Many people know that they can manage their time more effectively, but it can be difficult to identify mistakes that we may make and know how we can improve in this area. If we manage our time correctly, we will achieve unprecedented productivity at work and reduce our stress as we will be able to devote the necessary time to work on important and highly profitable projects that can make a real difference in our career, namely, projects that make us happier.
In this article, we will highlight 10 of the most common mistakes in time management in order to identify strategies and tips that we can use to overcome them, which are:
1. Failing to Make a List of 'Unfinished' Tasks (To-Do List):
Have you ever complained that you forgot to do important parts of the work? If you are, the main reason may be that you are not using your to-do list or not actively using it.
The skill of making effective use of the to-do list depends on the order of tasks in your list and in the order of priority. Many people use the notation (H, L) where (H) stands for high important tasks and (L) stands for less (or low) important tasks. You can simplify it instead by using numbers (i.e., task 1 followed by task 2 and so on...from most important to least important).
If you have huge projects and keep them on your to-do list, their items may be too vague or ineffective. For example, you might write: “Company budget proposal” but what follows?
Missing some details here can cause you to procrastinate or miss key steps, so be sure to turn large tasks or projects into specific, actionable steps so that you don't miss out on anything important.
You can also use business software to manage your business when you have many large projects happening at the same time. Business software makes it easier for you to manage your tasks effectively.
2. Not Setting Personal Goals:
Do you know where you want to be in six months from now? What about next year? Or even the next ten years? If you don't know, it's time to set yourself some personal goals.
Setting your personal goals is key to managing your time in the best possible way because goals give you a purpose and a vision to work towards achieving them. When you know where you want to go, you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to get there.
Goals also help you identify things that you need to spend your time on and things that are just distractions. In order to learn how to set smart and effective goals, you should read Locke's theory of goal setting where you will learn how to set clear, specific, and motivating goals.
3. Not Prioritizing:
Imagine that your assistant needs you right away to deal with an emergency, but you're in the middle of thinking about a new customer and you've just come up with a great idea for their marketing campaign that you risk losing because of this emergency.
It can sometimes be difficult to know how to prioritize, especially when you are faced with a number of tasks that seem urgent, but it is essential to learn how to arrange your tasks effectively and in priority order if you want to manage your time better.
The Business Priority Matrix is an effective prioritization tool that helps you determine if a task is highly prioritized and productive or too low to fill your schedule. If you know the difference between these tasks, you will manage your time much better during the day.
4. Failure to Manage Interruptions:
Do you know that you can lose more than two hours of your time per day due to interruptions? Think about how many tasks you would get done if you could get that lost time back.
Interruptions prevent us from reaching a state of flow (which is a state of complete satisfaction that makes tasks seem effortless when we're 100% involved), whether they come to us by email, chatting with co-workers, or phone calls with customers. It's essential to learn how to effectively reduce and manage interruptions if you want to take control of your day and do your best work. For example, when you need to focus, close your chat apps, and let people know that they interrupt you most of the time. You should also learn how to improve your concentration even when you are interrupted.
5. Procrastination:
Procrastination happens when you put off tasks that you should focus on now. When you put off something, you feel guilty about not starting it yet and afraid to do it later. In the end, you will be missing out on everything when you fail to complete the work on time.
The “10-minute” strategy can be very useful. It is to start working on the project in only ten minutes. Procrastinators often feel like they have to finish the job completely, and these high aspirations make them feel overwhelmed and anxious, so focus on devoting a little time to get started, and that's it.
You may also find it helpful to use business plans which help you turn large projects into controllable steps, that is why it will be easy for you to see everything you need to complete the project and this is also why you can complete small tasks of the project in a specific time. Doing so will reduce your confusion at the start of a new project.
6. Bearing a Lot:
Do you find it difficult to say “no” to others? If you are, you may have a lot of projects and obligations in your hands, and this may cause you stress, poor performance and low morale, or you may be a "part-manager" who insists on controlling everything and getting it done on your own because you don't trust that anyone else will get the work done properly. This may cause a problem for many, not just you. In other words, bearing a lot is bad for your time and can bring you a bad reputation as hasty productivity and shoddy work.
In order to stop this, learn the subtle art of saying “yes” to the person and “no” to the task, this skill helps you prove yourself so that you maintain good feelings between you and others. If other people start getting used to you accepting their requests, learn how to think about staying steadfast and calm under pressure.
7. The Ingenuity of Being Busy:
The busyness of some makes them too hasty, as deadlines are so close, emails are endless, piles of files to study, and the race is on before the meeting starts. The problem is that your addiction to being busy rarely means you're effective and can even lead to burnout, so try to slow down instead and learn to manage your time better.
8. Multitasking:
Linda sends emails while talking to her clients on the phone thinking she's using her time well, but she's actually overburdening herself. When we multitask, it takes 20-40% longer to complete the to-do list than it does to complete the same to-do list sequentially, so the best thing to do is to forget about multitasking and instead focus on one task at a time. This way you will produce quality work.
9. Not Taking Breaks:
You may think that you can work 8 or 10 hours straight, which is nice especially when you have a short lead time to finish your work, but it is impossible for anyone to focus and actually achieve high quality work without giving their mind some time to rest and recharge themselves, so don't dismiss breaks or consider them a waste of time, as they save you valuable time that enables you to think creatively and work effectively.
If it's hard for you to stop working, schedule your own breaks or set an alarm to remind you of them, take a brisk walk, have a cup of coffee or just sit at your desk and meditate. Try to take a five-minute break after every hour or two of work and make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for lunch. As long as you're hungry, you won't get quality work.
10. Inefficiently Scheduling Tasks:
Are you active in the morning? Or do you find that your energy increases in the evening when the sun begins to set? Each of us has a different rhythm and that is why we have different times of the day when we feel most productive and energetic. You can make the best use of your time by scheduling your most important work within your prime time and scheduling the work that requires less effort (like answering calls and following up on email) during secondary times.
Conclusion:
One of the most effective ways to improve your productivity is to recognize and correct the mistakes made in time management. When you take your time to overcome these mistakes, it will fundamentally change your productivity and you will also be happier and face less stress.
Add comment