6 Wrong Methods of Time Management

This article aims to clarify some of the wrong methods of time management, in addition to providing some suggestions on how to adjust your electronic calendar. The better you can manage your time, the easier life becomes for you.

6 Wrong Methods of Time Management

1. Crowding too many tasks on your schedule

An overcrowded schedule—or tasks—is often seen as an accomplishment, but it isn't because overcrowding can make you less productive than planned. What happens when an emergency event or adjourned meeting ruins your overcrowded schedule?

You didn't leave a margin for error when you didn't put spare time on your schedule, and when you fail to devote enough time to emergency events, this puts the rest of your schedule at risk. In addition, workplace fatigue is very common and can increase when you work beyond your capacity. A survey conducted by Deloitte demonstrated that 77% of workers suffer from severe fatigue in their current jobs. Therefore, make sure to allocate time for breaks as needed so that you never feel overwhelmed.

2. Easily Distracted Thinking

There's no point in making a plan if you don't stick to it, as a simple distraction can waste the hours of work and effort you put into setting up a structured schedule. A single distraction can ruin your entire day, messing up your daily schedule.

Distractions are not always your fault, but you can make an effort to try to avoid any distractions that can hinder your time management. Social media is one of the most important reasons, so find a way to control your screen time and other distractions that may not be obvious, such as your email. Email is one of the most essential tools for business, but if you check your email every ten minutes, it may hinder your productivity.

3. Not monitoring your performance

Your current style of time management may be comfortable for you, but how do you know if it really works? There are many ways to improve your time management instead of relying on your current style. Tracking your performance over time will help you improve your time management.

You should find an effective way to measure your performance and productivity. Here are some examples of key performance indicators that will help you measure your performance:

• Average meeting time.
• Quantity of tasks completed daily.
• Punctuality.
• Total break time.
• Completion Percentage of scheduled tasks.

Assign specific goals for each metric you set, and check on your achievement of those goals weekly. If you cannot achieve your aspirations in time management, take the time to change your style to reach them.

4. Lacking Work-Life Balance

Time management is necessary not only to arrange your tasks and plans at work but also to manage your time at home and try to coordinate between on-clock and off-clock because work-life balance is necessary to achieve happiness and satisfaction.

The best way to balance your work and private life is to use your e-calendar, which analyzes the amount of time you allocate to family, hobbies, and other activities compared to work hours. Once you have a better idea of how to balance your work and life, consciously planning times to exercise or play with your children will be what you need to be able to allocate other time to do other things. This enhances balance. Therefore, find what suits you best and use your calendar to achieve it.

5. Multitasking

In fact, multitasking distracts you and reduces the quality of your work. You may feel that you are saving a lot of time by trying to do multiple tasks while making completing them harder than they are. Therefore, it is always better to plan to accomplish tasks one by one. Focusing on one mission at a time ensures that you maintain your focus, and attention allows you to finish the mission more effectively.

6. Lack of prioritization

When you learn to prioritize your to-do list, you can make better daily decisions about investing your time. For example, let's say you're busy working on a project and you've received an email from work inviting you to attend an unplanned meeting. How do you prioritize that meeting? If it is a very critical meeting, it will be necessary to postpone some tasks on your calendar, but if not, find a way to postpone the meeting so that you can finish your important project.

Now that you've discovered some signs of poor time management, it's time to make some necessary changes in your calendar because these few tweaks will greatly impact your productivity.