Time management is an important stress-management technique and is crucial in today’s always-on world. We often here lots of reasons why people don’t feel that they need to improve their time management skills so we thought we would address some of these here! Do you recognise any of them?
Time management myths
MYTH: Planning my time is more time wasted.
TRUTH: Actually, research suggests the opposite. Knowing how you should spend your time and what you should be spending it on is the first step towards effective time management. Begin by clarifying your priorities and you will immediately find that you use your time more effectively.
MYTH: If there is not enough time to get my to do list done, then I have a time management problem.
TRUTH: A time-management problem is not using your time to your fullest advantage to get done what you need to do. You are not making the most effective use of your time.
MYTH: The busier I am, the more I am getting done.
TRUTH: Ever heard the expression a busy fool? Maybe you are only focusing on urgent tasks, but urgent tasks are not always important tasks. Stephen Covey talks about the “activity trap” where we busily climb the ladder of activity without realising it is against the wrong wall. It’s easy to be too focused on the doing and the implementation and not enough on the outcomes and the end results.
MYTH: I feel very hassled and stressed, so I must have a time-management problem.
TRUTH: You may not have a time-management problem. First you should make sure that this really is the issue by being clear about what needs to be done and if it is actually getting done or not.
For more tips on mastering your time click here