TIME-WASTERS: PEOPLE EDITION — THE BATTLE-READY PLAYBOOK

Mission: Protect your time, energy, and momentum while staying professional, kind, and unshakeably firm. You set the tempo. Everyone else adapts.

1. KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS (SPOT THEM FAST)
   • The Pop‑In Pro: random drop-bys “got a sec?” that morph into 20 minutes.
   • The Rambler: endless stories, no point, no ask.
   • The Crisis Pinger: everything is “urgent” and none of it is.
   • The Gossip Relay: drama, speculation, sidebars.
   • The Meeting Maximizer: expands a 15‑minute topic to an hour.
   • The Indecision Loop: needs “one more perspective” forever.
   • The Micromanager Tax: constant check‑ins that block actual progress.
   • The Chronic Asker: asks instead of trying; offloads thinking.
   • The Boundary Tester: ignores hints, pushes for “just this once.”
   • The Social Vampire: drains optimism; negative by default.

Quick diagnostic (use your calendar or a notes app):

Track frequency (times/week) × minutes per interaction × your opportunity cost (1 = low, 3 = high).

Score ≥ 60 in a week? You need boundaries plus a process fix. Score ≥ 100? Escalate.

2. CORE PRINCIPLES (YOUR CODE)
   • Respectful but firm beats nice but vague.
   • Asynchronous by default; synchronous only for high‑stakes, high‑ambiguity topics.
   • Timeboxes everywhere: default to 15 minutes unless justified.
   • Ownership clarity: who decides, by when, with which inputs.
   • One ask = one channel = one owner; stop the multi‑thread chaos.
   • Document once, reuse forever: FAQs, templates, decision logs.
   • Consistency is kindness: the boundary you enforce teaches people how to treat you.
3. THE FIVE DEFENSE SYSTEMS
   A) Calendar Firewall
   • Daily Deep‑Work Blocks (2–3 hours). Mark visible; decline overbooks.
   • Office Hours (2x/week, 45 minutes). “Live Q&A” goes here.
   • Speed Slots (four 10–15 minute holds/day). For quick syncs only.
   • “No Agenda → No Meeting” rule. Agenda and decision owner required 24 hours before.

B) Communication Guardrails

• Channels by default: Intake form or a single Slack/Email thread per topic.

• SLA expectations: “I respond within 24 business hours. For urgent, call.”

• Escalation clarity: “If we’re blocked, here’s the path and timeline.”

C) Meeting Mechanics

• Required: Purpose, Prep, Decisions Needed.

• Timebox: “We have 15 minutes; at 12 we move to decisions.”

• Parking Lot: tangents captured for async follow‑up.

• End with Actions: owner + date + next checkpoint.

D) Boundary Scripts (short, repeatable, polite, firm)

• “Can’t now. Drop the details here and I’ll get back by tomorrow.”

• “Let’s use my office hours on Tue/Thu—book 15.”

• “What’s the decision you need from me? List options A/B/C and your recommendation first.”

• “I only have 10; if we can’t land it, we’ll schedule a proper slot.”

• “No agenda yet—send it and we’ll book.”

E) Social Pruning

• Quarterly Relationship Cleanse: identify top 10 energizers and top 5 drainers. Increase reps with energizers; set firmer systems with drainers.

• Default “light touch” with chronic time-wasters: asynchronous, scheduled, short, documented.

4. SCENARIO PLAYBOOKS (15‑SECOND SCRIPTS → 1‑MINUTE FOLLOW‑UPS → ESCALATION)
5. The Pop‑In Pro
   15‑second: “Heads‑down right now. Drop it in our thread and book my next Speed Slot.”
   1‑minute: If they linger—stand up, walk them to the door: “Appreciate it—send context and I’ll review at 3pm.”
   Escalation: Log 3 occurrences, then message: “To protect focus, I’m moving all ad‑hoc questions to Tue/Thu office hours. Thanks for partnering on this.”
6. The Rambler
   15‑second: “Pause—what’s the decision or deliverable you need?”
   1‑minute: “Give me the 1‑sentence problem, 3 options, your pick.”
   Escalation: Share a template (Problem → Context → Options → Recommendation). Decline meetings without it.
7. The Crisis Pinger
   15‑second: “Is this customer‑impacting within 2 hours? If yes, call me. If no, send details and I’ll reply by 4pm.”
   1‑minute: Define “urgent” in writing.
   Escalation: If they label everything urgent, route all non‑critical items to async and involve their manager to reset urgency definitions.
8. The Gossip Relay
   15‑second: “I don’t do sidebars. Let’s keep it to facts and owners.”
   1‑minute: Redirect: “If it matters, bring it to the owner’s thread.”
   Escalation: If persistent, exit: “This convo isn’t productive for me. I’m heading back to work.”
9. The Indecision Loop
   15‑second: “We’ll timebox to a decision by Friday 3pm.”
   1‑minute: Decision matrix: criteria, weights, options, winner.
   Escalation: If still stuck, escalate to the decision owner’s manager with your recommendation and the matrix.
10. The Micromanager
    15‑second: “To move faster, let’s agree on outcomes, not play‑by‑plays.”
    1‑minute: Propose a cadence: “Weekly 15, written update every Wed, dashboards visible.”
    Escalation: If behavior continues and blocks delivery, document impact and ask your manager for alignment on outcome‑based reporting.
11. The Chronic Asker
    15‑second: “What have you tried? Share your top 2 attempts and what broke.”
    1‑minute: Provide a quick starter guide once.
    Escalation: Next time, require the “Tried/Observed/Next” template before you respond.
12. The Meeting Maximizer
    15‑second: “We’ll land one decision only today.”
    1‑minute: Midpoint cut: “We have 5 left; here’s the call.”
    Escalation: Future invites get 15 minutes by default; decline if purpose isn’t tight.
13. Vendor/Client Over‑Texter
    15‑second: “Let’s centralize in email with weekly sync Wed 11:00.”
    1‑minute: “Out of band pings delay us; use the shared doc for questions.”
    Escalation: Contract‑level boundary: define channels, SLAs, and change‑order fees for scope creep.
14. Friend/Relative Time Drainer
    15‑second: “Can’t chat now—Sunday after 4 works.”
    1‑minute: “I’m tightening my schedule—short calls or texts are best for me right now.”
    Escalation: Reduce frequency, move to message‑first, protect your recovery time.
15. THE ESCALATION LADDER (WHEN “NO” NEEDS BACKUP)
    Step 0: Log three concrete instances (date, time, impact in minutes).
    Step 1: Boundary + Alternative + Benefit. “I’m protecting deep‑work blocks; let’s use office hours so I can give full attention.”
    Step 2: Process Fix. Introduce templates, shared docs, decision logs, defined SLAs.
    Step 3: Manager Alignment. “Here’s the impact (2.5 hrs/week). Proposed guardrails. Can I get your backing?”
    Step 4: Formal Escalation. Involve relevant leadership/HR if behavior is disruptive or disrespectful; stick to facts and impact.
    Step 5: Disengage/Exit. Reduce contact to essentials; change channels; in extreme cases, request re‑assignment.

Manager alignment email template (tight, factual):

Subject: Aligning on focus guardrails for faster delivery

Hi [Manager], in the past 3 weeks I’ve lost ~7.5 hours to unscheduled drop‑ins from [Name/Team], which delayed [Project] by 2 days. I’d like to enforce: 1) no‑agenda/no‑meeting, 2) Tue/Thu office hours, 3) decision templates for reviews. This protects delivery dates and still supports the partner. Can I count on your endorsement?

Thanks!

6. POWER SCRIPTS (MEMORIZE THESE)
   • “Happy to help—drop the context in our thread and I’ll reply by tomorrow.”
   • “What decision are we making, and what’s your recommendation?”
   • “I only have 10—what’s the one thing we must decide?”
   • “Let’s keep this in the shared doc so we don’t lose details.”
   • “This is veering off-topic—parking it and moving on.”
   • “We’re at time. I’m making the call: Option B.”
   • “To move fast: async first, live only if blocked.”
   • “I’m not the owner for this—loop in X and assign a DRI.”
   • “I can’t commit to that timeline—here’s what I can do.”
   • “I don’t participate in gossip. Let’s focus on the work.”
   • “Please use my office hours for quick asks.”
   • “I’m ending here—send follow‑ups in writing.”
7. PREVENTION SYSTEMS (BUILD NOW, SAVE HOURS LATER)
   • Your “How I Work” One‑Pager: response times, channels, office hours, deep‑work blocks, meeting rules. Share it widely.
   • Intake Form or Template: Problem → Context → Options → Recommendation → Due date.
   • Team Norms: no side DMs for decisions, decisions live in docs, owners are explicit.
   • Decision Logs: one page per decision; prevents re‑litigation.
   • Visibility: dashboards or weekly written updates reduce pings.
8. BOUNDARY PHRASES FOR DIFFERENT POWER DYNAMICS
   Upward (manager/executive):
   • “To hit the Friday milestone, I’ll need 2 hours of protected focus this morning. Can we route non‑critical asks to my afternoon window?”
   • “I can deliver A by Friday or A+B by next Wednesday. Which do you prefer?”

Peer:

• “Let’s keep this tight—10 minutes to decide, or we move it async.”

• “Send the template and I’ll review in my 3pm block.”

Downward (you manage them):

• “Bring me two attempted solutions and your recommendation. We’ll review in office hours.”

• “Keep updates in the project doc; I review it daily at 4.”

External (clients/vendors):

• “For speed, please centralize requests via the shared tracker; we batch replies every Tuesday.”

Personal life:

• “I’m in a busy season—short catch‑ups work best. Sunday after 4 is my window.”

• “I’m stepping back from group chats; text me directly for anything important.”

9. CHECK YOUR MIRROR (MAKE SURE IT ISN’T YOU)
   Quick self‑audit once a month:
   • Do I book meetings without a decision goal?
   • Do I DM for things that belong in shared docs?
   • Do I interrupt deep‑work blocks?
   • Do I delegate decisions I should own?
   If yes to any, fix your own footprint first—your example is your loudest boundary.
10. THE 7‑DAY RESET (FAST RESULTS)
    Day 1: Publish your “How I Work” one‑pager and set office hours.
    Day 2: Create your intake template; decline any meeting without purpose/owner.
    Day 3: Block two deep‑work windows; turn on Do‑Not‑Disturb during them.
    Day 4: Migrate active decisions to a single decision log; assign owners and due dates.
    Day 5: Send a “new norms” note to frequent time‑wasters: where to ask, when you reply, what to include.
    Day 6: Run your first office hours (batch quick asks).
    Day 7: Review your log—who still drains time? Add guardrails or escalate.
11. THRESHOLDS (WHEN TO ACT HARD)
    • Any single person consuming >90 minutes/week for 2+ weeks without delivering proportional value.
    • Any behavior that repeatedly ignores your written boundaries.
    • Any pattern that delays critical outcomes or creates risk.
    When a threshold is met: document → propose guardrails → implement for one week → escalate with data.
12. YOUR MINDSET (WIN WITH CLASS)
    • Clear is kind. Vague is painful.
    • Time is your non‑renewable advantage—protect it like treasure.
    • You can be warm and firm at the same time.
    • Systems over heroics: once you build guardrails, every future minute gets cheaper.

Deploy this playbook now. Choose three scripts you’ll use today. Put your office hours on the calendar. Send one “How I Work” note. You’ll feel the power shift immediately—your schedule tightens, your output spikes, and the time‑wasters either adapt or fade. This is your time. Own it.