Yes, even I make time management mistakes.
This morning is a case in point. I got Cameron to school late. It was avoidable. And it was my fault.
I slept through my alarm. At some point, I shut it off and then overslept. Wendy woke me up a few minutes after 7 AM, more than an hour after the original alarm went off.
That’s more than 90 minutes after my original alarm. We should have been leaving as I was getting out of bed.
Now, we would have arrived on time. On days like today when Cameron doesn’t have weight training in the morning, I drop Cole off first. Then we head over to drop Cameron off. That usually gives us a 10-minute cushion if I’m on time with Cole.
But I dropped Cole off about 8 minutes later than usual (I try to get there by 7:45 AM). So we had a two-minute window left.
But we (literally) ran into a roadblock on one of the side roads we take between schools. That turn around and reroute cost us another 8 minutes. That killed the remaining 2-minute window and put us 6 minutes behind.
On top of that, that put me back home and at my desk later than anticipated.
That said, I do build enough squishy time in my day to make up for the mistake, though there’s nothing Cameron can do.
I’ll be able to error-proof the mistake going forward. It’s been a long time since I’ve slept through an alarm, but I’m feeling a little under the weather.
So, I decided to use my mistake to help you with this morning’s post.
Let’s talk about 3 devastating time management mistakes for you to avoid at all costs.
So let’s not waste any more time (pun intended) and jump right in!
Time Management Mistake 1:
We Don’t Plan Ahead For Obstacles
One of the most costly time management mistakes is not planning ahead. This includes not having contingency plans. And not leaving enough “squishy” time in your day to deal with the unexpected.
On my trip this morning, in addition to waking up way late, there wasn’t enough “squishy” time for two obstacles.
The time works if I am on time and run into a roadblock. And the time works if I am 8 minutes late and have no roadblock. But there wasn’t enough for both things to happen.
Now, because of the set clocks of the schools, I cannot increase the “squishy” time, but I can plan ahead. My contingency plan? Two alarms.
The first will go off when it should and be voice-activated (my current alarm). The second will be traditional. One I have to get out of bed to turn off. And I’ll put it across the room.
Another example. Let’s say you have a meeting at 11 AM. You know there will be some discussion and debate, so you factor in an hour for that. But what if it goes longer? Are you prepared to stay later or work through lunch? Have you planned in enough ‘squishy’ time or planned for extra time? Have you thought about how you’re going to get out of the meeting if you need to move on with your day?
If not, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. Something unexpected is going to come up and throw your whole day off track.
Mistake 2:
Trying to Do Too Many Things At Once
The same thing applies to when we’re trying to do too many things at once. Multi-tasking is a huge time waster.
When we’re trying to multi-task, our brain is bouncing back and forth between the tasks. This means that it’s not focusing on any of them. And so, it takes longer to do everything than if we were doing one task at a time.
In fact, research shows that people who multitask actually have lower IQs scores. Yup, you read that right! Multi-tasking lowers your IQ!
Plus, when we’re multitasking we’re usually not doing any of them as well as we could be. We’re just getting by.
I’ve never felt so frazzled and out of control as when I tried to multi-task. I felt like I was always working, but never getting anything done.
Now, when I use the one task at a time focus strategy, I’m completing tasks, not just working on them.
This brings me to the third of our critical time management mistakes…
Mistake 3:
Trying to Be Perfect
The time has come to talk about the final time management mistake that is so terrible and yet so very common.
We try too hard to be perfect!
Yes – even I am trying my best right now (I’m writing this post before work in an attempt to get some extra hours at night). And you know what? It isn’t working out well for me either.
All of us have a tendency to want things to be perfect. Or at least as close as possible given time constraints. Especially there are deadlines. Yet, many times perfectionism only leads one down a road where nothing gets done at all.
We’re often our own worst enemy when talking about time management. For example, I’m on my third draft of this blog post. And I’ll probably do a couple more passes after it’s live.
But those extra passes will be if time allows. If there’s squishy time somewhere or I have to move out another task.
In the past, this would never even make it online. My own perfectionism would creep in, anxiety would follow, and I’d never post it.
But now, I set a deadline, and it goes live.
I plan for my perfectionism with time for a few rewrites. But then, no matter what, it goes live. I can tweak it more later.
The lesson to take from this time management mistake is nothing will ever be perfect. There will always be room for improvement.
We have to let go of the desire to be perfect and instead focus on being good enough.
But perfectionism creeps into our days in other ways too.
Let me ask: Do you ever feel like time slips through your fingers before you even realize it? As soon as one thing gets finished another pops up in its place? Like you’re playing whack-a-mole all day?
Well, what about those times where unplanned things happen? And we have to change course completely or reschedule something else altogether? Suddenly, our perfect time management script has wound up in file 13.
Are we still trying for perfection then too? Do we let the fact that our script lies in pieces on the ground keep us from moving forward?
Yes, this means that some things won’t get done that day, but that’s okay! In fact, it’s more than okay – it’s necessary. You’re not always going to be able to do everything, so don’t even try.
That’s where an app like Motion helps me. It allows me to prioritize tasks based on hard and soft deadlines. So once I put in the new, unexpected tasks it’ll reschedule my day and week on the fly.
It allows me to pick and choose the most important tasks and goals I want to achieve. And then I can focus my time and energy there.
Trying for perfection will only lead you down a road of frustration and stress. And that leads to little to no productivity.
So there you have it – three time management mistakes that you should avoid at all costs! Eliminate these mistakes and you’ll find a new level of productivity. All with less stress.
