Time management: 6 mistakes that can cost you dearly

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When it comes to time management, mistakes can quickly turn out to be costly. Indeed, wasting time is strongly correlated with problems of stress, communication and of course deadlines. To effectively manage your agenda and optimize your personal organization, you need to carry out an in-depth analysis of your time management practices over several weeks, and sometimes with the help of a coach. However, some common time management errors can be easily identified and then fixed quickly.

The following list contains the most common mistakes in time management. Review your organization using this list to help you identify areas that could be improved. Make the necessary adjustments and then you will have much more time to devote to your most important activities!

1) Lack of vision

To effectively manage your time, you need to have a clear vision of your goals. This vision guides your priority accomplishments and decisions. Many people try in vain to improve their efficiency, but without a clear vision of their goals, but they become dispersed and have little chance of achieving the desired result. Having a clear vision only at the start of the process is not enough. You have to focus on the end result until the goal is achieved. Sometimes it may be necessary to adjust your vision, but you should never lose sight of it.

2) Skip the evaluation of your time management

Regularly reviewing your time management practices will allow you to identify ineffective practices as early as possible. Assessment helps you stay on track and keep your productivity levels as high as possible. A weekly evaluation is a guarantee of good time management.

3)  Perfectionism

Poor time management is often associated with laziness. Yet, this is rarely the case. Much more often, the problem stems from overly high expectations – that is, perfectionism. As the saying goes, “perfection is not of this world”. It should be understood here that perfection is not an achievable goal, and this because it is unique to each of us. In addition, striving for perfection always comes with increased stress, anxiety and disappointment. In short, none of the qualities expected in a good manager! If you constantly strive for perfection, you also run the risk of never doing anything and / or constantly being in a position of waiting.

Instead of trying to be perfect, try to do the best you can with the resources you have at the time. This approach will minimize errors. When mistakes do occur, see them as an opportunity to improve yourself.

4) Put urgency before importance

When things seem urgent, most of the time you can’t do a task properly. Pressures are placed on you by time or by other people. When you are guided by this sense of urgency, your time is controlled by the needs of others rather than your own needs. It’s not an efficient way to manage time. When you are faced with an urgent situation, you should weigh it against your own goals.

Urgency is sometimes used as an excuse not to do something that is more important, but also more difficult, which is called procrastination. In this case, you subconsciously convince yourself that what is not important should be done first, effectively pushing back what is really important but pushes you out of your comfort zone. To avoid this phenomenon, keep your priorities in mind and before starting any task, ask yourself “How does this task serve my priorities and bring me closer to my vision?” “.

5) Lack of perspective

Most of the problems that we encounter on a daily basis are small. Yet when something goes wrong, or we receive an unpleasant remark we tend to magnify the problem until disaster strikes. Then we spend a lot more time than we need to try to resolve this problem.

Before rushing to put out the fire, take a moment to assess the true importance of the problem, and then, based on its true importance, determine the best way to resolve it. Take a short moment to do this whenever a problem arises, you will save an endless amount of time and a lot of unnecessary stress.

6) Overestimating the importance of a task

Some tasks are more important than others, but no single task represents all of your work. It is important to be able to identify which tasks and which people are most important to your job. These tasks and people can then be given a higher priority. However, it’s important to remember that you have other tasks and other clients that need your attention.

Overestimating the importance of a task or a client is a big mistake in time management. You end up giving them more time than you want at the expense of the rest. Optimizing your efficiency requires regular work. It’s not enough to make adjustments once and hope it will work forever. As your life and work evolves, your practices will change and you will need to complete another assessment of your time management.

The above list covers 6 of the most common time management mistakes. Take the time to review your practices. Ask yourself, honestly, if you are making any of these mistakes. If the answer is yes, review your organization and put in place new strategies that will eliminate these errors. You will then have more time to devote to your most important activities, which will help you improve your performance and your results.