4 Ways of Keeping Time Thieves at Bay
Consider these three scenarios:
- You’ve had a busy day at work and you
decide to take a breather. After a one minute of sitting down with a cup
of coffee, your boss calls your name and says, “Hey, do you have a
minute?”
- You are ready to spend a moment with your
favorite book when all of a sudden you get distracted by a phone: someone
is trying to sell you a magazine subscription.
- You are about to make finishing touches to
a project at work, but you get interrupted by the constant noise in the
cubicle.
These scenarios are very common and very
annoying.
You are tired of distraction and of the fact that others are defining your
rhythm and productivity. With constant distractions and requests, you are not
getting enough time for recovery or for getting things done.
Your time usage is dictated by others. It’s
no wonder that you want to change the situation and get your stolen time back!
Are you too accessible and helpful?
The main reason why people let others dictate
their productivity and steal their time is being too helpful.
For instance, when someone comes to you and
makes a request, you want to be help. Also, you don’t want to let down their
expectations by saying “no” to them.
Another thing that “helps” time thieves to
steal your time is being too accessible. You want to be reachable and open
towards others as much as possible. This gives you the reputation of being a
nice and trustworthy person.
However, both of these traits have their
downsides too.
In a work environment, you get bombarded with
requests whenever possible, thus interrupting your productive time.
At home, you might have a problem with focusing
on your own personal projects or finding time to relax in a middle of a hectic
work week.
Obviously, there is one crucial thing that is
missing in this picture. Do you know what it is?
The negative effects of missing boundaries
Boundaries can be set as physical or
non-physical ones and they define the rules you operate by and the way that
others should operate as well.
If you haven’t defined boundaries, you are
potentially jeopardizing your productivity and it makes easier for others to
steal your time.
First, boundaries define how to handle the
situation when something unexpected comes up. For instance, this could be the
case when your boss comes to you and gives you an extra assignment.
Second, boundaries help you to protect your
time. However, when the boundaries are missing, then people think it’s OK to
interrupt you with their requests. They expect that you are accessible whenever
they wish.
Third, the lack of using the word “no.” Now,
it’s not always easy to say “no,” but it can be done firmly, while still
leaving the other person with a good impression of you.
Fourth, an important part of the boundaries
is communication. This can be divided into either verbal or written
communication and depending on its clearness, that’s how strong or weak your
boundaries are.
With proper communication, you are able to
block requests that would otherwise make your already busy schedule busier.
Finally, understand that the word “no” is
essential too when it comes to defending your personal boundaries. Instead,
saying the word “yes” is an open request for time thieves to grab the piece of
your time.
Although the word “no” is part of the
communication point #4, I wanted to mention it separately, as I think it’s the
cornerstone setting your boundaries on a daily basis
Sorry thieves, the police is here!
To catch the time thieves and give you back
the stolen time, follow this plan:
First and foremost, it’s important to set
your expectations straight – whether it’s at work or at your home. When people
know that you are working on something important, it helps them to respect your
time too.
For instance, when someone comes to you at
the cubicle, let the person know that you are working on something
important and cannot be disturbed. Also, let people know about your phone and
e-mail answering policies.
At home, communication is the key as well.
For instance, I’m building my online business on the side (on top of my
day job), so I’ll let my family know when I work and when I shouldn’t be
interrupted.
When everyone is on the line, no false
expectations are set and everyone knows the rules to follow.
It’s a good idea to “isolate” yourself too.
By isolation, I’m not talking about disappearing for hours without telling
anyone where you are. Instead, I’m talking about controlled isolation, which
doesn’t make everyone else concerned.
At work, this isolation could be done by
booking a meeting room and working there, at home this could be done by going
to work outside (nature, coffee shop, and library) and communicating to your
spouse that you’ll be away for a certain amount of time.
There is one thing to note: You should take a
phone with you, so that your spouse can contact you in case of a family
emergency. Naturally, you want to be with your family if something notable
happens.
Finally, reduce your commitments that aren’t
necessary. The more commitments you have, the more probable it is that you will
have to give up your time for something you don’t like.
For instance, I belonged to a local computer
club in my town and I was asked to be a board member for the club. At first I
said yes, but eventually I gave up on the position even though others wanted me
to stay.
Eventually I stopped participating in the
club’s activities, because I wanted to focus on other things in my life
instead. This eliminated some of my commitments and my personal schedules
became simpler.
Let’s define your anti-theft alarm system
Follow these four steps to defend yourself
from time thieves:
1. Set your communication policies.
If you are at
work and feel that you get interrupted a lot, set the auto-responder message
telling others when you process your e-mails. This way others are not expecting
you to get back to them as soon as possible.It’s also a good idea to
mute your phone when you work and also let others know about this too (and
also, when you do answer the phone).
2. Isolate yourself.
Book a meeting
room at the office if you want to get work done. If possible, you can also work
remotely from home if it’s quiet and peaceful there (for instance when kids are
at school).At home, if you feel interrupted constantly, try to find a spot in
the nature, a coffee shop or a library to do the work. Let your spouse know
where you are, how long you are going to be away and at which number he/she can
call you in the case of emergency.
3. Communicate clearly.
Make sure
other people truly understand your rules and that they don’t
assume anything.Also, have a mutual understanding with your boss when it
comes to work assignments. Let him/her know that sudden assignments are
weakening your working productivity.The same clear communication
works with your family too. You can even create a document showing your
working schedule and put it in your refrigerator door, so that it’s easily
available and other family members can see it.
4. Learn to say no.
Finally, learn
to say no. Although it can be challenging, it’s doable. What matters the most
is how
you do it.
Conclusion
Time thieves are everywhere and in most of
the cases they are not even aware that they are taking your time away.
That’s why it’s important to define
boundaries and let everyone know about them. This way, you can focus on your
work or for recharging your batteries.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/4-ways-of-keeping-time-thieves-at-bay.html?ref=mail&mtype=daily_newsletter&mid=20170106_customized_editor_pick&uid=687414&hash=707e797f7e757e6d794c856d747b7b3a6f7b79&action=click
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