9 Big Misconceptions About Time Management That Can Hold You Back
Don’t let these misconceptions sap your productivity
As a business owner, I frequently try to learn new ways to improve my time management skills and maximize my productivity to get more done in less time. While you can find a lot of useful information on different platforms like Medium, YouTube, and Reddit, you can also find a lot of misconceptions that can hold you back.
I have tried a lot of those tips.
Some of these tips work like charm. Others will just get you into a loop of anxiety and you will end the week with a half-done to-do list. So to avoid making the mistakes I made, here are 9 time management misconceptions that will hold you back.
1- You Need To Work As Fast As Possible
I remember when I created a marketing plan for my business not too long ago, one of the goals I had set is to publish 10 articles on popular blogs.
This sounds reasonable, 10 articles is not something out of this world.
However, the problem came when I divided this goal into smaller tasks. The plan was to finish these 10 1000-word articles in 5 days! So I had to publish 2–3 articles every day.
So I reserved 5 7-hour blocks in my calendar just for writing hoping that nothing unexpected happens.
But it did.
Unexpected family appointments, unexpected client requests, days with 0 work done, and so on. So I decided to work even harder and write 3–4 articles every day to finish these 10 articles on time. And as you may expect, things just got worse. I was feeling stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed by all these endless tasks and late client projects caused by this unrealistic deadline that I sat to myself. The result? I ended up the week with 4 out of 10 articles done, feeling guilty, angry clients, and missed deadlines.
But Why!?
Because I thought that time management equals doing things as fast as possible. I thought if I set myself tight deadlines I will become super productive and will finish these 10 1000-word articles in less time. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s impossible to write 2 articles per day, but when you have another job and a lot of things going on in your life, you need to be realistic about what you can do. If I didn’t have clients who need their projects done as soon as possible or a lot of meetings throughout the day, I may be able to get this done.
Lesson Learned: Overestimating what you can do in a day will make you less productive, overwhelmed, anxious, and you will end your week with a half-done to-do list. So know yourself, determine your responsibilities, and set reasonable goals.
And this takes us to the 2nd misconception.
2- You Need To Be Busy All The Time
Last week, I created a schedule for my week that was not just frustrating, but extremely difficult to keep up with. My calendar was completely full from 9 am to 7 pm with no space even to take a break or to schedule an unexpected meeting (please note that I didn’t include my personal activities in the calendar, so imagine if I did).
Sure, time blocking is an effective way to save time and achieve more during the week. This technique is used by thousands of highly productive and successful people all around the world. However, some people, including me, may think that time blocking is to schedule every single detail for your day. Which is wrong and impossible at the same time.
Whenever you start working on your list for the day, something comes up. An important email that needs a reply. An unscheduled meeting. The phone rings. If you don’t have space in your calendar for these things, you will either be lost in your emails and miss your work or the opposite.
So what should you do?
You need to make time for your priorities and get things done the productive way. To do that, you need to set goals for what you’re trying to achieve, both personally and professionally. Maybe you want to spend more time with your family or improve your relationship with your kids. Maybe you want to get a raise in your job or start a business.
You need first to prioritize tasks and activities. For each goal come up with short-term tasks that you can finish this week.
Always ask this question:
What can I do today that will make me one step closer to my goals?
Then, fill up your calendar with your top priorities of tasks that can’t move or change. This includes spending time with kids and family, exercises, and even eating dinner.
3- You Need To Close The To-Do List
Let’s face it. Humans are bad at estimating things. We usually overestimate or underestimate what we can do in a day. So we finish the day with a half-done to-do list.
I used to feel stressed when this happens to me because I was planning the whole week in advance. But with time, you will learn to give every task the time it needs to be done.
So next time you end up with an unfinished to-do list, do these 2 things:
- Tell yourself that it’s ok, it’s not the end of the world!
- Take a step back and set more realistic deadlines to finish every task.
It’s also important to not give yourself more time than you need. Because tasks tend to fill as much time as we let them. This is Parkinson’s Law, and it’s a big deal.
If I gave myself a week to write this article, it would take that long. Easily, actually. And would it be 5 times better? Would it provide more value than finishing this and four more articles?
And this is a skill that you will learn with time.
4- What Works For Others Will Work For You
This is a misconception we tend to believe when we read about other’s time management plans. We think that because time blocking worked for others it should work for us.
I learned this when I watched a lot of productivity YouTubers talk about Notion, the all-in-one management app. The app has got a lot of praise from thousands of people around the world. But for some reason, it didn’t work for me. I feel like it’s complicated and has a lot of features that I don’t need. So I gave up trying to make it work.
I already have a time management system that works for me, why try to bother with something I don’t feel comfortable working with? So the lesson here is to try a bunch of things and stick with what works for you because tools and apps don’t matter in themselves, what matters is how you use them.
5- You Need To Wakeup At 4 Am
You will never watch a motivational video on YouTube that doesn’t mention waking up at 4 am or even 3 am. This has become the symbol of success.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a morning person myself. I usually wake up at 4 or 5 am (even on weekends), and I like it. But I don’t think that waking up at 9 am is against productivity. If you don’t have a reason to wake up at this time, you won’t be able to do it. You will feel tired, sleepy, and you won’t be able to finish anything correctly.
If you ask me, I always encourage people to wake up early but if it doesn’t work for you, don’t feel bad for it.
6- Time Management Guarantee Productivity
No, it doesn’t.
You can schedule your day, put your long-term and short-term goals together, and still not feel productive. Why? Because productivity is a skill that you learn by experience.
I’ve seen some people who spent their lives in bed scrolling through memes and useless social media posts for hours every single day. Suddenly, they decided to change and do something useful in their life. After few days they failed and gave up.
Why?
Because they didn’t fail enough!
You need to fail 10, 20, 50, or even 100 times to do it right. Because if it was easy, everyone will do it.
It’s not easy at the beginning. The starts are always hard. Read more about time management, learn from people who did what you want to do, and one day, you will become productive. Guaranteed.
7- You Need To Get Your Schedule Right The First Time
Getting your schedule right from the first time is very difficult. You don’t know how much time every task would take or at what time it should be time. That’s why you need to keep trying until you find the right template for yourself.
And remember, what works for others doesn’t always work for you. That’s why your schedule needs to have your personal touch.
8- Taking Breaks Is A Waste Of Time
I can’t believe how much I hated and still hate taking a break. Maybe I’m a workaholic. Maybe I love working on my business too much. I don’t know, but I usually work 7 days a week with no stop because I feel like I have to, even though I don’t have a boss.
I feel like every day I work will get me closer to my goal and that taking a break 2 days a week is a lot of wasted time. This is absolutely a bad idea, and to be honest, I still do it. For example, I’m writing this article on Saturday and planning to publish 2 other articles tomorrow too.
The problem is that I know it’s wrong but I still do it (if you have a solution let me know in the comments). Sometimes I end up wasting 3 or 4 days because I feel overwhelmed and can’t finish anything. Yes, I worked Saturday and Sunday to save time but wasted 3 days because of stress and overwork.
9- Time Management Equals Multitasking
Many people choose to multitask and work through as many tasks as they can at the same time. While this gives the illusion of productivity, in reality, it slows you down.
Our brains can only focus on one thing at a time, so multitasking requires our minds to keep switching from one thing to another. Every time we switch our focus, we waste time while our brain catches up. It also leaves the uncompleted task running as an ‘open loop’. This is like having too many applications running simultaneously on your computer: it slows the processor down and drains the battery.
Having too many open loops is exhausting. Instead, focus on one thing at a time and work through it to completion, or to a point where you can mentally put it down or hand it over to someone else.
The Ideal Time Management System
The ideal time management system does exist. It’s the system that you create for yourself. The best way to find and create this system is to try and fail or you can take inspiration from multiple sources like books, articles, and YouTube. It doesn’t matter if it didn’t work for you in the beginning because it will work at the end, and that is what really matters.
So what are the best time management tips that changed your life and boosted your productivity? Share it with the community in the comments below 👇👇👇
If you want to be more productive and achieve more goals in life, download Systemize for Free. It’s a habit tracker app where you can create systems and track your progress over time to make achieving goals easier.
