Being an organized worker is essential in today’s market
As I’m writing this, I’m waiting for a video conference call to start. It was scheduled to begin at 9:15 a.m., but it’s 10:30 a.m. and the call hasn’t happened.
I have received four e-mail messages, however, saying that the people on the call are running late and they expect the call to begin in 10 minutes. I’ve been given no further explanation, and no efforts have been made to reschedule the call.
This is a play-by-play of the thoughts going through my mind:
- Since I’m receiving e-mails, there must not be an emergency. Everyone is probably safe and okay.
- I bet the other people on the call believe that their time is more important than my time.
- It could also mean that the people on the call are completely disorganized and could really use my help, so I should be more compassionate.
- Wow, it’s now 10:45 and I’m still waiting. This call is an hour and a half late. I find this to be incredibly rude.
- If I don’t leave my office in the next two minutes I’m going to be late for my 11:00 appointment.
- I’m leaving.
***
It’s now 1:15, I’ve gone to my appointment, returned to my desk, and the call still hasn’t happened. There is, however, an e-mail in my inbox asking if the call can be rescheduled for 5:00 p.m. Anyone want to take bets on what time tonight the call begins? (Added later: It started at 5:18 p.m.)
***
Situations like this are unfortunately common practice in the business world. Disorganization flourishes in many corporate cultures. One person misses a deadline and that missed deadline is like a stone thrown into a pond where the ripples eventually reach everyone and everything in the water.
If you look back over my thoughts from when I was waiting, you’ll see that my frustration clearly builds. I went from worrying about the people’s safety to finding the delay to be extremely rude. The people involved obviously aren’t rude, they just have poor time management skills, but their lack of time management skills speaks to their work. At the very least, it says, “Be on guard when working with this company!”
In today’s economy, employees can’t afford to be disorganized. It’s no longer a matter of personality, it’s a matter of keeping one’s job and retaining or obtaining clients. If an employer is trying to decide whom to layoff and whom to keep, the most organized, profitable, and productive workers usually get to keep their jobs. Workers who consistently miss deadlines, run projects over budget, and upset clients and vendors with their inconsiderate behavior are the people who are let go. Additionally, current and potential clients won’t do business with your company if they don’t receive the product they expect on time and on budget.
If you’re worried about the level of disorganization in your work, here are a few items that may help you:
- Clear the paper clutter from your office
- Start using project management and goal systems to help organize your work load
- Invest in a watch with a timer on it to keep you on schedule
- Learn how to run efficient meetings
- Work on managing expectations for deadlines and deliverables through ongoing communication with the client and/or your manager
What additional suggestions would you add to this list? What are your favorite ways to stay organized at work?
Posted by Erin on Oct 24, 2008 |
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21 comments posted
Posted by Susan - 10/24/2008
I think a lot of folks consider a video-conference to be of low importance. A face to face meeting always spells important.
Posted by penguinlady - 10/24/2008
At my first job, I had a VP who said, “If you can’t get to a meeting within 5 minutes of the start, don’t bother coming.” And everyone always tried to make it on time. (Of course, this man also drove grown men to tears, so… maybe it’s a bit harsh!) It is rude to be extremely late, business or personal. It’s rude to the people who managed to be on time and ended up waiting.
Posted by Nixta - 10/24/2008
10:30 for a 9:15 conference call isn’t rude, it’s plain unprofessional. By 9:25 I would have been doing other things already. By 9:45 I would have given my itinerary a quick look and told them to reschedule appropriately and uncommitted myself from the 9:15 call.
Furthermore, if I were in a situation when I was billing by the hour, I’d be billing between 9:15 and whatever time the decision was made to reschedule the meeting. I’m sure that would help them get focussed pretty quickly.
Posted by Tabitha (From Single to Married) - 10/24/2008
I wish I could show this to our executive management team! I can’t tell you how many meetings I’ve gone to where we’ve sat and waited for them or where the meeting has been postponed indefinitely. It’s beyond frustrating and I agree – it makes the company look unprofessional and disorganized.
Posted by Misty (MyInspirationLounge.com - 10/24/2008
This happens all too often in the workplace. I don’t miss it one bit
Too mitigate wasting peoples time – we started to implement strict rules. Start the meeting on time and not wait for others. If the main people are going to be over 10 minutes late – reschedule!
The other rule – no laptops or reading blackberries in the meeting. Why be there if you are not going to listen!
Happy Friday!
Misty with My Inspiration Lounge
http://www.myinspirationlounge.com
Posted by One Minute Blogger - 10/24/2008
I totally agree! Wasting other people’s time is the ultimate disrespect in my book. Thanks for your tips!
One Minute Blogger @
http://www.JustPlainJoy.blogspot.com
Posted by FrugalNYC - 10/24/2008
I’ve found that doing one thing to organize your current habits can become the first step to organizing your life and work. I wrote about how I implemented Inbox Zero here http://frugalnyc.blogspot.com/.....steps.html
I can relate to this post about meetings being delayed for one reason or another. Unfortunately, its become so widespread a problem that many people have accepted it as the norm.
Posted by Kim - 10/24/2008
Erin,
I completely agree with you on this but I have another question:
You write about this on a blog where that company and the people who were so rude about the call can read it. How do people handle writing about their professional lives on blogs? What are the potential consequences and how much do you think about this?
For instance, if this were my post, and I were writing about a real event, I might be worried that the people I called rude might read the entry and how it might affect our working relationship. Of course, if you have already written off working with them over their unprofessional behavior, perhaps that is a different issue.
I guess I feel a little concerned because I am looking for work and at the same time starting my first blog. I wonder how a writer decides how to share personal/professional details on a blog and how often it comes back to bite the writer.
Posted by Stuart - 10/24/2008
Volunteer to be the Secretary of the meeting.
Define next actions as the meeting is taking place. Follow up on the next actions. Pretty soon you are acting as the Manager and go-to guy. After awhile people respect your knack for making the system work. All this must be done with tact of course.
Posted by jellybeans - 10/24/2008
I am one of those annoying people who is always running late (yes, I’m a disorganized clutterer). I’ve missed so many trains trying to get to work! So I set all of my clocks and watches ahead by 10 minutes. This has helped me a lot and now I don’t miss nearly as many trains as I used to.
Posted by becoming minimalist - 10/24/2008
making a to-do list to stay organized and on task. i find that i work best with little distraction. keeping a list in front of me keeps me focused on the essential tasks – like making it to my 11am appointment on time.
Posted by John of Indiana - 10/24/2008
Therapy.
our clients LOVE me, because I realize they’re why we exist, it’s the mundane make-work time-fillers and petty office back-stabbing and politics that paralyze me to the point of ineffectiveness.
We’re managed on the “Dilbert Model” here.
Posted by resonanteye - 10/24/2008
Another reason I like meetings that happen late in the day. At least if someone has run late, it doesn’t make more people late for more appointments afterward.
Posted by Fit Bottomed Girls - 10/24/2008
I find that Outlook reminders are fantastic for staying on time and on task!
Posted by More organized than my co-workers - 10/24/2008
This posting came at such a wonderful time for me. I just began a new job where it seems everyone throws things together at the last minute, is completely unorganized, and fly by the seat of their pants (it’s in a college setting, so I understand when professionals work with students, you need to be less uptight and more flexible, but this is an extreme case!).
Being organized also allows me to be a more efficient worker. My co-workers seem to enjoy playing the martyr and “bragging” about how many hours they put in during the week (we are salaried, so there is no extra pay for overtime). I don’t think this is a good thing to brag about! This means one of three things to me:
1. You’re being taken advantage of by your boss
2. You are unable to manage your time well enough to complete your responsibilities in a reasonable time
3. You are not working hard enough during the day so you must stay late into the evening to finish your work.
I pride myself on being organized, having a to-do list so when I come to my office in the morning (8:00 each morning), I am able to get one or two important things done before even checking my e-mail or voicemail, which will lead me down several other tracks for the next few hours. Because my office and computer are organized, I know what needs to be done and can stay focused and at work for 8 full hours. Therefore, by 5:00 I am both fried and generally at the end of my to-do list. Guess what? The job CAN be done in 40 hours. You just need to be organized and efficient. I get to go home and have dinner with my husband, and get paid the same as those who chit-chat the day away and end up staying late at work into the evening. The only downside? I cannot “brag” about putting 55+ hours in per week. Guess I’ll have to brag about spending time with my family instead…..
Posted by Erin Doland - 10/25/2008
@Kim — A few things …
First, unless your job is a professional blogger, I don’t recommend complaining about your co-workers/clients/vendors in a public forum (blogs, twitters, bulletin boards). Your job is whatever it is you’re doing when you’re not blogging. If you want to keep that job, don’t utter anything about your professional life. When people come into contact with you, they don’t expect any of your dealings to be considered as blog fodder, and you should respect that.
Second, I don’t recommend humiliating someone in a blog post. You’ll notice I don’t say this company is rude, I said that I perceived them to be rude in the heat of frustration. The reality is that they just have poor time management skills, and I explicitly said that in the post. The company knows this. They are not surprised by the content of this post. Additionally, I never name the company, nor do I even hint at who they are. The company loses nothing by me discussing the events of the delayed conference call, and I certainly do not humiliate them.
Finally, good luck with your new blog!! Writing, especially about something you love, is a wonderful experience
Posted by Another Deb - 10/25/2008
@ More organized than my co-workers, I understand that you can be more efficient in any job and I wish I could be that organized.
I was typing a description of my teaching day to ask you for help organizing the workload which expands to fill 14-16 hours daily including weekends, but then I realized, you had already covered this in #1. I am merely being taken advantage of by my whole profession
. Got it.
Posted by Belva - 10/25/2008
My godfather was a division head and VP of a Fortune 25 company back in the 50s and 60s. He passed along a bit of time management advice to my dad (one of his department heads), and dad passed it along to me when I got my first “real” job. The advice was simliar to that which was posted above: If you can’t get your work done in a solid 40-hour work week, you have too much to do, or a time management problem. And it’s probably the latter.” Back in my thirties, I succumbed to the 50-60 hour work week thing, and I was no more productive than I am today, and I work a 40 hour week. But it does take focus and efficiency.
Posted by KSA - 10/27/2008
I hate, hate, hate meetings. I always push to have both start and end times on an agenda, because at least then people are aware that we’re not being efficient.
I also detest any meeting that includes people who don’t need to hear what’s being said. People get so caught up in the idea of having a big old meeting to flesh things out, when in actuality they could hold much smaller, much shorter private sessions that would allow everyone to get on with his or her own work.
Also, unless I’m actually sitting down doing something messy, I keep my desk spotless. It keeps the office looking professional and also implies that I have my job under control.
Posted by Elaine - 10/25/2009
Just the simple notion of a plan, a routine, a way to explain to someone else how something is done…amazing how many people at work don’t consider this important. I try to do the same types of work at the same time every day. Fortunately, my position allows this. I know some people’s jobs don’t. But whenever possible, it really helps. If you always send the same report to the same person at the same time every day, that person comes to expect it, either consciously or otherwise. They can make their own plans around that report — The report comes in at 11:00 a.m., and from that I will assemble my own report and send it to my department head by 12:30. She will in turn compile her own spreadsheet and have it ready for tomorrow’s meeting, etc, etc.
Putting papers in a place where others expect to find them is also important but often overlooked. At our satellite office, we keep interoffice mail in a basket near the door, so that visitors from the home office can take it back with them as a courtesy. If the mail isn’t there, it doesn’t get carried back. Simple, but you’d be amazed at how many people just keep interoffice mail on their desks and never bother to chuck it into the basket. Then they wonder why Payroll never got their revised W-4 form — duh.
People don’t talk to each other. They don’t ask, “How do you do this? How does everyone else do it?” Nice to be creative and independent, but lack of coordination can spell disaster.
Posted by chacha1 - 10/26/2009
I’ve worked for 20 years as a legal assistant with a specialty (patents) that demands considerable organizational skills. We are rarely held late due to crucial filings or long-running meetings. If we’re here late, it’s because we’re wasting time during the day. Harsh but true.
For years I’ve handled more work in less time than the majority of my co-workers because I want to be out of the office on time, and I’ll blow through my breaks if necessary to get the work done. I get it, I do it, and I clear it out. There is no advantage to me in having unfinished work on my desk.
I want my attorneys to get what they need in plenty of time to have it back to me so I can be out on time. And I want them to be able to glance at my desk and see immediately if there is something in process. Most of the time, my desk is clean. That’s my signal I’m ready for more work. I have never had an attorney complain about this.
It’s a mistake to think that having a messy desk is a signal that you’re working hard, especially when you are in a support position (um, this is everybody, except the CEO). Support staff need to be ready for anything and that means keeping the decks cleared for action.
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