So, a huge shout out goes to Greg McKeown in this post, His book on Essentialism helped me in the past deal with difficult coworkers, especially the ones who love to dump stuff on you at the last minute. I think at some point in life, we all have an experience of one of those, and they can make us or break us.

Covid lockdowns and working from home has for many exasperated this issue, with one lady I know telling me that by 10:30 one morning she had recieved 6 emails querying information with her by a manager (not her manager) in the company she works for. This manager is very disorganised and because the lady I know is the polar opporsite, this person is using her as a crutch, stopping the lady doing the work she is paid to do and causing her to feel anxious, stressed out, paranoid and irritated.

She phoned me asking for advice on ways to deal with the problem in a way that did not come across as disrespectful or irritated and although I couldn’t tell her what to do to solve her problem, I did tell her how I dealt with similar issues in companies that I had worked in previously.

I had this, it is hard to deal with and what works with one person may not work with another. having said that, this is what worked for me.

1. I turned on the out of office response on my emails. It simply said thank you for your email. my emails are currently unmonitored and I will respond in due course.
2. I checked my emails at 4pm each day and based on the emails there, and the priorities of current projects/tasks, I made my to-do priority list for the following day. Making a priority list at the end of every day emphasised in MY MIND that these were the tasks that I needed to so before I can expend energy in helping others. If I do not complete my tasks, then why are the company paying me?
3. I NEVER EVER turned on the email app or opened a single email until after lunch. EVER. My direct manager knew this and knew that a text would be sufficient if he needed something urgent, but it stopped all the other managers and work collegues from thinking they could take up my time because of their disorganisation or reliance on me.It was a re-training experience for both me and them!
4. I retrained my thinking to remember MY work comes first because that is why they pay me. I cannot do a good job unless I utilise my work time to do that first.
5. I retrained my coworkers thinking. Retraining for them because they had to stop relying on me. That was a difficult process at times, and more than a few dummies were spat out, but within 6 months, the situation had turned around completely. I had their utmost respect because they remembered the value of my time and they knew that any task I did had my 100% attention. They valued me and my times – because I showed them it was valuable.

My emails still have out of office switched on even today as I run my own business. My clients value me because they know I value thier work and the time I spend on it is focused. It is a strange mindset to have in this yes yes yes world. Where everyone believes you should jump to attention and switch your focus to them when asked. How many managers do you know send emails at 10pm on a friday night? or 5:30pm on a wednesday and expect and answer by the morning even though they know it is outisde of your work hours?

How many times do you jump to read it on your smartphone as you cook dinner at home?
How many times do you rush to answer it because you believe it is expected of you?

Who sets those expectations of you?

When are you going to break the shackles that you have chained yourself with and show the world your value?