How To Tame Your Time “Tar Pits”

Time tar pits…what’s that? I was working with a client a few days ago and I was introducing the concept of a “time trap.” It dawned on me that a tar pit was the best way to describe what these things can do your productivity. There you are minding your own business, taking a leisurely stroll down the open savanna of your office and it happens.  You could be browsing through email, perhaps you politely asked someone how their weekend was, or you innocently checked a text; all of a sudden you realize… you’re stuck in the middle of something, not only stuck but you might even be trapped.

Time tar pits are the things that you do in any given day that distract and divert your attention away from being productive.  It could be reading a simple email that gets you involved in a 45 minute rabbit chase of folders files and contact information. It could be checking your phone messages on your phone and the next thing you know when you finish calling everyone back, you don’t have time to prep for your client meeting.  All of these are forms of time traps. Like “tar pits,” once you get stuck in one of them you’re pretty much a “goner” and it won’t be long before the sticky ooze swallows you whole.

Fortunately for us, our time traps aren’t physically fatal but they can severely hamper your productivity and in severe cases they can be hazardous to your career. Let’s look at a few ways to identify these tar pits and then we’ll explore ways of extracting yourself from them, should you find yourself stuck.

Identifying what a tar pit looks like

Real tar pits can be tricky to spot. They are often covered in leaves and twigs and can look like the surrounding environment – much like a time tar pit. Take a few minutes and identify all of the things you do in a typical day that might be considered a time trap.  Be honest with yourself. It’s ok, your boss isn’t asking you to write this list, I am.

Here are a few of my favorite examples:

• Responding to emails
• Staff or coworkers who interrupt you
• Checking facebook, Linked-In, or other social media
• Habitually checking and responding to texts
• Chatting with coworkers when you probably have something better to do

I know I have been guilty of doing at least one these on a daily basis. The real question is how distracted do you get when you do this stuff.  I fell into a Linked-In tar pit one day and 50 minutes evaporated and I was almost late for a client phone call.

This week see if you can identify your own time tar pits.  Next week I’ll give you some simple ways to address the ones I listed above.  If you have a time tar pit that is not on this list, let us know about it by putting a comment on our facebook page. Then we’ll give you a few ways that might help you get “unstuck.”

Stay safe out there and watch where you step!