gee! Another meeting.
While emailing her, you notice several emails received since yesterday. You think, "Maybe I'll read some of these and get them out of the way. two hours later, it's past lunch time and you haven't eaten. You take a break for lunch. When you return, Jenny is waiting to start the meeting you agreed to this morning.
Before you restart your computer, you decide to take a bathroom break. You run into John in the hallway. He comments that he hasn't seen you all day and wants to know what you've been up to. You tell him you have a report due and need to get back to it. The two of you talk for 10 minutes.
You finish the conversation and complete that trip to the bathroom, resolving to get back to that report as soon as you get to your office. In your office, you remember a file you need to finish the report. You don't remember where you put it. After 30 minutes you locate it. Finally, you get back to your computer.
As you're typing away on your computer, your boss walks in, pats you on the shoulder and wants to know how it's going. You try to keep a straight face as you're thinking, "It could be going better if I could get around all these interruptions." After a light conversation, you're alone again.
Does this sound familiar? If so, you may be experiencing time stress. Learning to manage your time more effectively by controlling interruptions is the key to reducing stress and being more productive and successful on your job.
