Are you Over-committed?

Working with people takes time.

Different people have different priorities, some need more from a manager / co-worker than others, and some may need perspective on an issue that is important to them but not to you.

We need a way to quickly and confidently identify and reduce our extraneous commitments, to know whether we need to deal with something or delegate and manage our desire to be available to others.

Here is a brief test that every commitment should pass before you agree to it.

When someone comes to you with a request ask yourself:

• Am I the right person?
• Is this the right time?
• Do I have enough information?

If the answer to any one of these questions is ‘no’, then don’t do it. Pass it to someone else (the right person), schedule it for another time (the right time) or wait until you have the information you need (either you or someone else needs to get it).

The three test questions offer a clear, easy, and consistent way of knowing how to respond, and help us avoid the tendency to say yes to everything.