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Time Wasters: Become an Ignoramus

The best defense is a good offense.
—DAN GABLE, Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and the most successful coach in history;
personal record: 299–6–3, with 182 pins

Time wasters are the easiest to eliminate and deflect. It is a matter of limiting access and funneling all communication toward immediate action.

First, limit e-mail consumption and production. This is the greatest single interruption in the modern world.

1. Turn off the audible alert if you have one on Outlook or a similar program and turn off automatic send/receive, which delivers e-mail to your inbox as soon as someone sends them.
2. Check e-mail twice per day, once at 12:00 noon or just prior to lunch, and again at 4:00 P.M.
12:00 P.M. and 4:00 P.M. are times that ensure you will have the most responses from previously sent e-mail. Never check e-mail first thing in the morning.12 Instead, complete your most important task before 11:00 A.M. to avoid using lunch or reading e-mail as a postponement excuse.

[Chart Text]
20–30 times/day
3 times/day
4 times/day

8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00 Lunch break/personal
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00

Before scheduled e-mail/phone
After scheduled e-mail/phone

LIGHT GRAY INDICATES TIME AVAILABLE FOR HIGH-PRIORITY TASKS . Courtesy of SANDIA

Before implementing the twice-daily routine, you must create an e-mail autoresponse that will train your boss, co-workers, suppliers, and clients to be more effective. I would recommend that you do not ask to implement this. Remember one of our ten commandments: Beg for forgiveness; don't ask for permission.

If this gives you heart palpitations, speak with your immediate supervisor and propose to trial the approach for one to three days. Cite pending projects and frustration with constant interruptions as the reasons. Feel free to blame it on spam or someone outside of the office.

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