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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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…..

We’re managed on the “Dilbert Model” here.

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.

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.

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.