Common Time Management Mistakes

Important: GDPR Email Preferences

As you may already know, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be coming into effect on 25th May 2018. We take your privacy seriously and we are working hard to ensure we comply with the new data protection laws. You can find out more about how we're doing this in our privacy policy on our website.

We want to make sure you continue to receive the latest newsletters, blogs, special offers and more.

As someone who has opted-in to receive our emails in the past, we’d like to give you this opportunity to confirm what you wish to receive:

Just so you know, if you don’t let us know what kinds of emails you want to receive from us, we’ll stop emailing you on the 24th May 2018 - you'll be missing out!

You are of course free to change your mind at any time – just follow the link at the bottom of any of our emails.

Advert

When it comes to time management, most managers make the same mistakes.

Here is a list of five common time management mistakes together with their countermeasures.

1. The mistake of being too easily distracted

We live in a world that is designed to distract us. Many people are trying to attract our attention; politicians, bloggers, bosses, customers, friends, Facebook, emails and advertisers, all want to grab your attention.

As a consequence of this constant bombardment, most people are too easily distracted.

Countermeasure

Strive to focus your attention and resist the constant distractions from the email inbox ping, the Facebook notification, and the other distractions from work colleagues in the office.

Keep your mind on the job.

2. The mistake of having no clear plan of action

One reason you may be so easily distracted is that you have no clear written plan for the day. You have only a vague notion of how you will spend your time, today. All good time managers have detailed plans for the day. And all poor time managers lack such detailed plans.

Countermeasure

To make yourself a good time manager, each evening, write a plan for the following day. Then strive to stick to the plan. Remember, you cannot stick to a plan you don't write.

3. The mistake of procrastination

Procrastination is the act of putting-off a task because you are not in the mood to do it. You could do it. You should do it. But you are not in the mood to do it, so you don't.

Could, should, don't.

This is a recipe for disaster. And many people live by that creed.

Could, should, don't.

It leads to missed deadlines, late work, conflicts and arguments. Disaster.

Countermeasure

Never procrastinate. If you could do it, and you should do it, then DO it. Even if you are not in the mood.

Do it even if you are not in the mood to do it.

This is self-discipline. It is the countermeasure to procrastination.

4. The mistake of trying to multi task

Multitasking is the act of attempting to do two or more things simultaneously. Examples are: making a phone call whilst driving on the motorway. Cooking dinner whilst doing your homework.

Listening to a friend whilst trying to type an unrelated email.

Multitasking has been sold to you as a good thing to try to master. This is bad advice. You will end up dividing your attention between tasks and will make a mess of both tasks.

Countermeasure

Don't try to multi task. Instead, line up your tasks into their best logical sequence and do them one at a time in the state of full mental focus and full attention.

Remember: Full focus and full concentration. Full Focus and concentration is the best way to gain results. Don't split your focus. Concentrate.

5. The mistake of trying to do it all for everyone

Many people are suffering from the inability to say, "No". They want to be liked, they want to be helpful, and so they say "Yes" to every request for help. As a result they overcommit. They say, "Yes" to 20 people and they commit to doing 20 tasks in a time-frame that won't allow 20 tasks to be done properly.

So, the person either misses deadlines, or does a rush-job, and messes it up, or breaks the promise made, or takes the work home and works through the evenings to catch-up.

None of these are sustainable.

Countermeasure

Learn to say, "No".

Don't say no because you are lazy. Say no when you realise that your time is already fully committed, and taking-on more work, will force you into one of the errors mentioned above. Be assertive. Be rational. Be clear about what you can and cannot do.

A wise person knows his limitations. If you go too far beyond your limitations, you will mess up and nobody will thank you for it.

Learn to say, "No".

Summary: Five time management training tips

• Strive to focus your attention and resist the constant distractions.
• Each evening, write a plan for the following day. Then strive to stick to the plan.
• Never procrastinate. Instead, use your self-discipline.
• Don't try to multi task. Instead, line up your tasks into their best logical sequence and do them one at a time, with full mental focus.
• Learn to say "No", when you realise that your time is already fully committed.

If you want to learn more about time management, please attend this one day time management training programme.

Time Management Quiz

Try our Time Management questionnaire to find out your time management strengths and weaknesses.

Time Management Questionnaire

Time Management Questionnaire

Many people are not very good at time management. As a result they are in a constant state of crisis, and they are not as effective as they would otherwise be. Take this questionnaire to find out your time management strengths and weaknesses - it is free, informative and fun.

Blogs by Email

Do you want to receive an email whenever we post a new blog? The blogs contain article 5-10 minutes long - ideal for reading during your coffee break!

Your Comments

Further Reading in Time Management

• How much can you do in less than half an hour?
  Not enough hours in the day? If you put your mind to it, you can get a lot done in a half hour or less. Spending a short time each day to something you don't think you have time for, will eventually pay off.
  Read Article >
• How can I better delegate
  How can I better delegate? Delegation is the art of entrusting a task to another. Delegation is a vital skill for you to master, especially if you are a manager or a leader. Delegation is a vital skill because you cannot do it all. You cannot do it all because you...
  Read Article >
• Time planning - How to prioritise tasks
  How to prioritise tasks It is important to have a method of properly prioritising your tasks If you do not have a proper method of prioritising your tasks, then you probably won't prioritise your tasks properly. And if you don't prioritise tasks properly you will not be doing the most valuable...
  Read Article >
• Time management skills and techniques
  Time management skills and techniques Time management training is the art of organising and prioritising your work so that you are always doing the right thing, in the right order. How can you most easily learn time management skills and techniques? You can easily learn some time management skills simply by...
  Read Article >
• Managing Stress
  Reducing your stress levels can be achieved by management of your work load and time pressures, together with managing the emotional responses to such pressures.
  Read Article >