Roger is well known in the office for saying that he never has enough time to get his important work done. He’s an organized middle manager, who has enjoyed a successful career.
Roger also knows that he’s at a crossroads. If he can continue to grow his division, he’ll enjoy new and profitable opportunities. If he can’t make things bigger and better, then his career will stall.
Right now, Roger feels like he’s on the fast-track to a demotion. He shared his concerns with his business mastermind. Roger begged them for ways to get more hours into his schedule.
The group ordered him to keep a log of everything he does for a week. Roger followed the instructions and when he revealed the results, the group immediately could see how Roger’s productivity was taking a hit.
The problem is that Roger does a lot of fun stuff while at work. This is not goofing around. Rather, he finds himself spending a lot of time on tasks that he enjoys but are not essential to his job.
“But I like filling the water cooler when the jug is empty,” he argues. “I get to help everyone out and show that I’m just one of the guys.”
His mastermind countered by asking if he was the only person who could do that job. It turned out that many other people could handle it.
“Then your days of filling the water jug are over,” the group ordered him. “Is anyone going to promote you based on how much water you can carry?”
Roger also served on a lot of staff committees. Some handled things like birthdays and holiday parties.
“I do the committees because it’s a good way to network throughout the organization,” Roger says.
“That may be true but after a certain point, you’ve met everyone,” the group counters. “Is it more important for you to be a party planner or a successful manager?”
This review continued and before long, a good amount of productive time had been found in Roger’s day. By eliminating the fun tasks, Roger was able to get more done on the job. Suddenly, his blue chip projects were achievable.
It was like cleaning out old clothes from a closet. It’s getting rid of accumulated items that reveals the new shirt that you forgot you owned.
Another benefit to the productivity adjustment was that Roger found that he didn’t have to skip lunch or work late as much as he had in the past. He felt refreshed and more in control of his career.
There’s nothing wrong with having fun at work but don’t let fun tasks dominate your day. While these things may make you feel good, needed, or competent, they don’t represent the needs of your job description.
