 7 types of people that waste your time One last-minute requester. Oh my god. I have a board meeting tomorrow And I have no idea what they're going to ask Prepare all the slides. This person thinks saying make it so is leadership They don't seem to realize that people want a life outside work or that something like a board meeting is a totally predictable event That you can plan for in advance This person's lack of preparation can become contagious burning out the people around them 2. Latecomer. Like the rabbit and Alice in Wonderland This person is always behind the clock Huffing and puffing to get from one meeting to the next. They missed the important context or worse Ask the meeting to stop so they can catch up They don't realize that being 15 minutes late to an 8-person meeting has wasted two hours of collective time 3. Non-responsive reviewer. This person wants every single action to get their stamp of approval first But they're also very busy, so your review will have to wait They don't understand that the time it's taking to review something often darts the time it takes to get the thing done The worst is when the reviewer waits until the very last minute to approve the action and tells you to make major changes 4. The busy bee. They buzz around the world because the world is always on fire Everything is happening, and they can't possibly tackle anything right now This person is frustrating because they never have time to do anything for you But they're likely focusing on the wrong things always being busy usually means you can't prioritize or you're not being effective 5. The interrupter. This person needs something done now They don't care what you're in the middle of doing because their task is the most important thing Frequently you wind up doing it just to get them to go away, and then their hovering behavior becomes reinforced as the way to get things done 6. One-minute requester. Maybe the most insidious of all the time vampires is Mr. Have you got a minute? He lurks in the hole outside your office near the elevator near the cafeteria in the bus next to the parking lot Wherever it's possible to catch you off-guard if you give into him a few times He becomes emboldened and starts dropping in your office several times a day saying have you got a minute? Or I just need a couple of minutes of your time, or I just have one quick question This time vampires can also drain your time at a distance Anytime this vampire has a thought or question. He sends an email or text you first of all It just seems easier to deal with this one quick question than to put him off and have it hanging over you for later Second it feels rude and unreasonable to refuse him, but the truth is it deserves no courtesy whatsoever 7. Meeting makers. The next most dangerous time vampire is Mr. Meeting. Some people seem to do nothing but attend meetings That's because being in meetings is a way to feel important It's also a great way to hide from making and taking responsibility for decisions Before you set up a meeting or accept your next meeting invitation stop and ask yourself Do I really need to be in or hold this meeting? Is there a more time-efficient way to handle this a conference call an email anything but another meeting?