Reason # 1 : Why we don’t get work done

Recently, I’ve begun to observe how our energy levels shift during our day….especially during our working hours. One particular thing I’ve observed, is how office gossip is a big drain of our valuable resources, time and energy.

So, here’s what I have seen:

- A lot of people continuously engage in needless gossip, obviously wasting loads of valuable time….but, they also use their energy, their brainpower, their intelligence.

Here’s how it goes :

You get involved in some needless, useless gossip…. and you lose your focus…. thinking about useless stuff makes u lose your precious brain energy, by allowing yourself to get entangled in mediocre talk… slowly and gradually, you lose interest in your work, thereby accomplishing less than what was desired.

I’ve observed a lot of people come smiling to their work, fully upbeat and energized. Usually, during or after the first coffee break, their first round of gossip starts…. and away goes their energy, slowly getting drained… without them knowing it. This continues through till lunch. Somebody stopping by your cubicle evey now and then with a tasty tidbit or update about the morning gossip… and your mind gets entangled in it. You won’t even notice how time flies and lunch comes along, while you’ve done little or no work at all. You leave your place for lunch, thinking that you’ll accomplish during the rest of the day what you couldn’t during the morning…

You come back from lunch, and find that there’s a lot to do, and a lot less time to do it…. then you start rushing through your work, doing whatever you can to salvage your lost time.  You might be able to somehow get things done and finish your work, but the quality would definitely suffer. And most probably, you will tend to miss out on some important aspects of your work, increasing the chance of redoing it later.

The conclusion…. avoid office gossiping at all times to keep your energy levels high and stay focused.

Keep in mind that I’m not suggesting that you stay at your desk throughout the day, and not talk to anybody. But there’s a difference between occasional small talk, and wasting 5-10 minutes on gossiping about needless matters 5 or 6 times during the working day. The time advantages of that are obvious, but notice how your focus increases and you stay energized while you get lots of work done.

Don ‘t just read the above , try it yourself and see the difference. Try it for one work week and notice the upward shift in your energy and efficiency.