compliments of FutureVisions^SM

creating sustainable results in growth and performance

Since 1992 we've asked more than 5,000 people to rank-order their biggest time wasters at work. As a result, we can say with confidence that the biggest black holes in your workday are probably:

1. Meetings

2. Dealing with communication from others

3. Communicating to others

4. Your boss micromanaging or undervaluing you

5. Worktools and processes designed for company success, but not necessarily yours

(Your own list may switch their order. The list for very senior executives is obviously different.)

These five are more than petty annoyances. Consistently, we have found that the top three time-wasters - all activities relating to communication - cost people at least two wasted hours per day! Non-replaceable hours, gone. And problems with your boss can't be solved with time management techniques.

This issue is all about your relationship with your boss, and how you deal with it. (Timebandit Five, the horrendous state of complexity built into your worktools and work environment, is another matter altogether. It's a system problem that, to improve, truly requires commitment and constant effort from the top-down.)

Even more important than the list is what interviewees said would fix most of these problems. In hindsight, their two biggest responses were:

"I should have pushed back harder, or said `no' more often."

"I should have questioned more. Or had better conversations with my boss."

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