You're Not Spending Time. You're Wasting Time.

There's a type of meeting we've all been stuck in. You’ll know it immediately.

Someone walks in, usually someone senior, without a clear idea of what they want. No plan. No details. Just a fuzzy feeling that something needs to get done. And somehow, figuring out what that is has become your job. For hours!

This happened to me recently. My manager asked me to build a report template. That's fine. I don't mind helping. But as we talked, it became clear he hadn't decided what he actually wanted. He was using me to think through his own ideas out loud. I was just sitting there, trying to make sense of something that didn't exist yet.

And it got worse. There were other people who should have been part of that conversation. People who knew things that mattered. People who could have helped shape the idea before it came to me. But they weren't asked. I was. Because I was there and it was easy.

And I couldn’t say no.

So I said something I almost regretted right away.

"I'm happy to spend time. I'm not happy to waste time."

Was it blunt? Yes. A little rude? Probably. Did I mean it? Yes.

If you're reading this and thinking, "Yeah, that sounds annoying," think about whether you've done this too. Maybe not the same way. Maybe not on purpose. But at some point, most of us have given someone else an unfinished idea and called it a task.

We do it because thinking is hard. Sorting out your own ideas before you share them takes work. It means sitting with something that feels messy and unclear. So instead, we hand that mess to someone else. We call it "getting input."

But if you haven't done the basic work yourself first, you're not getting input.

You're just passing the problem along.

And the people on your team notice.

Every single time.

👋 No more Powerpoint(!)

Have you heard of the Amazon 6 Pager Memo? It’s what Jeff Bezos uses to keep his mega-company productive. But it works so well that I use it for project management. Thousands of others do too. If you want my personal Amazon 6 Pager Memo template you can find it here.

So what can you do about it?

It's pretty simple, but it does mean changing how you get ready before you ask someone for help.

Think it through before you bring it to someone else.

Write it down. Even rough notes help.

→ What is the goal?

→ What does done look like?

→ What do you actually need from the other person?

If you can't answer those questions, you're not ready to ask. Give it more time.

Figure out who needs to be involved, and bring them in early.

If a task affects other teams or other people, they need to be part of it from the start. Telling someone about a decision after it's already been made isn't working together. It's just letting them know.

Remember that other people's time matters just as much as yours.

When you show up without a clear ask, you're basically saying: "I didn't prepare, so now you have to deal with it." That breaks trust. Over time, it makes people not want to hear from you.

Know the difference between thinking and asking.

Thinking out loud is fine. Do it in a notebook or with a friend in a casual chat. Don't do it when someone is expecting a clear request from you.

👋 Want to Learn More?

If you want to go deeper, I've put together resources to help:

• LinkedIn Guide: Optimize Your Profile for Success

• ChatGPT Resume Creation Guide (Full prompts)

• How to use the 80:20 rule to get more done in less time.

Respect the mental energy of others

Good project management means respecting how much mental energy you put on the people around you. Every unclear request, every vague brief, every "just have a quick think about this" costs someone something.

And it adds up fast.

Your team will gladly give you their time and their effort. But only if you meet them halfway.

Do the thinking. Do the prep. Show up ready.

The moment you stop caring about their time, you stop earning their trust.

And that's a lot harder to get back.