Office Time-Sucks: How to Overcome Productivity Pitfalls

0

ORLANDO, FL (Ivanhoe Newswire) — When it comes to work, we’ve all heard that time is money and productivity is a coveted commodity. But so many people find themselves grappling with countless distractions that can suck precious hours out of their workday. What are the biggest distractions and how can you avoid them? Time-Sucks

Time-sucks are an endless cycle of meetings, emails, and interruptions at work. According to a recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management, employees waste an average of two hours and 53 minutes each day at work. That adds up to over 500 hours a year! Productivity

The number one time suck? Unnecessary meetings. A study out of Berkley found that the average employee attends 55 meetings per month and 31 percent of them are unproductive. Employees spend an average of 28 hours per week dealing with emails. That’s three full workdays. And how many times a day are you interrupted?

A study out of the University of Michigan found the average employee is interrupted every 11 minutes.

So, what can you do about it? Experts say plan each day and stick to it. It will help you stay focused. Set priorities on tasks and do the most important ones first. Delegate whenever possible and use technology wisely. For example, an email filter will help sort your mail and avoid distractions. Apps like Todoist and Tick Tick can help you prioritize your lists and keep moving forward. Also, add a distraction blocker app like freedom. It will allow you to block things like twitter from certain devices or for certain time periods.

With a few ways to keep you focused at work.

We get sucked into social media too, spending an hour and 43 minutes per day checking out the latest posts. Studies show during COVID, more meetings were held on zoom than were held before COVID in the office. And now the new normal is more meetings, even if they are virtual. Business Insider estimates a third of those meetings are unproductive and cost 37 billion dollars each year in wasted time and resources.

Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.

Sources:

https://www.runn.io/blog/unproductive-meetings-statistics

To receive a free weekly email on Smart Living from Ivanhoe, sign up at:  http://www.ivanhoe.com/ftk