At a time when many are struggling to get more done in less time, I thought it would be useful to share a chapter of my book, Stuck on Yellow. The chapter is called, The Endless Pit of Needs.
If you ever feel like you don?t have enough time at work to get the important stuff done, then you?ve probably fallen into the Endless Pit of Needs. This is a real place where customers or coworkers take up too much of your time and you get little in return for your investment.
Often these scenarios emerge out of kindness, which usually is a wonderful quality. However, there are people who are like vampires in that they love to suck away at your productive time until you run dry.
It?s not easy to say, ?No!? but it is often necessary. Time is a limited resource. How much can you afford to give away? I doubt that unlimited kindness was mentioned on your job description.
Let?s examine two familiar scenarios and how you can overcome them:
The Free Sample
Imagine that you own an ice cream parlor that gives out free samples. Occasionally people will come and ask for 10 or more free samples. In this case, the loss of product may not be significant but the loss of time should be a consideration.
Do the freeloaders slow down the line? Does their presence prevent the clerk from accomplishing other things? Or do paying customers not get into a line that was slowed by an onslaught of free samples of chocolate chip, coffee mocha, and raspberry fudge?
In this scenario, you need to respect the definition of ?free.? Free should not only refer to the price of the good or service but should also apply to the employee?s time. If business is slow at the ice cream parlor, then give out as many samples as you like. When things are busy, there?s nothing wrong with cutting off a flavor addict after two or three samples.
Are you worried about losing a potential customer? Usually, people who are unsure about spending money with you aren?t going to move your sales figures that much. Cut your losses and focus on the people who have cash and are willing to spend it.
Free Training
This situation is very familiar for people who work in an office. You have a colleague who prefers not to learn a process or a procedure. Let?s say it?s filling out his weekly expense form. So every week, he dumps a crumbled collection of receipts on your desk, looks pitiful, and asks you to make sense of them.
Why are you doing this if it?s not your job? Because you?re nice, like to help out, and your coworker says he doesn?t know how to enter the information into the computer. This person is not a supervisor. You both do much the same job.
Helping out is good but helping out with the same problem is not. Don?t let someone treat you like an all you can eat buffet of free help. There are those who will prey on your niceness which results in a boost in their productivity while your output falls.
To change the dynamics of this unfair deal, you need to agree to do the work one more time if he will sit with you and learn how to do it. This has to be a legitimate effort on his part.
If the problem continues, consider bringing it to the attention of your supervisor, ask the other party to do some of your work, or run toward the bathroom whenever he approaches your desk, holding a bunch of receipts.
Don?t expect others to value your productive time. They likely have no idea about your workload.
If you enjoyed this chapter, then you’ll be excited to learn that there are 25 other productivity boosting chapters in Stuck on Yellow. Why not pick up a copy today at Amazon.com. Click the banner below for more:
