Subjugate the Seven Time Management Sins
How highly would you rate you time management skills? The majority of us aren’t all that great at it, meaning we place ourselves under more stress than is necessary. By avoiding these common mistakes and adapting workable strategies, you can make your life more productive, less stressful and generally more positive.
How many of the seven deadly time management sins do you commit regularly?
- Using ineffective to-do lists or none at all
Have you found yourself thinking about how much you have to do and wondering how you can fit it all in? If so, chances are that you are not using to-do lists to manage your tasks or, if you are, you aren’t doing it in the most effective way. When creating a to-do list, use a coding system (such as A-E or 1-5) to categorise the tasks you have lined up, then complete the tasks according to importance. Make sure to break tasks down properly; just writing that you need to start your next project isn’t enough, you need to detail each smaller task which is required.
- Failing to prioritise
We briefly mentioned prioritising tasks earlier but it is so important, it deserves its own paragraph. It can be hard to know how to prioritise tasks, particularly when someone comes to you with what they deem to be an emergency, but it must be done in order to work efficiently. You must learn the difference between urgent and important and adopt the thinking into your daily life.
- Procrastinating and giving in to distractions
While the internet has made all of our lives a lot easier in many ways, but it also has a lot of answer for. It was much easier to work without distraction in the days before Facebook, Twitter, newsfeeds and online gaming! Now that these exist in our lives, we must learn how to resist them. They aren’t the only distractions we can face: telephone calls, email, instant messaging and colleagues popping by our desk for a chat are all equally detrimental to our productivity. Turn off your IM client, forbid yourself from accessing the internet other than for work purposes (use a website blocker if necessary) and don’t be afraid to let people know if they are interrupting you too regularly.
- Taking on far too much
Although we may all like to think we are, none of us are super heroes. We don’t have an infinite number of hours in our day and we can’t always achieve absolutely everything that is asked of us. One of the most important skills in managing your time more effectively is learning how to say no. Whether this involves politely informing someone that you cannot take on another project or learning how to stop micro-managing and start delegating, saying no when required will do a lot for your productivity.
- Multitasking
Despite what we have all been led to believe, multitasking is rarely a useful skill. If you are on the phone and answering emails at the same time, it can almost be guaranteed that you are not doing either to your full potential. If someone is worth doing, it is worth doing well, so dedicate the necessary time to each task and do it properly the first time. Contrary to what you may think, multitasking can actually add around 20-40% to the time taken to complete each tasks separately.
- Addicted to deadlines
Are you one of those people who claim to work better when you are busy and have the threat of deadlines hanging over you? In reality, meeting your deadlines by minutes, operating a full inbox and working with piles of paper constantly leads to stress not to effective working. Slow down, create an effective schedule and, again, learn to say no.
- Ignoring your body clock
Not everyone works best at the same time of day. Some of us are morning people and others work best in the evening. When creating your to-do list and schedule, remember to take your body clock into consideration. Schedule important, high-value tasks to the times when you have most energy and others, such as emails and telephone calls, to times where you prefer to be more relaxed.
If you would like a free 15 minute strategy session on any of these time management issues, contact Andrea. We also offer longer in depth individual spotlight sessions or courses tailor made for you, your business or your employees, get in touch if you would like to know more.
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