Common Time Management Mistakes
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Common Time Management Mistakes …
If you are reading this blog you may be one of two people:
1. You are like me and you have been running round in circles hoping things will get done AND nothing ever does OR
2. You are smarter than me and wanted to find out ‘what not to do’ when it comes to how to manage your time so that the little time you might have is spent most effectively – WHAT an INSPIRATION but definitely a minority for sure!
The thing i love most about writing posts like this is the fact that people are able to learn from my mistakes. It makes everything i have gone through to get myself to the point i am now, worth it.
So let’s get into time Management
1. Failing to keep a to-do list. Now this might seem an obvious skill to use but you will be surprised at just how many people sit down and start their time off with no idea about the things they need to complete within that time OR they think they have it all planned out in their head. Good luck with that! Getting it out on paper is a great way to give yourself the chance to focus on specific tasks and make a time management PLAN. Without a plan you run the risk of waisting precious time and failing to complete all the tasks.
Now i am someone who loves writing lists, my weakness is the lack of action. The next couple of mistakes will explain this in more depth.
2. Not setting personal goals. This may sound a little like the writing a list exercise because you may consider each thing on the list a goal BUT a goal is something to look forward to and work towards. A goal can be work orientated or personally orientated.
A work orientated goal might be – When i have completed this task (example of a task: marketing a product to potential customers), i can look forward to the calls/emails from people that are interested and potentially want to buy OR
A personal orientated goal – Once i finish this task i can sit down for the night and not have to worry about it anymore which is a great time management strategy. Some may also call this a reward. Also VERY important in this process (as long as they are realistically given for the right amount of work done).
3. Distractions make us loose time in our day – phones ringing, chat pop ups etc pose a great risk to time management and planning. Now you may be someone whose work is revolved around such distractions but when you are trying to focus on something else, these things can cause massive time delays that are better managed when these things are ignored or turned off for a period of time and gotten back to once the task has been completed. Delay of a task is a GOOD thing when another important task can be finished more efficiently.
4. Procrastinating – HERE IT IS. This is my biggest hurdle to time management. Most of the time my reasoning behind procrastinating is because i have made the task too big and overwhelming and i justify my reasons for doing everything else BUT what i am suppose to be doing. SOLUTION – give yourself small goals and short times of 10-15 minutes to complete simple tasks. If you need to break big tasks down then start with that. Breaking them down into little projects makes them less overwhelming and also plays a little trick with your mind. Once you have broken them down and go through them one at a time you will eventually find that the big task is completed.
More time management problems and remedies
5. Multitasking – ANOTHER Time Management issue. I would say i am a fantastic multi task-er but when i explain why multitasking can be negative in time management you may understand why this might be a negative skill (so-to-speak). Multitasking is a great skill when the things that are being done are what you might call ‘menial’ tasks. Mum’s are pro’s at multitasking and have to be when it comes to getting things done with little ones running around. The times we give ourselves to sit down and BE PRODUCTIVE are often more effective and efficiently handled if we focus on one task at a time.
6. Not taking breaks. This one is my favourite things to have learned. When i finally gave myself the permission to give myself breaks every hour or two of work i gave myself not only something to look forward to but also a time frame to complete tasks in. In the past i would often feel guilty for taking breaks until i realised that after that amount of work, more often than not my brain was ready for a rest and would be more effective if it just had some time off. Depending on how much time you are giving yourself to work, 5-10 minute breaks are the best.
NOTE: You also cant do good work when you are hungry. Remember to feed your mind. It will love you for it and work better for you!
7. Not writing things down. This might sound a little like the writing the list exercise at the beginning but this skill is actually more helpful during the process of work or whatever it is you are using your time for. Have a piece of paper or a notepad sitting next to you while you are working so that you can write down things that come into your head and refer back to it later.
8. Not getting enough sleep. I think this time management problem speaks for itself but just to state the obvious, when we have not had enough sleep, we cannot perform at our best and therefore this becomes a hindrance on our work. Going to bed a little earlier or taking a small nap can make ALL the difference in your brains ability to function more effectively and efficiently as opposed to trying to push out the very last energy it is retaining for a much longer period of time.
DONE!
Apply these skills are you are well on your way to fighting the common time management mistakes and conquering your tasks much more effectively!
Now get to it!!
What better way to save time than to be making money at the same time as doing something productive BUT lets take it out of the workplace and make it happen right from the comfort of your own home… Here is where i practice what i preach!
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