Why are we here

What to do when others are disrespecting your time

The Culprits of your time

The Last Minute Scheduler
- Waits until same day to set up meetings with you
  - How to handle: Get ahead of their schedule. Never leave the room without discussing the date/time of a follow-up. As the date approaches be prepared to take control of scheduling it yourself.
- Cancels meetings same day with you
- How to handle:
  - The problem is not just the time you may have prepped for a meeting, but also what you were not able to do because of that meeting being scheduled.
  - You can’t fix other people, but you can figure out how to influence them.
  - This could be as simple as a conversation.
  - Be clear with with why this meeting is happening
  - Clear expectations on the agenda and importance of the agenda items.
The Always Five Minutes Behind Person
- Time optimism – they think they can always fit it in
  - Pack their schedule full of meetings
    - Not accounting for simple things like a bathroom break or walking across the building
  - They may not even it as a problem because they feel their being busy is justification for their lateness.
- How to handle:
  - Have a conversation. It’s not just impacting you, it’s impacting that person’s perception
  - An alternative is simply utilize that time. Catch up on emails or some reading. Make it useful.
The Never Prepare For Meetings Dude
- This is the person who sends out meetings without agendas and shows up unprepared.
  - They thought about this meeting when they scheduled it but not another minute after up until the meeting itself.
  - These meetings can take an hour for something that could have been accomplished in 15 minutes with a little preparation.
- How to handle:
  - You can see this one coming in many instances – most likely meeting invite won’t have an agenda.
    - Ask for one! This will help you and them be prepared.
  - You can lead the meeting behind the scenes by coming prepared yourself.
  - When the meeting starts, you should be able to get a sense of how prepared this person
    - Try and work in a question such as “What is the one thing we want to accomplish in this meeting?” This sets the stage for the meeting of what we’re out to do.
  - At the end of the meeting make sure to ask for and document clear next actions.
  - Send out the actions and meeting notes.