3 Signs Youre Wasting Other Peoples Time at Work - The Muse

3 Signs Youre Wasting Otherbei Peoples Time at Work - The Muse3 Signs Youre Wasting Other Peoples Time at WorkYou pride yourself on being punctual. You always leave a cushion in case theres traffic. And yes, sometimes you arrive so far in advance of meetings- and social get-togethers- that you have to kill some time so as to notlage be awkwardly early.And as someone so very aware of time, you consider other peoples schedules, too. Youd never dream of being the person who texts that shes five minutes away, when shes actually just leaving her apartment, nor would you change meeting times around, forcing a contact to rearrange his whole afternoon. And while those basics are appreciated, its possible to be punctual and still be labeled a time waster. How so? Because even if you keep every 30-minute meeting to a half-hour, people will feel like their time is being wasted if they dont accomplish what theyd planned to. Here are the signs youre (unknowingly) being a time waster- and what you can do about it1. Your Networking Contacts Arent Staying in TouchDo people say, lets stay in touch and then seem to dodge your calls and emails? You know youre not supposed to let your network grow cold- but you also dont want to cross over to sending threatening or ominous emails about getting together. So, why wont this person respond?Heres what could be happening If you spend so much time gabbing that you never have time to discuss anything of professional substance, the nature of your relationship will change. Mentors usually like to know whats going on in their mentees careers and how they can help that fellow conference attendee who works the saatkorn job in the same industry probably wants to talk some shop. So, if you spend the entire time talking about your upcoming vacation plans, your contact may say, lets get coffee again sometime, and never follow up. The FixTo salvage this situation, the next time you get in touch, reach out with a specific, career-oriented idea, ques tion, or article. Pass along something relevant- and succinct- and have a productive exchange over email before you ask to meet up again. Then, for future meetups, try to limit personal updates to the first third of your time together.2. Your Co-workers Are Always Redirecting the ConversationIts awesome that you actually like your co-workers. Its even better that you have a good rapport with them. And its great that they inspire you to brainstorm. However, during meetings, have you found that you often spend so long discussing items one and two that you never get to the rest of the agenda? Or maybe youve noticed that mid-point, when you stop to breathe, someone jumps in, says thats a great idea, and immediately suggests moving on to the next item?As someone who thinks- and talks- at a million miles a minute, I too have had to work on this. I know that youre not trying to steamroll your colleagues Youre just excited. Here are a few things I do when I think I may have fallen into hogg ing the conversation. The FixFor starters, unless youre giving a presentation, your talk time shouldnt outweigh that of any of your colleagues. Just like you want to avoid being the first (or last) person to leave a party, try to avoid talking the most. If you chimed in a lot on one point, back off a bit on the next few. What if youve already spoken (a lot), but now you have a brilliant idea? Often, you can avoid this feeling by reading the agenda in advance of the meeting. If you have strong opinions on the third item, focus on being a good listener for the first two points and save your floor time. If there was no agenda, ask yourself if your idea could wait. If a decision is going to be made, by all means, share your thoughts. But if you could just as easily follow up over email, let your colleagues speak so that everyone can be heard and cover the topics theyd hoped to. (Bonus Many times a colleague will have the same idea or question you had, so itll still come up)3. Your Boss Is Micromanaging YouMaybe your boss is a classic micromanager and wants to see everyones work before it goes anywhere. But if you get the feeling that he seems to be helicopter parenting you more than your co-workers, there might be more to it. Especially if he does things like provide feedback on how you can trim down every email or wants a run through before you present in any meeting.Sure, you could keep bucking the system and continue to send your manager five paragraph essays to cut to three line emails- and 22 slides for her to trim to 15. Or, you could beat her to the punch and do it yourself. The FixOne way to start is to ask yourself what the vital points are. Lets put it another way If you wrote a tweet about this email, what would it say? You can keep that five paragraph email in a Word doc, or that long presentation under a different name, but run through it yourself and cut any lines that are there simply because they sound good, as well as those that only provide unnec essary context. Remember, this is not the only email you ever get to send. If someone wants more information, theyll often ask. In the meantime, you wont be seen as the person who send time-wasting emails (that probably wont be read anyhow), and your boss will stop asking to be CCed on everything. Translation Everybody winsEven if youve developed a reputation as a time waster, you can take steps to change how youre seen. Your contacts, colleagues, and manager will thank you- and more readily ask for your opinion.Photo of garbage and an alarm clock courtesy of Shutterstock.