Do you have someone you consider a pest in your office? The time stealer who wants to tell you about the party he or she just went the day before, the trip he is planning this weekend and even the cat next door which gave birth to three kittens? The result is a lost of time, concentration and to your horror, you have to work OVERTIME because you can’t finish your work on time. Here’s how to cancel them out.
The Beginning of all Troubles: The longer you allow the office pest (OP) to steal your time during office hours or extending that lunch break of yours, the more attached he or she grows to you and in time to come, it would be quite difficult to break his heart when you suddenly think enough is enough and you ignore him. It is likely to create an awkward situation between both of you and worse come to worse, a friend becomes your enemy! Politely keep your distance from OP when you can confirm that they are one. Cruelly speaking, one of the worse thing to do is to do lunch daily with an OP, that’s an unofficial allowance for them to enter your office “social life”. Don’t do it. Ouch…the cruel of reality.
The LifeHack Solution: Here’s a LifeHack on how to escape from the OP’s clutch. The scene, the LifeHacker (LH) is rushing a deadline (LH don’t call them datelines, it’s a deadline because if they don’t meet it, they are as good as “dead”) when the male OP comes along to tell him about the crazy party yesterday night.
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LifeHack #1
Solution to the “Can I have 5 minutes” Office Pest
OP: Manz, you should have gone to the party yesterday Broz, the music was great and the chicks were way hot! You know, I met a chick call Mary and she was telling me all about the little lambs that she rears in her farm and she invited me to visit her this weekend to her farm. I hope the farm doesn’t stink! I heard there’s all kinds of nasty stuff there. Have you been to one?
LH: Not really Broz, but I think you will have quite an experience over there. Broz, I got a deadline to rush today which is due by 5pm.
OP: Manz, but I’m so excited about the trip! Don’t worry, you still have a couple of hours, give me 5, ok? I’ll leave you to your work after that .
(LifeHacker senses a potential time waster scenario building up: LH recognizes the dirty OP tactic, the 5 minutes request used by the telemarketers and survey form warriors in the streets, changes his facial expression immediately to stern mode.)
LH: No problem, find me AFTER (emphasised tone) the deadline later, ok? Truly appreciate your understanding. Thanks.
OP: hmm…it’s ok Broz, I’ll go ask Peter what he thinks. Bye!
Problem LIFEHACKED
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Why this LifeHack works?
- The LH recognized the threat of time wasting early from the OP when he sensed the danger through the OP’s topic which he knew it will go nowhere, thus he sets up a barrier immediately about the deadline (If you don’t have a deadline, find one, there is always a deadline in the KIV file as a rule of thumb for the LH)
- One of the most common tricks of the OP or time waster is the “Can I have five minutes?”, the LH knows that he shouldn’t say a direct “NO” in this case because it is a negative reply, negativity sticks to the mind like nothing. The OP’s instinct is to remember the number of “NO” that you say to him, he doesn’t like NO for an answer. The LH uses a stern voice to give a positive reply followed by a immediate thank you to let the OP knows that he’s serious about it. 8 out of 10 times, the OP goes off to seek an easier victim to suck time out of.
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SUMMARY OF LIFEHACK #1
- Recognize the threat of potential time wasting topics
- Listen out for the “keywords” which demands your answers luring you into the snare
- Stand your ground but be polite, give another alternative instead of a straight “No” .
