As you go through your life and career you will run across people whom you are drawn to that will be detrimental to your future. I call these people Time Wasters.
These people do not have your best interest at heart. Moreover, they have a tendency to drain your assets and waste your time.
Most of the time these individuals do not even realize their destructive nature. However, the destruction happens nonetheless.
Some of these individuals may be in your inner circle of friends and family. When they are within your inner circle, you must be more diligent in avoiding their poisonous influence. I am not saying do not ever be involved with them. I am saying to limit your potential losses by limiting your dependence on their influence.
You can identify these people by their attempts to control your time and resources. Some tendencies of these people include hanging around your office when there is nothing productive to accomplish. Attempting to force you to do things that you and/or your family may not want to do may be another way to identify the time wasters in your life. Also, most of the time, these people are not busy. In fact, they are usually in more than one person’s business. Watch closely your relationships so that you can identify these cancers and “HEAL” them quickly. Another way to identify them is by their grand boasting with no solid plans to achieve them.
Control your relationships. I am not saying to be mean to these people. I am saying that you choose your own circumstances and paths. Choose to surround yourself on average with productive, busy people. Surround yourself with people who get things done. Doers!
I have always asked to work with people who work extremely busy. They don’t have the time to work with you. However, if they have a vision of what you are trying to accomplish, they will be an asset to your time. If you are busy doing the things that make you successful, you will not have the time for those time wasters who enter you life.
What are the ways to minimize their influence? Here are the steps:
#1. When possible schedule their time tightly.
#2. When they catch you off guard, schedule an appointment to continue the conversation so you can control the situation.
#3. When they inquire about your assets and the possibility of using them. Just let them know they are committed to current planning and will not be available soon.
#4. When it involves family let them know that you are reticent about including family out side immediate family to avoid possible conflict.
Use these four steps to minimize your losses and possible conflicts with friends and family.
Your success has to be your responsibility. Take control of your time.
Rob Wheeler
