A Better Way to Think About Your Biggest Time Sucks

Picture an hourglass with a crack in it. Sand flows through the narrow passage as designed, but some also leaks out the side, spilling onto the surface below. That’s what most workplace time sucks feel like. Time actively leaking away, leaving you with nothing to show for it.

So here’s my question for you: What is the “time suck” you dread most at work?

This isn’t one of those hypothetical thought exercises where I pretend to care about your answer but never actually want to hear it. I genuinely want to know what this is for you, because I suspect we’re all dealing with variations of the same fundamental problem.

Not All Time Sucks Are Created Equal

Before we go further, let me clarify something important: these time sucks don’t have to be complete wastes of time. They don’t even have to be things you actively dislike. Some of them might be valuable in theory. I’m talking about those activities that have a disproportionate “time invested → value derived” ratio. You know the ones. You finish and think, “Did that really need to take two hours?”

Here are some examples I hear about regularly from people across industries and roles:

One-on-one meeting prep [even if you enjoy the 1:1 sessions themselves]: You’re scrambling to remember what happened since the last meeting, what you discussed, what action items came out of it, and what needs to be addressed this time.

End of [week, month, quarter] reporting: The actual information might be valuable, but the process of gathering it, formatting it, and distributing it eats up hours that could be spent on the work you’re supposedly reporting on.

Generally useless meetings: You know the ones. Big “this should have been an email” energy. The kind where you spend an hour going in circles, leave with no clear action items, and wonder why you couldn’t just get a Slack message instead.

The 90-Second Exercise That Changes Everything

Okay, now here’s where I need you to actually do something. Take about 90 seconds (seriously, do it!) and work through the following:

Step 1: Identify your equation side

Think about which side of the equation would need to change so your biggest time suck no longer feels like such a drain. Time invested or value derived? Would it feel better to get more value for the same time invested? Or would it be better to reduce the overall time investment but maintain the same value derived?

This distinction matters more than you might think. Sometimes we’re okay with spending the time if we knew we’d get better outcomes. Other times, even good outcomes don’t justify the time investment.

Step 2a: Map the upstream (for time invested)

If your issue is the time investment, think of the 3-5 relevant, related things that happen BEFORE [aka upstream from] your time suck. For one-on-one meetings, this could be team meetings, project status communications, casual hallway conversations, Slack discussions, or email exchanges. All of these contain information that you’ll need to recall or reference during your 1:1 prep.

Step 2b: Map the desired outcomes (for value derived)

If your issue is the value you’re getting out of the time invested, think of the 2-3 outcomes that do or would most benefit you. For 1:1 sessions, maybe this is walking away with clear task and project lists, getting unblocked on specific challenges, or identifying low-value “stop doing” items that free up bandwidth.

Step 3: Connect upstream to downstream

Here’s where the magic happens. Identify how (VERY specifically) you could use those relevant and related upstream moments to help ease the burden of your time suck.

Sticking with the 1:1 example: You could use an AI notetaker to document each meeting throughout the week, produce meeting summaries, and automatically add those to your 1:1 prep file. Or you could create and use a consistent pre-meeting checklist that you and your meeting counterpart both review, so you’re already on the same page before you even sit down together.

For end-of-quarter reporting, maybe the upstream elements are your weekly team syncs and project updates. What if you maintained a running document throughout the quarter that captured key wins, challenges, and metrics as they happened? Then your “reporting” process becomes more like light editing than starting from scratch.

Why Systems Rot Over Time

Here’s what I’ve observed over and over again: A lot of time wasters end up that way because they change over time, and the systems (or lack thereof) we use to manage them develop organically, not intentionally.

Think about it. Your 1:1s probably started out simple and manageable when you first began working with your manager or direct report. But over time, your projects multiplied, your responsibilities expanded, the context you need to maintain grew exponentially. Suddenly what used to take 10 minutes of prep now takes an hour.

The task evolved. Your approach to it didn’t.

Or consider those status reports. Maybe they started as a simple bullet-point email. Then someone added a new section. Then another. Then someone wanted it in a specific format. Then metrics got added. Before you know it, you’re maintaining a complex spreadsheet and writing lengthy narratives for information that half the recipients probably skim at best.

The Upstream Solution

Sometimes stepping back, getting a better view of how upstream events influence things downstream, and making upstream changes to more effectively influence downstream events is the best thing you can do to reclaim your time, focus, and sanity.

This is fundamentally different from just “trying to be more efficient” at the time suck itself. You’re not looking to prep for 1:1s faster. You’re looking to need less prep because the information you need is already captured and organized from upstream activities.

You’re not trying to write reports more quickly. You’re capturing the information continuously throughout the reporting period so the report practically writes itself.

It’s the difference between bailing water out of a leaking boat faster versus actually fixing the leak.

Your Turn

So back to my original question: What’s your biggest time suck? And more importantly, what upstream changes could you make this week to start plugging the leak?

The hourglass with a crack in it doesn’t need to work harder or faster. It needs the crack to be sealed so time flows only where it’s supposed to go, from one valuable activity to another, with nothing leaking out uselessly along the way.