10 Common Time Management Mistakes Avoiding Common Pitfalls How well do you manage your time? If youre like many people, your answer may not be completely positive! Perhaps you feel overloaded, and you often have to work late to hit your deadlines. Or maybe your days seem to go from one crisis to another, and this is stressful and demoralizing. Many of us know that we could be managing our time more effectively; but it can be difficult to identify the mistakes that were making, and to know how we could improve. When we do manage our time well, however, were exceptionally productive at work, and our stress levels drop. We can devote time to the interesting, high-reward projects that can make a real difference to a career. In short, were happier! In this article, were looking at ten of the most common time management mistakes, as well as identifying strategies and tips that you can use to overcome them. These ten mistakes are: Mistake #1. Failing to Keep a To-Do List Do you ever have that nagging feeling that youve forgotten to do an important piece of work? If so, you probably dont use a To-Do List to keep on top of things. (Or, if you do, you might not be using it effectively!) The trick with using To-Do Lists effectively lies in prioritizing the tasks on your list. Many people use an A – F coding system (A for high priority items, F for very low priorities). Alternatively, you can simplify this by using A through D, or by using numbers. If you have large projects on your list, then, unless youre careful, the entries for these can be vague and ineffective. For instance, you may have written down Start on budget proposal. But what does this entail? The lack of specifics here might cause you to procrastinate, or miss key steps. So make sure that you break large tasks or projects down into specific, actionable steps – then you wont overlook something important. You can also use Action Programs to manage your work when you have many large projects happening at once. (Action Programs are industrial strength versions of To-Do Lists.) Mistake #2. Not Setting Personal Goals Do you know where youd like to be in six months? What about this time next year, or even 10 years from now? If not, its time to set some personal goals! Personal goal setting is essential to managing your time well, because goals give you a destination and vision to work toward. When you know where you want to go, you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to get there. Goals also help you decide whats worth spending your time on, and whats just a distraction. To learn how to set SMART, effective goals, read up on Lockes Goal Setting Theory. Here, youll learn how to set clearly defined goals that will keep you motivated. You might also enjoy our Book Insight into Long Fuse, Big Bang by Eric Haseltine. This book teaches you how to focus on your long-term goals without overlooking your short term priorities. Mistake #3. Not Prioritizing Your assistant has just walked in with a crisis that she needs you to deal with right now, but youre in the middle of brainstorming ideas for a new client. Youre sure that youve almost come up with a brilliant idea for their marketing campaign, but now you risk losing the thread of your thinking because of this emergency. Sometimes, its hard to know how to prioritize, especially when youre facing a flood of seemingly-urgent tasks. However, its essential to learn how to prioritize tasks effectively if you want to manage your time better. Mistake #4. Failing to Manage Distractions Do you know that some of us can lose as much as two hours a day to distractions? Think how much you could get done if you had that time back! Whether they come from emails, IM chats, colleagues in a crisis, or phone calls from clients, distractions prevent us from achieving flow, which is the satisfying and seemingly effortless work that we do when were 100 percent engaged in a task. If you want to gain control of your day and do your best work, its vital to know how to minimize distractions and manage interruptions effectively. For instance, turn off your IM chat when you need to focus, and let people know if theyre distracting you too often. You should also learn how to improve your concentration, even when youre faced with distractions. Mistake #5. Procrastination Procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you should be focusing on right now. When you procrastinate, you feel guilty that you havent started; you come to dread doing the task; and, eventually, everything catches up with you when you fail to complete the work on time. For instance, one useful strategy is to tell yourself that youre only going to start on a project for ten minutes. Often, procrastinators feel that they have to complete a task from start to finish, and this high expectation makes them feel overwhelmed and anxious. Instead, focus on devoting a small amount of time to starting. Thats all! You might also find it helpful to use Action Plans. These help you break large projects down into manageable steps, so that its easy to see everything that you need to get done, and so that you can complete small chunks at a time. Doing this can stop you from feeling overwhelmed at the start of a new project. Mistake #6. Taking on too Much Are you a person who has a hard time saying no to people? If so, you probably have far too many projects and commitments on your plate. This can lead to poor performance, stress, and low morale. Or, you might be a micromanager : someone who insists on controlling or doing all of the work themselves, because they cant trust anyone else to do it correctly. (This can be a problem for everyone – not just managers!) Either way, taking on too much is a poor use of your time, and it can get you a reputation for producing rushed, sloppy work. To stop this, learn the subtle art of saying yes to the person, but no to the task . This skill helps you assert yourself, while still maintaining good feelings within the group. If the other person starts leaning on you to say yes to their request, learn how to think on your feet , and stay cool under pressure. Mistake #7. Thriving on Busy Some people get a rush from being busy. The narrowly-met deadlines, the endless emails, the piles of files needing attention on the desk, the frantic race to the meeting... What an adrenaline buzz! The problem is that an addiction to busyness rarely means that youre effective, and it can lead to stress. Instead, try to slow down, and learn to manage your time better. Tip: Do More Great Work, by Michael Bungay Stanier, is full of ideas and tips to reduce the busywork that youre doing, so that youre more excited and engaged in the work that matters. Click here for our Book Insight on it. Mistake #8. Multitasking To get on top of her workload, Linda regularly writes emails while she chats on the phone to her clients. However, while Linda thinks that this is a good use of her time, the truth is that it can take 20-40 percent more time to finish a list of jobs when you multitask, compared with completing the same list of tasks in sequence. The result is also that she does both tasks poorly – her emails are full of errors, and her clients are frustrated by her lack of concentration. So, the best thing is to forget about multitasking , and, instead, focus on one task at a time. That way, youll produce higher quality work. Our Expert Interview with Dave Crenshaw, looking at The Myth of Multitasking, will give you an enlightening look at multitasking, and will help you explore how you can manage simultaneous projects more effectively. Mistake #9. Not Taking Breaks Its nice to think that you can work for 8-10 hours straight, especially when youre working to a deadline. But its impossible for anyone to focus and produce really high-quality work without giving their brains some time to rest and recharge. So, dont dismiss breaks as wasting time. They provide valuable down-time, which will enable you to think creatively and work effectively. If its hard for you to stop working, then schedule breaks for yourself, or set an alarm as a reminder. Go for a quick walk, grab a cup of coffee, or just sit and meditate at your desk. Try to take a five minute break every hour or two. And make sure that you give yourself ample time for lunch – you wont produce top quality work if youre hungry! Mistake #10. Ineffectively Scheduling Tasks Are you a morning person? Or do you find your energy picking up once the sun begins to set in the evening? All of us have different rhythms, that is, different times of day when we feel most productive and energetic. You can make best use of your time by scheduling high-value work during your peak time, and low-energy work (like returning phone calls and checking email), during your down time. . Key Points: One of the most effective ways of improving your productivity is to recognize and rectify time management mistakes. When you take the time to overcome these mistakes, it will make a huge difference in your productivity – and youll also be happier, and experience less stress!
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 02:00:00 +0000
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