I was going through the September 2006 issue of Entrepreneur magazine (I think this is the only issue I have) and they had a top 10 list of time wasters in the workplace.

I know I suffer from some of them:

1. Shifting priorities
2. Telephone interruptions
3. Lack of direction / objectives
4. Attempting too much
5. Drop-in visitors
6. Ineffective delegation
7. Cluttered desk / losing things
8. Procrastination / lack of self-discipline
9. Inability to say no
10. Meetings

I definitely struggle with shifting priorities (there are so many things to do and I want to do them all), attempting too much (this is really a consequence of trying to do everything), lack of direction / objectives (I really need to be able to get focussed and obsessed about one thing), procrastination / lack of self discipline (when I get overwhelmed, I put things off, and I need more discipline to just focus and complete one thing). The wife will say cluttered desk / losing things, although, I don’t lose things, but my workspace is cluttered (I am a messy guy, but I know where my stuff is – somewhere in that pile. And, strange as it might sound, I don’t haphazardly dump things, I alternately rotate layers by 90 degrees so I know where one thing starts and another ends.)

Comments

mattbg

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I'm surprised not to see:

1. The Web
2. Facebook
3. MSN

...etc :) You could also add:

- colleagues can't speak English properly
- multitasking (I guess that's similar to "attempting too much", but not quite the same)

The list is almost useless because the cause of each of them could be the result of so many different things. i.e. #1 could be because of bad management or bad personal time management... or that you just don't think things through properly and formulate a good plan.

#2 is your own fault. You can turn the telephone off just like you can close down e-mail and shut off IM if you need to focus.

#3 is a real problem... especially if you can't see above your manager

#4 is also a real problem... but you can send subtle messages about that

etc...

Saturday 06 March 2010, 09:56

richard

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It is true, the reasons are fairly vague, but, let's face it, pinning down very specific time wasting is probably going to be hard.

In my case, the only ones that really affected me when I was working were #3 (lack of direction) and #10 (meetings - they always increased as deadlines approached - which made it harder to meet deadlines since (1) I never factor them into my scheduling and (2) upper management starts shifting emphasis to try and meet their goals. I often wished they would trust me to meet my deadlines, however, I can understand them being nervous. Most programmers seem to spend an inordinate amount of time at the 95% done mark. I do not. I slowly creep forward - so when others are 80% done, I am 30% done. I can understand this making management nervous. But, then again, I have never missed a deadline and my code is rarely implicated in problems - other people seem to have far more integration problems than I do.

Saturday 06 March 2010, 15:59

mattbg

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Good strategy. I try to do the same -- be realistic rather than optimistic on schedules.

But, my previous employer tended to reward the first out of the gate to open their mouths. The one I'm at now seems to see the difference between reliable and unreliable estimates. The standard of education is also much higher.

Sunday 07 March 2010, 10:52

richard

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I don't think people are trying to be optimistic on schedules - I just don;t think they have a clue how much they are progressing. PEople seem to have this habit of seeing most of the work done, with just a few outliers to tidy up.

Although, I did work with one fellow who never estimated more than 2 weeks for significant tasks. Of course, this was just what management wanted to hear.

Sunday 07 March 2010, 15:55

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