Are These the Worst Office Productivity Killers?

By Sam Laird

Here's something you probably haven't realized for the past 13 days: It's Time Management Month! That's right, February has been officially designated by some as the time of year we should all pause, look inward and reflect on how best to manage our time.

But as anyone who works in an Internet-connected office knows, managing your time at work can be a major challenge. There's Twitter over here. Facebook over there. That hilarious new viral video on YouTube. Not to mention the Reddit rabbit hole. Then email, text messaging … the list goes on and on. So what are the worst office productivity killers?

The website OfficeTime.net recently ran a survey to find out. It polled "small business owners, freelancers and other professionals" from around the world to find their main time sucks. The sample size is quite small at just 600 people, but OfficeTime's findings ring true enough that they seem worth sharing.

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Here's the list, with the corresponding percentages representing how many respondents spend "between one and two hours each day" on a given time-killing activity:

  • 10. "Getting caught up in bureaucracy / red tape" – 8%

  • 9. "Talking on cell phone / texting" – 10%

  • 8. "Social networking" – 11%

  • 7. "Travel time / commuting" – 13%

  • 6. "Non-business related conversations" – 16%

  • 5. "Meetings" – 18%

  • 4. "Procrastination" – 19%

  • 3. "Watching TV" – 26%

  • 2. "Surfing the Internet" – 27%

  • 1. "Email" – 33%

There's certainly a strong digital presence on this list, reaffirming that the incredible efficiencies brought by technology have come with some side costs.

Source: Mashable

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