Whether you’ve been using strategies to manage your time effectively for years or you’re just getting started, you may be making these time management mistakes.
It is important to put in a consistent effort to try to fix these mistakes and you will feel as though your time management is much easier!
Keep reading to find out the most critical time management mistakes along with examples and tips on how to fix them.
Time Management Mistakes
Why is Time Management Important?
Time management will allow you to have more time to do the things you enjoy. In addition, with strong time management, you will be a better employee and you can also feel more present and relaxed.
If you’re interested in learning more about the importance of time management, check out the following article.
{ Related Post: The Importance of Time Management: 5 Ways It Can Help You Improve Your Life }
1. Procrastination
In my opinion, procrastination is the most detrimental time management mistake. When you procrastinate, completing your plan for the day is almost impossible. In addition, once you start procrastinating, it is very challenging to get back on track.
If you’re currently feeling stuck and feeling like you keep procrastinating everything, then start will small tasks. By completing a small task, it will give you a sense of accomplishment. Use that feeling to fuel yourself to complete more tasks. It might sound simple and easy, but trust me, I really do understand the feeling and it’s very tough.
In addition to chasing the sense of accomplishment, it also comes down to discipline. Self-discipline is something that needs to be practiced. I think of it like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets.
This means that if you’ve been procrastinating for a while, the muscle is weak and just needs a little practice. This also means that over time, it will feel easier to avoid procrastination.
2. Not Prioritizing
Prioritizing is very important in time management. This allows you to ensure that you complete the items that are most important.
For example, on days when you have a lot on your plate, it’s possible you won’t get to everything. For that reason, you should schedule your priorities first and fill in your other tasks around them.
3. Poor Planning
Similar to failing to prioritize, it is important to be strategic about your day. This can really increase how much you’re able to get done.
The first way to improve your planning is to pay close attention to your physical location when running errands. If you know that the two stores you need to go to are in the same shopping center, it makes sense to do them one after the other. This will minimize the time you spend driving back and forth.
Another way is based on your mindset rather than your physical location. If you have a few tasks where you really need to focus to complete them, it makes sense to sit down and do both at once. Batching tasks like this will prevent you from having to refocus multiple times throughout the day to get started again.
4. Allowing Distractions
Without even realizing it, we allow distractions into our lives on a daily basis. With the presence of phones and constant notifications, it is important to make a focused effort to avoid and get rid of possible distractions.
To start avoiding distractions, pay attention to what has been a distraction in the past and anticipate other possible distractions. Once you have those distractions identified, be very intentional about removing those from your space.
5. Not Following Plan/To-Do List
Having a well-thought-out, efficient plan cannot help you if you don’t follow it. Going about your day without having the essential tasks planned out will be far less efficient. You will likely find that just completing those required tasks takes far longer than you feel it should. This would take away any time that you had for other things in your day.
6. Spreading Yourself Too Thin
While planning well will allow you to do more every day, it’s still possible to agree to too much. This will cause you to be overwhelmed and as a result, hurt your productivity. It is important to think about whether or not you really want to make the commitment before agreeing.
{ Related Post: 5 Simple Productivity Tips You NEED to Know! }
7. Multitasking
This can be done the right way. For example, talking on the phone while doing dishes or other simple activities.
Trying to watch a riveting show while getting work done is not good multitasking. You’ll find yourself working WAY slower and also not being able to pay enough attention to the show. Better to do one and then the other.
{ Related Post: 5 Useful Time Management Skills You MUST Know! }
8. Avoiding Breaks
This might seem counterintuitive but taking breaks will energize you so you can start stronger. Without taking breaks, you will start to burn out and have trouble staying focused. It is important to take breaks strategically and stick to your plan. Check out this article for the best ways to take breaks while staying productive.
9. Seeking Perfection
So many people, including myself, are guilty of this. Seeking perfection can make it feel so difficult to get started and is a main cause of procrastination. When planning to start something, it can be tempting to try to get all the details figured out before you even begin. Most of the time, it is good to have some plan and let all the small details fall into place.
10. Not Setting Goals
Goals are important to help you stay on track and stay focused. For example, if your goal is to eat out less, when you are struggling to convince yourself to go home to make dinner rather than picking up takeout, you can remind yourself of your goal.
If you had no reason that you shouldn’t pick up takeout, then you would every day. With a goal in mind, you can adjust your mindset to more easily reach your goal.
Setting goals also helps you with your direction. Again, if your goal was to eat out less, you can use this goal when planning your week. For example, it would be important to prioritize time for cooking so that you’re not forced to eat out.
If you’re interested in learning more about the importance of setting goals, read this article.
11. Failing to Track Time for Each Task
Tracking the time it takes you to complete tasks throughout the day will keep you aware of how much time each task takes. This is important to know when planning future days.
You also may be surprised by how much time something takes. If you find that something is taking longer than you’d like it to, you can focus your attention on it to see if you can complete that task more quickly in the future. For example, maybe getting dressed for the day takes longer than you’d like in the mornings. Maybe you can try setting out your clothes the night before to make the morning go faster.
Taking a look at the time on a clock and writing it down on paper is a perfectly good way to track your time at first. There are also so many different apps you can try. Take a look at this article to find reviews on some of the top choices!
If you’re making any of these mistakes, I hope you now have the strategies to improve your time management. Find other time management articles below!
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