Time is indeed a valuable asset for anyone. You can be a student or running a small business but having control over the time helps you in getting tasks done.
But having poor time management affects negatively, here you end up wasting more time and reducing productivity.
Well to know more about it, what are the reasons and signs that show your time management fails, here is what can help you.
What Are The Behaviors That Cause Mismanaging Your Time?
Solid time management is not easy to get, it needs time to create the habit and it needs focus too.
With this, you need to understand what can help in improving your time management.
There are different behaviors that lead to doom your schedule and prevent the work from not getting completed.
Here are some of the ways that mismanage time and lead to failure of time management.
You Don’t Plan Ahead
The schedule is not for uptight people, it’s important that you have one too. Even though you keep saying that you have everything in your control, casually cruising around and getting everything done without having a planner.
But even so , it’s important to have a schedule for yourself. With this, you can easily plan out, record, and prioritize everything that you need to get everything done.
When you don’t have a schedule, you don’t want to waste a lot of time as well as forget the important stuff.
You Don’t Jot Things Down
There is one thing that should be done with scheduling. Basically, you need to write things and record what you are going to do.
Also, you need to get everything that is completely done and needs to be done in the future.
You can choose whatever medium you feel comfortable with, it can be your phone, planner, or calendar.
You Get Easily Distracted
Spontaneity is a charming quality, however, this allows you to be flexible when you are facing unexpected obstacles.
It can help you in taking better opportunities and getting the general interesting way to live life.
But if it’s getting too much and you are constantly getting distractions leads to wasting time.
This also pushes you to make decisions that harm your time management.
You Procrastinate A Lot
Procrastination is normal and a lot of people do it in some amount from time to time. And it’s harmless, but when you are doing it chronic procrastination will end up getting time management fail.
You are basically putting your work off and telling yourself that you will do it eventually.
You Don’t Have Rituals
Having rituals, not like cultish ones but a set of things including the positive habits which helps you in staying motivated throughout your day is important.
It can be having a cup of coffee in the morning, doing yoga, or having small activities that help you in staying energetic for your day.
You Don’t Have Fun Time Plan
Time management is not just about getting your work done on time but also having a separate section to focus on yourself and enjoy.
That’s why it’s important that you have fun activities but keep them on schedule. So it won’t affect the time of your work.
You Are Forgetting About Weekends
Weekends are the important part and don’t leave it as big blank spaces.
Make sure you have a schedule for your Saturday and Sunday. This can be totally different. For example, you can plan to watch your favorite show while wearing pajamas.
You Rush A Lot
Sometimes you feel like rushing can help in getting work done faster and help in doing more work.
However it’s not good for the long run, so if you are doing this eventually it will fail your time management.
What Are The Signs Of Your Time Management Fail?
Sometimes you are not as proactive as you want to be. There are a lot of logical situations but it’s important to not turn a blind eye to signs.
A Lot of time you have the opportunity to make the best use of your time, but you still don’t do it. Even though you are following the schedule for managing time, still it doesn’t mean you are getting most of your time.
To understand what signs you should pay attention to, here is the list for you.
You Are Saying Yes To Everything
As Warren Buffet says, the difference between people who are successful and really successful is that they really successfully say no to everything to most things.
However, it’s understandable that you don’t want to miss an opportunity or offend others. But in order to reclaim the time, it’s important that you have the art of saying no /
You can reject those things that are :
- Tasks that you can automate or outsource.
- Actions that are way different from your vision.
- The unhealthy habits for you
- Anything on which you don’t have the control
- Distractions which can be the smartphone
- Doing meetings where you have no need
You Are In Constant Rush
Time management aims to keep you relaxed while getting everything done on time.
However, you find yourself running out for every task or jumping from one meeting to another, etc. This means either you don’t have the time planned properly or you are underestimating the time you need.
As Akiroq Broast said that you should not be in a rush to reach every goal, that you reach it before you are even ready.
Sometimes it’s more about learning, discovering what you want, and putting heart into it instead of rushing.
Believing One Size Will Fit All
In order to solve the time management issues, you turn to tools that promise to offer you help to get back the control of your life.
But even with that, you don’t get results. Well, the reason is quite simple. These tools are built by developers who were looking to solve their problems in time management.
So when it doesn’t work for you, it means you have different problems and need solutions.
Believing Procrastination Is A Phase
It can happen like a phase, but not when you are going through the same thing over and over. Also, it’s your time that your time management is failing miserably.
Not only do you need to understand why it happens in the first place, but also look for the signs that lead to chronic procrastination.
It includes major reasons such as :
- Having no or uncertain goals
- Feeling too overwhelmed
- Facing problems with concentration’
- Having beliefs that are negative to you
- Going through some personal issues
- Making excuses
- Being afraid to not get it done and failing
- Being bored
You Have Bad reputation
This is not about being political, it can be missing deadlines, not keeping your word, forgetting tasks, etc. No one wants to deal with those people who keep doing these things over and over. It goes both personal and professional.
So it’s important that you check your availability before you commit anything. Also, have knowledge of how much time you have in hand to adjust overall work.
You Avoid Making Decisions
As Bo Schembechler writes in book Bo’s Lasting Lessons L The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamental Of Leadership.
Not making decisions is the worst thing, even as you feel like you are making the right decisions based on the information you have, there is no reason to feel worried about it. In case you fail, you know what to do next time.
So when you are being indecisive, you are creating bottlenecks. This is another sign that your time management is failing badly as you have a lack of understanding of how you should make decisions in a critical time.
Being Perfect Matters The Most
The next sign you should pay attention to is you are giving a lot of importance to being perfect in what you do.
However, everyone wants to be in what they do but chasing the image of being perfect will just mess up your mind. Also, perfection doesn’t exist, but it can lead to problems like missing deadlines, anxiety, and featuring the relationship with others since you waste others’ time.
Doing Everything Own
Enetrepersuners need to know that you can’t do everything on your own, and so do other people. Even though you have a huge healthy ego, it’s important that you know when you ask for help.
Especially in work where you don’t have an understanding or are weak, it’s best to handle it to someone else who is best at it.
Your Calendar Is Over Packed
Having a calendar packed with tasks you need to do is helpful and also gives a vibe you are sorted everything.
But if it’s too overpacked, it means you are compromising time over other things. There are chances you are not having time for yourself so you can have a meeting.
Clearing the calendar is difficult but it will help. The best is to stop filling every second with something. Have the buffer between the appointments.
Losing Or Gaining Weight
Health is an important thing in your life, if it’s degrading it means you are not taking care of yourself.
Time management does not ask you to overlook your health in order to be productive. In fact, being healthy is a major boost to productivity.
So if you are losing weight or gaining unnaturally, it means you are avoiding exercise, lacking healthy meals, and not having physical activity in your schedule.
Working Over Time
A Lot of time working overtime, especially when you are in the office, becomes unavoidable. However, if it’s too frequent it is a sign that you don’t have proper time management.
Since you can’t complete your work on time, you have to give more hours which is exceeding and disturbing other task hours.
Also working long hours is bad for health, it can make your productivity suffer and also not good for your reputation.
Not Having Time For Things YOu Love
Another sign that you can see is not having time for things that you enjoy. Think about the last time you played with your pets ? or had dinner with family or hung out with your favorite people?
Or had time for reading the book and trying a new hobby? Well engaging your time with work all time is also a sign of poor time management or failing of it.
What Are The Mistakes That Make Your Time Management Fail?
Time management is crucial for individuals, and it’s easy to know why it holds so much importance.
There is a lot of information and help available that guides you to create your own time management and master the skill.
But there are a lot of mistakes that people make which leads to time management failure. Such mistakes waste your time, affecting your health and productivity.
Thinking That You Don’t Have Enough Time
It’s one of the obvious ways of thinking that you don’t have enough time. When you look at the calendar and to-do list, seeing all the work that you have to do can make you feel overwhelmed.
Also, you can feel like you have more time to get things done. Well everyone has the same hours, and still, a lot of them have more things done than others.
Complaining that you don’t have time will not grant you more hours. Even though you feel better, it will stay for a moment.
Also, you are not getting to the root of your problem and that’s why it makes your time management lousy.
The first thing is to accept you have enough time, Then you need to know where to use it and how. And that’s how you can start making your time management better.
Being Busy And Productive Is Same Thing
Well, the next trap you can fall into is to believe that being busy means you are being productive too.
There is a huge difference between both terms. Cleaning out the inbox and spending time on connecting with customers via social media for some hours can be great. But was that the best use of your hour?
Here are some of the ways that you can be productive instead of being busy.
- Identify what is necessary and important and let those things for another time as it can wait.
- Implement the organization strategy.
- Don’t focus on being perfect instead of getting things done
- Eliminate the distraction which causes you problems such as text and email messages.
- Be honest with your progress
- Weigh the pros and cons before you start with anything trendy
- Be willing to make sacrifices and remove things that are not important and beneficial.
- Only say yes to things that have a purpose
You Are Going To Have Less Anxiety
It’s true that if you manage your time well, it will help in alleviating stress. But it depends on the system you have chosen for yourself as time management.
This can differ and that’s why you should pick the right one to add less stress.
Consider the Getting Things Done method, with this you need to follow five basic steps including capture, clarify, organize, reflect and engage in whatever you do.
Doing the phone calls, meetings, emails, and shopping you need to do, however for some people think can also cause overwhelm and anxiety.
Time management is useful only when you are aware of the limitations. Not just that, it’s important you don’t let the system dictate your entire life of yours.
Miscalculating Time For Specific Tasks
The next thing you need to understand is miscalculating the time for your work.
For example, you need to write the blog for your website, And you have set the hours for that specific task.
You end up sending the set hours but in case it gets dragged out and you have to set more hours, this will wreck your whole schedule.
However, you can set the time limit but sometimes it does not work that way. The reason is quite simple, you underestimated the time that was actually needed to get that task done.
So the best thing you can do is to track the hours you spend for a few weeks. You can write down those numbers in a notebook and calculate the time.
This will help you in being more realistic when you block out time for your task in the future.
Your Focus Is On Time Management Instead Of Task Management
The next thing to focus on is task management, it’s a process that helps in managing your tasks through different stages. It includes planning, development, and completion.
And it’s important for you to work on task management in order to achieve the goals.
With effective task management, you include all the steps that include planning to set the priority.
Task management is much more effective than time management. Since you have tasks that come with clear limits and it makes it easy to manage them.
So you know what to start with, also it limits one thing for a time.
Grabbing The Fruits Which Are Hanging Low
When you get settled into your work and now you are all set to get your to-do list done. Here is what you need to start with, either you can start with doing the tasks which are simple and easy along with least time consuming or those essential work.
So if you get 10 tasks done from your list which makes you feel like you have done something. But here make sure you know the difference between being busy and being productive.
Doing a bunch of things doesn’t make sure you are being productive.
So the advice is not to pick the low-hanging fruit, it means those tasks which are easy to do.
Devote your time on getting the most prioritized tasks first and then focus on what else you can do. If there are tasks that can be automated, do it.
Need To Wake Up Early
In order to be productive, people wake up early. However, it doesn’t work the same for everyone. A Lot of people are night owls, so they work better at night instead of in the morning.
So you have to schedule the bedtime and stick to a routine. Since a lot of people suggested that waking up early makes your time management better. You might do it too.
Here it’s important to find out if you are a morning or night person. If you are not a morning person, don’t force yourself. You can change your schedule and adjust according to that.
You, Will, Reduce The Workload
Well if you are managing it properly, it will help you in managing the work better by making it heavy to handle.
However, it won’t reduce your workload and all thanks to Parkinson‘s law. IIf you have the availability on schedule, it will end up filling it up with something else.
So there are fewer chances of getting space for anything. So it’s important to follow the 80/ 20 productivity rule.
So instead of loading the work more, use open slots for meditating, daydreaming, or anything else that will make your schedule more flexible.
Getting Everything Done In Shortest Time
Another mistake you can make is rushing things and trying to get all of your work done in the shortest time. It won’t work well.
Eventually, you get tired and you don’t have enough energy for the long term. That’s why you tend to follow the short and steady way.
Also doing your work fast will not make you more productive and effective. Your motion will do more damage than helping, it causes burnout.
Never Waste Your Time
Time management doesn’t mean that you have to lock your life in doing the to-do list and following it on every single day.
If the day is beautiful, and you want to go outside, then do it. However even though it’s a time waste and you might feel guilty at the start, do it anyway. It will help you focus better for the rest of the day.
But it’s important that you know the difference between wasting time now or then and binge-watching Netflix.
Doing the time wasted can help in preventing burnout, and helps you unwind, it leads to more creativity.
No Control Of Your Life
The next mistake you can make is not understanding what is important for you. Saying yes to everything will spread you thin, but also you will end up adding things that you don’t need. Such work will take you time and energy without giving results.
Instead of letting others control, take the driving seat and hold how your day should go.
Time management is personal, you have to work on what is a proposition to you.
What Are The Common Problems And Solutions Of Time Management?
Once you have an understanding of reasons, signs, and mistakes to avoid that leads to poor time management, the next thing is to know about what are the solutions that can help you in creating effective but smart time management.
Here are some of the most important yet common time management problems with their solution.
The Dealing With Being Perfect
Perfectionism is no doubt a double edge sword. The perfectionists strive to make sure whatever they are doing is high quality and it shows more motivation, energy, conscientiousness, etc.
However the mindset of all or nothing, and being inflexible also leads to stress, anxiety, and burnout.
When you are dealing with the pressure of being perfect in time management, you need to understand a few basic things. And for that, here are some points to help.
Get Comfortable That Being Imperfect Is Okay
Being diligent is a good trait, however, it might take a lot of your time and effort.
Putting the attention on detail is good too but it can be time-consuming, so if you feel like you are putting effort way too much, it’s important to ask questions about if it’s the best way to use your time or if it is productive.
If you believe that being imperfect in a handful of tasks will bring you more results then let it be that way.
Reflect On Your Progress
The next thing is to reflect on the performance. You can do it weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. This will help you in understanding where you need to focus better and to improve your overall quality.
Take Pressure Off
To achieve things without investing too much time, allow yourself to be imperfect and focus on what is important first.
Also, it’s important that you take the pressure off on Yourself, it doesn’t mean to be careless but to know how much is okay to handle.
Ask For Support And Perspective
Don’t keep the work to yourself, and show it to others. It can be the managers or superior person, so they can help in giving you feedback on how you are going.
Also, it’s important to be open with intention and ready to handle criticism.
Problem With Focusing And Concentration
Another common problem that is experienced by people a lot when they are following the time management schedule is troubling in focusing and concentrating.
You have a project to complete or an article to write but your mind is wandering everywhere instead of focusing on the task you have at hand.
To solve this, here are some of the points that can help you out :
Know What Is Causing Problem
It’s important that you know the reason behind the distraction, this will help you in having better control of your focus and productivity.
You can also take the short assessment test by Harvard Business Review. This will help you in learning the distractions and how it’s damaging your productivity. Along with that, you get the tips to eliminate it
Take Care Of Your Health
Sleep deprivation can be the reason behind why you are getting easily distracted. Also, it affects cognitive functions such as attention as well as memory.
It’s important that you pay attention to health, and focus on doing regular physical activity in order to make your attention better.
It helps to keep your brain healthy.
Set Your Daily Goals
Human brains like short-term goals, and when you successfully achieve them, it helps in making you feel more concentrated as it realizes the dopamine.
Also, you feel happier as it triggers a sense of accomplishment.
Consult Doctor
If you feel a sudden decline in your ability to focus, you need to see the doctor. Also, it affects your daily work, making decisions, etc then it might be a symptom of anxiety and depression.
Inefficiency In Scheduling Tasks
Effective scheduling is a great part of effective time management, and if you are not doing it properly, it leads to more time wasted.
Also, you need to learn the sort your priorities so you don’t get caught up in the whole never-ending cycle of demand and challenges
It will lead to stress, burnout, and anxiety.
To solve this, you can do :
Consider Ivy Lee Method
At the end of your day, write down the six tasks which are important and need to get done tomorrow.
Well, the next day, start doing the tasks which are important for you.
Avoid Mere Urgency Effects
As research says, people end up choosing tasks that are urgent but have lower payoff objectives over significant as well as long-term consequences.
That’s why you need to prioritize both important and urgent tasks. So next time, make sure you pick important tasks instead of urgent ones.
Eat The Frog
Mark Twain’s introduced formula says to get the most challenging work first in your morning, so it will give you more time as well as the peaceful day ahead.
This also helps you in getting the important work done and scheduling the work better
Issue With Not Having A Vision
If you don’t have a clear vision, there is no benefit of mastering the time management skill.
If tasks and responsibilities you need to manage are not enough to inspire you, you have to develop more meaning and direction.
When you don’t have a vision, you lose interest fast and excitement of getting things done.
Here are some of the pointers to help you.
Have Bird’s Eye View
Think about how your tasks are going to contribute to your goals and keep your focus maintained. Also it will help you in staying energetic and inspiring.
You can adjust the vision if needed without losing sight of it.
Create Your Contingency Plan
It’s important that you have a plan b or plan c in order to tackle the unexpected problems. Don’t put all eggs in one basket and have your contingency plan ready.
Identify What Waste Your Time
Most of the management problems occur when you spend a lot of time on things that don’t bring the result.
And that’s why you need to manage your time well and for that, you should identify what is wasting your time.
Bad At Estimating Time
The next problem that happens is not knowing how much time it will take to get the task done.
A lot of time you set time, underestimating the factors which end up taking more time than it was decided.
This is called planning fallacy and refers to making scenarios that are unrealistic.
- It mostly happens because of
- Estimating the complexity of the project,
- Not taking the experience with similar work into account
- Thinking the tasks will go without any issues
- Having a lack of accurate self-awareness
Here are some points that can help :
Calculator Fudge Ration
Build a list and add all of your tasks, now estimate and track the time you are spending.
Add the total time you spent and divide it by the total estimated time. Now multiply it by 100 and you will get the fudge ratio.
Review The Performance
If you are tracking it on paper timesheets, Google spreadsheets, or Excel, you might have difficulty calculating it.
So use the time tracking software, this will help in keeping previous performance track recorded so you can check anytime.
Assume All Scenario
There are a lot of things that can happen, including those scenarios and finding the solution in order to solve it.
More To Explore:
- Most Effective and Proven Time Management Tips, Techniques & Strategies
- Beginner’s Guide For Time Management In 2023
- A Guide To Time Management For Dummies
- Guide On How To Be Professional In Doing Time Management
- 25 Effective Calendar & Schedule Management Tips
“Vision, strategy, and inspiration – these three words describe me the best. I am the founder of “TheLeaderboy” dedicated to leadership and personal development. As a self-taught practitioner, I have been studying the principles of effective leadership for the past decade and my passion lies in sharing my insights with others. My mission is to empower individuals to become better leader