Why Leaders Waste More Time Than They Think (and How Tech Fixes It)

Every leader likes to think they’re working efficiently. But the reality is that those long days may not be as productive as they think. If you’re a business owner or manager, this read is for you, helping you use tech to make changes that positively impact your days and improve your organization.

Where Leaders Lose Hours in the Week

The time drains can become evident when you look back at your calendar for the past few months. For example, look at the scheduled meetings and consider whether some of them could have been handled faster by email. You might also be conducting employee follow-ups that would not be necessary if operations were centralized. There might also be lags of time when decisions are not made, costing valuable hours in important processes because of bottlenecks that need fixing.

While each one of these things can seem small, taken together, they can add up to hours of lost time. Altogether, it could be several hours a week. Perhaps worse yet, if these inefficiencies become normalized, leaders may not realize what they’re costing themselves and their teams.

Tech that Fixes Inefficiencies

The right technology can speed up work and cut out problematic areas altogether. It can prevent wasting time to begin with, avoiding issues that might otherwise happen later.

For example, fleet tracking solutions with built-in GPS cut down interruptions as teams don’t need to constantly check in. There’s no wondering where drivers are, as leaders can immediately see where vehicles are at any given time. Tracking systems like this also improve accountability as everyone knows the data is transparent, which means less wasted time or excuses.

Another example is workflow automation. Leaders no longer need to do the endless follow-ups, send reminders, or double-check whether a project is complete. Instead, automation platforms do this work for you. While it’s not necessarily difficult work, it does take time that you don’t necessarily have in a busy day. Rather than having to send an email about the status of a task, simply set up the system to send a reminder when a report is past its due date. This system also prevents things from falling through the cracks.

Dashboards are helpful too, keeping the important stats in one place, rather than having assorted reports. That gives you one central place to check for the numbers, rather than wasting hours looking for spreadsheets or updates from different teams in your overloaded email inbox. Everything is pulled together in real-time. Having the data like this makes decision-making easier and faster for leaders like yourself. Rather than reacting to situations by spending time asking a team whether something has been done, you are looking at what needs your attention next.

One Last Tip: Create a Company Culture that Respects Time

Embracing tech is a must for better time management, and so is encouraging a time-respecting workplace culture. For instance, meetings have a clear goal, and teams are empowered to make their own decisions without needing to constantly sign off on things. Minutes can turn into hours saved.