On why they want a job with us -

“My neighbor Joe Blow works for you, and he’s not half man I am. You’d be better off to send him home and call me in to work for you.”

“My friend Jambo works for you, and he never comes home sweatin’, so I figure your company is place for me.”

“I can’t draw assistance until they put through paperwork, so I need something to tide me over right now.”

“Right now I work for my in-laws. The money is bad, and my mother-in-law has a thicker mustache than mine. And she’s type that likes to kiss you a lot.”

“I worked for XYZ fast food chain, gained a lot of weight, and my boss let me go because I couldn’t fit into my work uniform anymore.”

“Your dad dated my mom, and I’m sure you don’t want that to get out.”

Y’all see what I mean? The really bad thing is that I could have written another ten pages chock full of these type comments. Honestly, you have to wonder what in devil people are thinking when they put this kind of stuff on their employment applications. I choose to think that they are just not thinking clearly at time, and I think it’s best to just leave it at that. Life is life, I suppose. If you think about it, though, there is a bright side to all of this - if you happen to be among those who are out there looking for a job, know that you will pull ahead of some of your competition by simply filling out your employment application in a neat, coherent manner. If you do that, you might even be able to get around fact that you need a job simply because, as one applicant so succinctly put it, “... my old Aunt Gertie is winkin‘ and smilin‘ at me a lot these days, and I think that I might need to get out of house a little more than I am...”

There are some things that can be done to help however. Just looking at this may help you pin point sources of time wasters. Is there anything that can be done to minimize need to “put out fires”? Are there any types of preventative actions that can be taken to at least reduce it?

What about interruptions? Can a phone voice mail be used instead of answering phone? Then when you do need to return calls, do them as a group, one right after another. What about email? Do you have to respond to emails during this time frame? Again, try to lump like tasks together, when you do need to email, handle it all at once instead of second they hit your inbox.

Then realize, what you thought was your 6 hours, in reality were perhaps a little over 2. Attack your to-do list with your highest priority, then give yourself a pat on back for working your best with those 2 hours you had, and that in reality, you did fill 6 hours, and perhaps have a better understanding of where it went. Knowing this will help reduce stress and frustration of trying to accomplish what may not be possible, and give your planning a more realistic approach.