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10 Worst Time Wasters at Work
36 Comments |
Thanks to widespread downsizing, workloads are piling up. Unfortunately, extra hours in the day are not.
Maximizing your time at work can mean the difference between leav...
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kylebez
almost 2 years ago
2 comments
This is all intuitive, but I find if you really try to be productive, and give all your attention to making the most out of every hour, most often you'll come away frustrated and discouraged. I think long-term goals are a better standard to work by.
LarryO
almost 2 years ago
4 comments
Do not agree with over reliance on email. I recently quit a job because my bosses (Boss is double SOB spelled backwards.) refused to back me up on policies I had made for my program. We did the face to face thing instead of email and it sure is funny how things change. From now on I will only rely on email for confirmation of meetings.
prakashcrao
almost 2 years ago
2 comments
The real time wasters are: (1) Tasks that should never have to be done by anybody (2) Tasks that should not be done by you but rather by somebody whose responsibility it is to do the task.
If you ever happen to be given one of these two tasks you tend to look for distractors to ease the pain. Organizations (especially larger ones) tend to spend too much energy and time on busy work and/or knee-jerk reactions to stimuli. Poverty of funds and times adds a tremendous edge to a performer - as evidenced by people in startups and small businesses.
willboywonder
almost 2 years ago
12 comments
And what about incomplete or inaccurate information when tasks are given. Sometimes, employees may not know the information is incomplete or inacurrate until after the project has begun. Backtracking to fix things is hard enough but trying to tag the boss for clarity is also difficult.
indialanticdaniel
almost 2 years ago
2 comments
Spending time reading this article?
jameshammond85
almost 3 years ago
22 comments
HAHA thats a great list there are many others as well like mobiel phones or looking for the best mobile phone deals, this should be a 5 / 10 minute job but can easily turn into an 1hr long job
lucyreddy1234
almost 3 years ago
24 comments
Its also true that It's very tough enough for employees to get all their work done. Add unnecessary interruptions and the situation can be unbearable...
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LilliC
over 3 years ago
4 comments
The article didn't mention the lazy people who are "social butterflies' that will stop ANYONE in the hallway just to chat for 30-60 minutes. Or the ones who take a 2 hour lunch, when they only get 1 hour. Or the ones who go into the boss to ask a question, and turn it into a 2 hour chat session. Just because they don't do enough work to fill their day.
Cedman
over 3 years ago
4 comments
Hi, txharleyman. I am South African and don't ask me how I got here, I work for the government. I joined the Data division since July 2009, from a private IT company of hard working individuals and I was one of them at the time. Things slowly changed and I browse the internet more than you can ever drink beer per day, this is not good. After reading this I plan to go back to my basics and ask myself what have I done which is extra ordinary in my workplace, to bring about change and deserve a salary cheque month end. We need to stop wasting tax payers money and work as government officials and employees. Keep the good spirit, visit the government houses and motivate, Happy new year
Cedman
over 3 years ago
4 comments
I cannot agree more, I am a culprit myself. the fact that I am commenting right now means I have been surfing this site for more than 15 - 30 minutes. We really have to try and put more effort in refraining from time waisting tactics and I want to I confess, its not any easier ! but we strive to be the best daily, this is a good starting point.
Account Removed
over 3 years ago
i think advise on productivity is invaluable. this article covers only a small corner of the topic, focussing on a timeframe which suggests the attention deficit of many people at work. this advice is good for me, but it mostly gets me thinking about other approaches to productivity, such as volunteering for projects that you're interested in enough not to be distracted, enough to want to work. wouldn't people be willing to work more if they were shown the opportunity to do what they can enjoy?
Account Removed
over 3 years ago
3 breaks a day, that's funny. When I clock out on using peoplesoft, it requires me to agree to a list of statements. I took all rest periods as entitled (5 min ea hr), all meal periods accurately recorded (min 30 min before the 6 hr mark), recorded overtime worked (even though overtime is not approved - it will be paid but you are written up for working overtime w/o aproval), all hours worked have been reported and there is no time worked not reported (even though opening/closing takes 10 min before/after clock-in/clock-out), and no work was performed "off the clock" (see previous comment)
JerryGJones
over 3 years ago
62 comments
I think sitting here checking out the time wasters should be on the list.....good tips, but if you are checking out this list at work, then it needs to go on the list.
customstairworks
over 3 years ago
2 comments
Sounds like Clark County. Our dept had meetings on building bird houses to out do the fire marshalls office so the little kids on bring your child to work day would think that the building dept was cooler than the fire dept. Or have meetings writing a script to out do other dept. at the big Halloween get together during work hours.
hmaxime
over 3 years ago
2 comments
I am going to agree on some of these points...however the work space thing, is definately not for me. I am a spreader: in order for me to be productive i need to see everything in plain sight. I cant pile becasue it will cause great confusion.
Thus, the personal issues like a clean desk are not for me. But down with Facebook. HAHA