WEBVTT - When someone doesn’t value your time

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to handle situations when people

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<v Speaker 1>do not value your time. I was thinking about this

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<v Speaker 1>after receiving a note from a listener who was a

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<v Speaker 1>frequent volunteer. Some of the organizations she serves are well run,

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<v Speaker 1>others are less, so she described the frustration of showing

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<v Speaker 1>up at a board meeting at six thirty pm and

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<v Speaker 1>not achieving a quorum until seven. She noted that this

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<v Speaker 1>was especially galling since the group had originally planned to

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<v Speaker 1>meet at seven, but had changed the start time to

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<v Speaker 1>six thirty pm to accommodate people's requests. Then they started

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<v Speaker 1>late anyway, This is incredibly frustrating, but she wasn't sure

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<v Speaker 1>what to do. After all, she truly supports the organization's mission,

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<v Speaker 1>but having your time wasted like this is disrespectful. In

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<v Speaker 1>her case, this happened in a volunteer context. She mused

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<v Speaker 1>that she didn't think it would happen in a workplace.

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<v Speaker 1>But I've gotten enough notes about this topic to know

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<v Speaker 1>that getting paid doesn't necessarily solve the problem. A disorganized

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<v Speaker 1>supervisor might have people waiting around needlessly, but figure he's

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<v Speaker 1>paying for their time, so it's all good, But really

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<v Speaker 1>it isn't. Time is precious, and ultimately, when people feel

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<v Speaker 1>their time is not respected, they look for other opportunities,

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<v Speaker 1>or they stay but they don't perform at their best.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd also add that if a business is not respecting

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<v Speaker 1>customer time, the customers will go elsewhere, maybe not immediately,

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<v Speaker 1>but eventually, and they'll warn their friends too. There are

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<v Speaker 1>a few things you can do in situations where your

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<v Speaker 1>time might not be respected. I tried to be careful

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<v Speaker 1>about the volunteer opportunities I seek out and agree to.

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<v Speaker 1>In general, I look for ones where I know that

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<v Speaker 1>I will be able to spend time with people I

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<v Speaker 1>care about, So with my kids schools, I like to

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<v Speaker 1>do things where I know I'll be able to spend

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<v Speaker 1>time with my kids or my kids teachers. That way,

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<v Speaker 1>even if things don't necessarily happen efficiently, I know my

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<v Speaker 1>time is being well spent nurturing relationships. For projects where

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<v Speaker 1>this won't be an opportunity, I try to see if

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<v Speaker 1>there's a way I could donate instead. I'd also suggest

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<v Speaker 1>seeking out volunteer opportunities where you can actually be in charge.

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<v Speaker 1>In our listeners case, it sounds like the board she

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<v Speaker 1>served on had some serious issues, she could quit. This

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<v Speaker 1>is always an option. There are infinite problems in the

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<v Speaker 1>world and you cannot solve all of them, So even

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<v Speaker 1>if you do support an organization's mission, you might be

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<v Speaker 1>best off targeting your time differently. But our listener wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>have to quit. Another option is that she could work

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<v Speaker 1>over the next year or so to become the president

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<v Speaker 1>of the board. Then she could rework policies and schedules

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<v Speaker 1>to introduce more accountability. If nothing else, she could bring

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<v Speaker 1>on more reliable people, and regardless of whether she was

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<v Speaker 1>in charge, she could solve the immediate problem by offering

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<v Speaker 1>to drive three volunteers to each meeting so there would

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<v Speaker 1>automatically be a quorum. As for a work situation, it

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<v Speaker 1>might help to track your time and have an honest

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<v Speaker 1>conversation with a supervisor about this. You could show the

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<v Speaker 1>downtime and ask for suggestions of what you could work

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<v Speaker 1>on during these windows. This isn't complaining, it's actually helpful,

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<v Speaker 1>no doubt. There are all kinds of work that does

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<v Speaker 1>need to get done, even if it's not your official

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<v Speaker 1>job description, or if you're high up enough in an

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<v Speaker 1>organization to know the finances, you might point out the

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<v Speaker 1>waste organizing time better might mean you wouldn't have to

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<v Speaker 1>hire new people. Most people do take bottom line arguments seriously.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're wasting a lot of time and meetings, take

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<v Speaker 1>it upon yourself to become the person pushing for an

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<v Speaker 1>agenda in all meetings. Offer to be the timekeeper. If

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<v Speaker 1>the person organizing the meeting seems unfamiliar with this concept,

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<v Speaker 1>you can point them to the vast literature online about

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<v Speaker 1>better meetings. In other situations, play offense to keep people

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<v Speaker 1>from wasting your time. I get particularly frustrated with healthcare

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<v Speaker 1>providers who don't view their patient's time as valuable. I

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<v Speaker 1>will definitely switch to other providers, and you should too,

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<v Speaker 1>But if that's not immediately an option, I'll ask for

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<v Speaker 1>the first appointment of the day or talk to the

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<v Speaker 1>scheduler about when the delays tend to be lowest. I

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<v Speaker 1>also bring something to do While waiting is annoying and frustrating,

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<v Speaker 1>It is less so with a good podcast or book

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<v Speaker 1>to fill the time. If you're waiting with kids, feel

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<v Speaker 1>free to make use of screens during this time. It

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<v Speaker 1>will give you a few minutes to relax. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>the city suation isn't ideal, being able to zone out

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<v Speaker 1>and take some deep breaths in the middle of the

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<v Speaker 1>day can feel pretty good. How do you keep people

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<v Speaker 1>from wasting your time? You can let me know at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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