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In my thirty years as a Time Management speaker and consultant,
I have observed a lot of what we can and should not do to
increase our daily results. Time management is not necessarily
working “harder”, but rather, “smarter”.
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And to accomplish significantly more in our days, we need not
increase our efforts. As an example, in a horserace, the first
horse may earn a $50,000 purse and the second horse may earn a
$25,000 purse. The first horse gets twice as much money as the
second horse, not because it ran twice as far or twice as fast.
It was only a “nose ahead” of the competition.
So it is with our daily results. We need not run twice as
fast or put in twice the effort to significantly increase our
daily success. We only need to be a “nose ahead” of where we
already are. We are all productive in our days. We would not
survive the demands of this world if we were not. The real
challenge is how much more productive can we become?
A lot of our Time Management has to do more with what we are
not doing rather than what we are doing. Sometimes our mistakes
and omissions will keep us from running at a full pace.
Here are the Top Five Time Management Mistakes we should all
avoid to help us to increase our daily success both on and off
the job, in less time and with less stress.
1.
Start your day without a plan of action.
You will begin your day by responding to the loudest voice (the
squeaky wheel gets the grease) and spend it in a defensive mode,
responding to other people’s and events’ demands. The tail
will wag the dog. If there is a void of leadership in your Time
Management life, someone will fill that void, not that others
are bad people, but others will take all of your time if you let
them. You will have worked hard but may not have done enough of
right things. Time Management is not doing the wrong things
quicker. That just gets us nowhere faster. Time Management is
doing the right things.
2.
Get out of balance in your life.
Our lives are made up of Seven Vital Areas: Health, Family,
Financial, Intellectual, Social, Professional, and Spiritual. We
will not necessarily spend time every day in each area or equal
amounts of time in each area. But, if in the long run, we spend
a sufficient quantity and quality of time in each area, our
lives will be in balance. But if we neglect any one area, never
mind two or three, we will eventually sabotage our success. Much
like a table, if one leg is longer than the rest, it will make
the entire table wobbly. If we don’t take time for health, our
family life and social life are hurt. If our financial area is
out of balance, we will not be able to focus adequately on our
professional goals, etc.
3.
Work with a messy desk or work area.
Studies have shown that the person who works with a messy desk
spends, on average, one and a half hours per day looking for
things or being distracted by things. That’s seven and a half
hours per week. (“Out of sight-out of mind.” And the reverse
of that is true too, “In sight, in mind”). And, it’s not a
solid block of an hour and a half, but a minute here and a
minute there, and like a leaky hot water faucet, drip, drip,
drip, it doesn’t seem like a major loss, but at the end the
day, we’re dumping gallons of hot water down the drain that we
are paying to heat. If you have ever visited the office of a top
manager, typically, that person is working with a clean desk
environment. Many would attribute this practice to that person’s
access to other staff members. While there may be some truth in
that conclusion, in most cases, if we went back some years in
that person’s career, they probably were working with a clean
desk back then which ! gave them the focus they needed to become
promoted to where they are today.
4.
Don’t get enough sleep.
Studies show that nearly 75% of us complain on a regular basis,
all throughout our days, that we are flat-out tired. For most
people, they get the quantity of sleep, but they lack the
quality of sleep. Their days are filled with so much stress,
they are out of control, working harder but maybe not smarter,
that it’s difficult to get a full night’s sleep. (For some,
they simply do not allow for a sufficient quantity of sleep.) If
you will plan your day, then work your plan, you will get more
done, feel a higher sense of accomplishment, and experience less
stress and enjoy a more restful night’s sleep.
5.
Don’t take a lunch break.
Many do not take a lunch break, working through that time period
in the hope that it will give them more time to produce results.
Studies have shown it may work just the opposite. After doing
what we do for several hours, we start to “dull out”. Sure,
we can work through lunch and be productive, but that is not the
issue. The issue is “how much more” productive we can be. A
lunch break, even a short fifteen minute break, gives us a
chance to get our batteries all charged up again to more
effectively handle the afternoon’s challenges. We are then
less likely to procrastinate a few of those difficult tasks
that, in the long run, will make a positive difference in our
personal productivity.
About the Author:
Don Wetmore is a
full-time Professional Speaker, specializing in the topic of
Time Management. He has prepared an additional article entitled,
“Top Five Best Time Management Practices”. It’s free. If
you would like a copy, visit his site
at http://www.balancetime.com
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