Email

People can spend up to a quarter of their day dealing with email. 

It’ll come as no surprise that reading and responding to emails can be a huge drain on your time.  Not only the sheer volume of emails but the way in which it’s used within organisations.

• Switch off your email alerts and disconnect from email when you’re not using it.
• Set aside specific blocks of time to read and respond to emails during the day.
• Use filters and folders to organise and manage your Inbox.

Emails rarely need an instant response.  If something is urgent - pick up the phone.  Set yourself a realistic timeframe in which to respond to emails and set realistic expectations with your clients and customers so they’re not expecting a response within minutes or at 9pm at night.

Meetings

25% of people feel they waste time in unproductive meetings. 

Ineffective meetings lead to general dissatisfaction and are listed as one of the top three time wasters.

Ensure you have the right people in the meeting to share their knowledge, provide information or make decisions.  More time is wasted if you can’t  make decisions or reach agreement because the right people aren’t included or able to attend.

• Have an agenda with a fixed end time - avoid open-ended meetings.
• A time-keeper will help meetings to start and end on time.
• It's the host’s responsibility to get the meeting back on track if discussions go off topic or one person is dominating the meeting.

Consider whether a meeting is the best use of everyone’s time.  Could the information be better communicated by an email or phone call? The purpose and outcome of the meeting should balance the input of time and effort by all those involved.

Save travel time and make use of technology to hold meetings via webinars, group conference calls, Skype or Google Hangouts.

Social Media & the Internet

30% of employees will spend time checking up on social media during the working day or using the internet.  Whether they’re surfing to research their next holiday, online shopping or playing games they’re not doing the work for which they’re being paid.

Non-business usage increases during major sporting events as people check in on their teams or watch specific games online.

Many companies restrict access to social media sites or blacklist certain websites from work computers.  It’s more difficult to restrict usage of social media using smartphones in the workplace.  Only 25% of businesses have a social media policy in place.​

Use one a Time tracking app for a short period of time to see where and how you spend your time and where you're wasting it.

Manage your day so you reduce the amount of time you waste.

If you want to understand other ways you're wasting your time and how you can reduce it, get in touch for a free chat.