What a WASTE of time! Have you ever had one of those experiences where you agreed to a meeting, and then after the meeting completely regretted it?
Whether it was your well-meaning friend who set you up on a blind date that was going no where, or that “networking meeting” that was really a hidden sales pitch, it can be so frustrating to find yourself spending your precious time doing something that you wouldn’t have chosen to do if you knew the whole story…. and yes, this recently happened to me.
So, let’s talk about how to handle these potential time wasting situations differently in the future…
Before the Meeting
Someone thinks you should meet their friend, colleague, or business associate. Often these networking connections are how great business happens, right? Certainly, it can be, but it can also be a gamble with your most valuable resource – your time! So, before you just say “Sure, let’s meet,” there are a few steps you might want to start with:
- Don’t agree to a meeting if you don’t know exactly the purpose or agenda – What is this person looking for? What is the intention of the meeting. Don’t get caught by the bait and switch where they imply that they might want to be a customer of yours, but actually they want you to show up for their sales pitch.
- Shift it to a phone call (which requires less travel time and is easier to cut short) – If the phone call goes well, then you can always follow up with an in-person meeting later if it’s appropriate.
- Do your advanced research. Yep, google stalk them if necessary! Get a sense of who this is and how they might be a valuable connection for you or your business/clients. Is this someone who might be both interesting to know and a useful person to have in your network?
During the Meeting
You decided to take the meeting. You showed up and now you’re discovering that this might be one of those “time wasters.” What can you do? OK, yes, you can just fake an emergency. (Did you know that you can use IFTTT to send you a fake “emergency” text? … neither did I!)
But, other than that solution what else do you do when you’re in that “time waster” meeting (much to your chagrin):
- Focus on the networking potential – What does this person need from someone (if not you)? Are there people in your network that genuinely could benefit from what they’re offering/pitching?
- Learn more about their humanity – This is another human asking for your time and attention. If you’re not able to help them or provide what they’re looking for, then ask questions about their life background and learn more about them as a human being.
- Practice being direct (REALLY hard for some of us … women in particular.) Ask very direct questions? “What specifically are you looking for from this conversation?” Be honest if you felt mislead. “I thought this meeting was about X, but this feels like something different.” Thank them for their time, and reclaim your own. “Thank you for meeting with me, and I have to move on with my day.”
After the meeting
You’ve walked away from the conversation… finally… and you’re realizing that you just “wasted” some time. What now?
- Reflect on the conversation. Was there anything that might have been valuable information for you? Are there any take aways that could help you? How can you take action on those?
- Consider how you could avoid “Time wasters” in the future. What would you have done differently to avoid this situation if it appears again in future?
- Shake it off, literally. Feeling irritated, annoyed, frustrated, or angry that you just wasted that time? Well, the longer you hold onto those emotions the more time you’re giving to the experience. So, find someplace where you can stomp and scream for a minute (without having someone call the cops *wink*,) or turn on some high energy dance music and dance it out of your body. Release it and get rid of those emotions as quickly as possible. Otherwise, that 1-hour meeting just ruined your productivity for the rest of the day!
- Use it as fodder. No experience is a complete waste. It could make a great story for your next speaking engagement, blog post, or first date. Find the humor, value, benefit in the time spent.
It’s so easy to forget that our time is the one resource that is non-refundable, non-renewable, and deserves our greatest intentionality and protection. So, when possible, be very intentional about where you choose to invest it… including in regrets.
Forgive yourself for the mistake and move on with your life as quickly as possible by reclaiming your energy and attention, and make sure you choose intentionally what happens next!
