Let’s put an end to the mindset that people who stay at the office and work longer hours are extremely hardworking and productive people. People who say they’ve spent long hours working at the office no longer impress me. My first question to them is…WHY? My second is…do you need help with time management?
At the risk of sounding like an arrogant machine OR a lazy slacker, please allow me to explain why long work hours no longer impress me.
In this age of productivity apps and ergonomic workspaces, employees should be given all the tools they need to manage their time properly. We now have word processors and computing machines so that we no longer have to use typewriters. We have smart phones and CRMs so that we no longer have to sift through files and Rolodexes. We have video conferencing, instant messaging, and online collaboration tools so that we no longer have to physically attend meetings or travel to get team documents done. All these things have been invented to save time and help us work more efficiently. Instead, we have swapped out these time savers for proverbial time wasters.
An infographic from SocialCast [1] lists the reasons people waste time at work. Nobody would be surprised to find that all these activities are online activities that are unrelated to work.
- Social Networks
- Online Games
- Web Portals
- Instant Messaging
- Videos & Movies
- Search
- Online Shopping
- Adult Sites
- Fantasy Football
The internet is supposed to help us get our work done – but access to it also exposes us to huge time wasters that cut through our productivity and generally leave us scrambling to finish the work we should be doing in the first place.
I know, I know…all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl. I’m not saying that each and every minute at work must be used for work with military precision and inhuman like self-control. I’m just saying that we could all do with some help in avoiding workplace distractions.
Wouldn’t it be nice to know that you’ve already finished your work week by Thursday? It would be a huge morale boost to know (in a secret place in your mind) that you have a “bonus” time to get ahead of the next workweek instead of spending the whole week trying to put out fires you created in the first place.
So stay focused on priorities and block out distractions. There are apps that can help you tune out social media for a while. There are apps that can help you focus on work. There are tools that can block out websites and (if you really need to hunker down and get to writing those reports) there are apps that can block out the whole internet entirely.
Here’s the funny thing – you can use the internet on pointless online activities, but then again, you can also use the internet to help you get back on the productivity. It’s up to you – choose wisely. Whatever you choose, I hope you always choose to stay humble and hustle hard!
Reference:
http://www.youtern.com/thesavvyintern/index.php/2017/03/15/wasted-productivity-workday-infographic/
Written by Jaie O. The Help