Wednesday - Time Management

A storm broke out over the office today. I was in early and as the team arrived they picked up on the tension brewing in much the same way that animals fall silent just before a heavy thunderstorm.

Then at 10:14 AM, the negative ions zipping around the department broke and Anne exploded at Gary's desk.

'We're going to need to do something about these timesheets. They're crap! I can't see from them what we're spending our time on!' she complained to Gary. Her speech was a verbal form of finger jabbing, each word poking him hard in the eye.

The team carried on grazing at their intrays, looking uneasy and not saying a word in case Anne's lightning found them her target.

When she'd finished Gary called an impromtu meeting to discuss the issue of the time sheets. I'm starting to change my mind about Gary. I don't think he's a bad guy after all and most of the time he has a look about him that seems to suggest he was duped into taking this job. Jez lived up to his nickname of Yez. So called, because he was such a Yes man that it was a wonder he didn't burst into a rendition of prog rock hits from the seventies.

Gary told us that Anne didn't like the way the time sheets were being completed. He picked one up off the pile that Anne had scrawled on in angry green pen, in much the same way that a thug of a toddler would scrawl over someone elses carefully coloured drawings. I spotted Ted's name on it.

'This one for instance. It has 5 minutes on a phone call. 10 minutes on a letter. Another 5 minutes on discussing an endowment policy with the underwriters. And then at the end of this, an entry at the end here, for 10 minutes - filling in time sheet!'

Gary was serious. Tracey and I surpressed a laugh.

'Anne's not very happy about the way these timesheets are being completed,' Gary continued.

'But that's the way it is. That's what they do. The executives will be in the middle of something when they'll get another piece of work given to them. It's an accurate reflection of how their day is broken up,' I told Gary. 'They've not been told how to complete these timesheets. They've just been given them and told to get on with them,'

'I think that what Anne wants is...' began Gary.

'What do you mean you think? You either know or you don't know. If Anne wants these completed in a certain way then she needs to tell us what it is exactly that she wants. Not go ranting and raving about them to you and leave you none the wiser.' I said. I wasn't having a go at Gary. It wasn't his fault. He was merely Anne's stooge.

'Could we set up a spreadsheet?' was Tracey's offering.

'Don't worry,' said Jez seizing another opportunity to make a name for himself. 'I'll ask Anne if she can organise a workshop for you all,' He said with a winking that said he was coming to the rescue again.