Reading this story got me thinking about the employee who relies on other people's time management skills. While everyone else on the team takes personal responsibility for jotting down the time, this co-worker prefers to drop the responsibility of reminding him (or her) into somebody else's lap.
Would you drop me a text the morning of to remind me? Thanks.
It's one thing if the calendar-averse co-worker is your boss. In this case, it's an annoyance, but one you might be willing to put up with on the job.
(Hint: If you're spending more time running your boss's errands than doing your own work, it may be time for your boss to consider hiring a personal assistant.)
IS IT GOOD KARMA, OR SOMETHING MORE?
No matter how hard we try, we all forget details on occasion. We were distracted and didn't write it down. Hey, was the status update meeting moved to 1 or 2 p.m. today? You scratch my scheduler, and I'll scratch yours. Help a teammate out by providing the updated time coordinates, and good karma will come back to you when it's your turn to ask. (At least, I sure hope so.)
Maybe you've entered into a mutually-beneficial time alert arrangement with a valued work peer. He reminds you about a scheduling change, and in return you remind him that there will be cake in the break room today at 4 p.m. The constant reminders keep both of you on track, and benefit both sides equally. Plus, there's free cake at the end of the message. It's a win-win!
But a work peer who relies regularly on teammates to act as a human Google Calendar in the age of scheduling apps?
Hmm. Perhaps you've been singled out to time manage your work peer's day here and there, but you don't seem to be getting any time management benefits in return. You're not sure what to do when this work peer asks:
Hey, could you remind me to pick up the cake for my mom's birthday party when I leave today? Thanks.
Over time, these requests can begin to grate, not mention impact your own productivity since you're now time managing for two. How did you end up with the responsibility of time managing this work peer? Do you really want your co-worker's mother feeling sad that nobody remembered her birthday cake this year? What's going on here?
SOME TIPS FOR HOW TO DEAL WITH IT
It could be laziness, a disregard for the importance of writing things down, or a personal time management issue. Maybe your co-worker thinks you are fantastic at time management, and wants a piece of it. At worst, your co-worker's habit could be a way of claiming workplace superiority. It depends on the situation,** and the people involved. The question is, what can you do about it?
Being put in the awkward position of constantly reminding a work peer can feel like a heavy responsibility, particularly if the success of a project (or Mom's party...) depends on your willingness to act as a reminder. It's time to have a private talk with this work peer. You might say how it is distracting you from your own work, and how you'd feel terrible if something highly important on his or her "to do" list fell through the cracks. Then gently ask this co-worker to please stop asking for so many reminders.
Aim for polite, kind, but firm. Boundaries are your friend.
With any luck, this work peer will stop relying on your time management skills so much.
If the opportunity presents itself, you might recommend your favorite, highly-intuitive scheduling app. In some cases, this employee might not have learned how to use modern time management apps, and would prefer to kick it old school by using an old-fashioned desk calendar or leather-bound scheduler. That's fine; there's something quite nice, and oddly comforting, in putting pen to paper instead of pecking it out on a tiny keyboard and saving it. Whatever works.
In a pinch, you might buy this employee a scheduler you found on the clearance rack come Secret Santa time, or place a stack of Post-It Notes front and center.
Is it okay to go to management, or HR, with this very human time management problem? It's always best to work it out with the employee one-on-one privately if at all possible. If you've spoken with this co-worker about it and nothing changes, then it may be time to reconsider. You'll have to ponder how it would play out in your workplace, however, since every workplace is different. It may not be worth it. Can you move your desk to the other side of the room?
Ultimately, it's not your job to keep reminding a work peer of the things he or she should be writing down for future reference. It's a bad habit on your co-worker's part, and bad habits are meant to be broken. Please make a note of it.
**In the very worst case scenario, this co-worker may be exhibiting some memory problems, which is an entirely different post. For purposes of this post, however, we'll stick to work peers who simply can't be bothered to write anything down.
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
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