Calling the Customer Service line of a company can be a very frustrating experience. You often have to navigate a maze of options and automated choices before reaching a real human. Companies regard automated systems as a way of saving valuable resources; however, they probably also realize their customers view it as a waste of their own time.
Luckily, you're the boss of your own time in your own office. Take a look around. Can you spot instances where you may be wasting time? Here are a few examples:
Do you wait for returned phone calls or E-mails?
What about signatures to continue a project?
If you've got a slow computer or one you have to constantly re-boot, then you're losing time as you wait on your technology.
Over-using the "Search" tool to locate e-mails or documents on your hard drive could represent areas of waste.
Find yourself standing in line to use the fax or printer?
Waiting for products or supplies to finish a project slows everyone down.
To help others in avoiding wasting time waiting on you, turn your E-mail auto responder on and record a special voicemail message any time you're going to be away from your office for a half day or more. It helps set others' expectations for a return call/E-mail at the proper level.
And when it comes to gathering signatures for projects, do a quick review of the layer of signatures required. Do things consistently get lost on a particular person's desk? Any chance he/she could be removed from this particular process?
And about that sluggish computer. Review what's currently loaded on your machine. Chances are you have programs that you have no intention of ever using. Removing them will help your machine run faster.
The Waste of Waiting is all around us. Unfortunately, we grow accustomed to it and even though we have frustrations with it, sometimes we become blind to how it lowers our productivity and prevents us from doing our jobs most effectively.