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Sometimes marketers do things that could be considered a waste of time. Given that we only have a certain amount of time, that can present a problem because it takes away from driving results. But there are also good ways to “waste time” so let’s discuss the topic in our ongoing series of marketing career topics.
Good time wasters
On a philosophical level, when something is learned from a task or implementation, it’s not a waste of time.
For example, I tried Web Stories when they first came out. They drove some results but never took off to the level I was hoping for. Was it a waste of time? Absolutely not. It was worth trying, gave me some ideas for other content types and afterall they did perform some.
Of course, there’s also a fine line to uselessness. If we just test and test and test and nothing ever works, that can end up being an actual waste of time. Where that line is depends on team setup and also level of willingness to experiment.
I do not consider a certain amount of chit chat or socializing a waste of time. All teams need a certain level of human connection and trust – which can be built this way.
The definite time wasters
Definite time wasters are any activities that don’t work toward a business or marketing goal.
For example, meetings without a real purpose are a waste of time. Some meetings just happen because they have happened or the wrong or too many people are invited to them. That can be a huge time and also financial waste. Just look at how much it costs in salaries of people in those meetings.
Other time wasters – especially for content creators – are constant interruptions which can happen through meetings, constant instant messages and other interruptions – which can especially happen in an office environment.
Inefficient workflows can also eat up time tremendously. Certainly, workflows and checks and balances are necessary but when this isn’t setup well time that could be used productively is eaten up by basically admin work.
How to minimize wasting time
To minimize wasting time, it all starts with understanding and agreeing on what is wasting time.
From there, establish how to eliminate those and then build a culture that allows for communication, team building and a constant drive toward marketing performance.