Theory is easy. Putting it into practice is harder. We know we should prioritise tasks, give each one an estimated time, leave room for interruptions and the unexpected, and weigh every task according to what it requires and how important it is.
But sometimes we can’t see our own mistakes. We prioritise badly and overload our schedule with problems that have nothing to do with our daily work.
What eats into our time
These are the main reasons we end up managing our time badly.
Not learning to say no
Sometimes we get too involved in tasks without stopping to ask whether they’re needed at all. We can’t say no to a phone call or a proposal, and we don’t stop to think whether being “always up for anything” comes from wanting to be accepted by the group, from not wanting to fall out of favour with colleagues, or simply from not knowing how to say something negative in a positive way. I mean something like: “I would have liked to help you, but I haven’t been able to today.”
“This is urgent!”
How many times have we heard it, only to find out that it really wasn’t such a rush? Even so, that phrase floods our working day and wrecks every kind of plan or organisation.
These urgent requests say two things about how we behave at work:
a) On the one hand, we need to learn to delegate, or to ignore, the requests that aren’t urgent or aren’t that much of a priority. A typical example is “you need to sort out your workspace: it’s a mess.” You can do it right away, or you can move it to later.
b) If all your tasks are urgent, it’s time to think about your ability to organise your own work and duties. Something is going wrong if everything has to be done immediately: either we don’t plan ahead, or we put off decisions, which delays tasks until they end up becoming urgent.
Putting off unappealing tasks
We do it routinely, perhaps without realising: we push back tasks that we’d rather leave for later because they don’t interest us or because they’re difficult. But the problem festers, and instead of getting better it gets worse, leading to mistakes or turning into an emergency.
This attitude usually stems from fear of failure, or even fear of success, in an employee who may be afraid of new tasks with greater demands.
If it happens often, it’s worth seeking help from a professional.
Constant distraction
Working towards goals should be a calm and steady process. If you face a difficult task and want to solve it instantly, you may end up anxious or frustrated.
It helps a lot to pace the effort of concentrating on tasks so as to avoid anxiety. The answer is to be consistent in working towards your goals and tasks, which keeps you out of more complicated situations.
Fear of failure
Too much responsibility can create a fear of not reaching the goals we’ve set. That’s why it’s important to motivate ourselves: to value our successes and to spur ourselves on to reach our small goals. Talking negatively about your own abilities does you harm. That negative feeling about yourself breeds mistakes and makes it harder to hit the targets you set.
Perfectionism
Being a perfectionist doesn’t help. Sometimes it becomes an excuse to hold back from acting and from complications, and a way of excusing yourself for the mistakes you’ve made.
To help yourself, you need to find the reason, whether it’s failure or fear, behind being such a perfectionist and never getting there.
