10 Common Time Management Mistakes

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

How well do you manage your time? If you're like many people, your answer may not be completely positive! Perhaps you feel overloaded, and you often have to work late to hit your deadlines. Or maybe your days seem to go from one crisis to another, and this is stressful and demoralizing.

Many of us know that we could be managing our time more effectively; but it can be difficult to identify the mistakes that we're making, and to know how we could improve.

When we do manage our time well, however, we're exceptionally productive at work, and our stress levels drop. We can devote time to the interesting, high-reward projects that can make a real difference to a career. In short, we're happier!

Mistake #1. Failing to Keep a To-Do List

Do you ever have that nagging feeling that you've forgotten to do an important piece of work? If so, you probably don't use a To-Do List to keep on top of things. (Or, if you do, you might not be using it effectively!)

The trick with usingto-do lists effectively lies in prioritizing the tasks on your list. Many people use an A - F coding system (A for high priority items, F for very low priorities). Alternatively, you can simplify this by using A through D, or by using numbers.

If you have large projects on your list, then, unless you're careful, the entries for these can be vague and ineffective. For instance, you may have written down "Start on budget proposal." But what does this entail? The lack of specifics here might cause you to procrastinate, or miss key steps. So make sure that you break large tasks or projects down into specific, actionable steps - then you won't overlook something important.

Mistake #2. Not Setting Personal Goals

Do you know where you'd like to be in six months? What about this time next year, or even 10 years from now? If not, it's time to set some personal goals!

Personal goal setting is essential to managing your time well, because goals give you a destination and vision to work toward. When you know where you want to go, you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to get there. Goals also help you decide what's worth spending your time on, and what's just a distraction.

Mistake #3. Not Prioritizing

Your assistant has just walked in with a crisis that she needs you to deal with right now, but you're in the middle of brainstorming ideas for a new client. You're sure that you've almost come up with a brilliant idea for their marketing campaign, but now you risk losing the thread of your thinking because of this "emergency."

Sometimes, it's hard to know how to prioritize, especially when you're facing a flood of seemingly-urgent tasks. However, it's essential to learn how to prioritize tasks effectively if you want to manage your time better.

Mistake #4. Failing to Manage Distractions

Do you know that some of us can lose as much as two hours a day to distractions? Think how much you could get done if you had that time back!

Whether they come from emails, IM chats, colleagues in a crisis, or phone calls from clients, distractions prevent us from achieving flow, which is the satisfying and seemingly effortless work that we do when we're 100 percent engaged in a task.

If you want to gain control of your day and do your best work, it's vital to know how to minimize distractions and manage interruptions effectively. For instance, turn off your IM chat when you need to focus, and let people know if they're distracting you too often. You should also learn how to improve your concentration, even when you're faced with distractions.

Mistake #5. Procrastination

Procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you should be focusing on right now. When you procrastinate, you feel guilty that you haven't started; you come to dread doing the task; and, eventually, everything catches up with you when you fail to complete the work on time.

For instance, one useful strategy is to tell yourself that you're only going to start on a project for ten minutes. Often, procrastinators feel that they have to complete a task from start to finish, and this high expectation makes them feel overwhelmed and anxious. Instead, focus on devoting a small amount of time to starting. That's all!

You might also find it helpful to use Action Plans. These help you break large projects down into manageable steps, so that it's easy to see everything that you need to get done, and so that you can complete small chunks at a time; doing this can stop you from feeling overwhelmed at the start of a new project.

Mistake #6. Taking on too Much

Are you a person who has a hard time saying "no" to people? If so, you probably have far too many projects and commitments on your plate. This can lead to poor performance, stress, and low morale.

Or, you might be a micromanager: someone who insists on controlling or doing all of the work themselves, because they can't trust anyone else to do it correctly. (This can be a problem for everyone - not just managers!) Either way, taking on too much is a poor use of your time, and it can get you a reputation for producing rushed, sloppy work.

To stop this, learn the subtle art of saying "yes" to the person, but "no" to the task. This skill helps you assert yourself, while still maintaining good feelings within the group. If the other person starts leaning on you to say "yes" to their request, learn how to think on your feet, and stay cool under pressure.

Mistake #7. Thriving on "Busy"

Some people get a rush from being busy. The narrowly-met deadlines, the endless emails, the piles of files needing attention on the desk, the frantic race to the meeting... What an adrenaline buzz!

The problem is that an "addiction to busyness" rarely means that you're effective, and it can lead to stress.

Instead, try to slow down, and learn to manage your time better.

Mistake #8. Multitasking

To get on top of her workload, Linda regularly writes emails while she chats on the phone to her clients. However, while Linda thinks that this is a good use of her time, the truth is that it can take 20-40 percent more time to finish a list of jobs when you multitask, compared with completing the same list of tasks in sequence. The result is also that she does both tasks poorly - her emails are full of errors, and her clients are frustrated by her lack of concentration.

So, the best thing is to forget about multitasking, and, instead, focus on one task at a time. That way, you'll produce higher quality work.

Mistake #9. Not Taking Breaks

It's nice to think that you can work for 8-10 hours straight, especially when you're working to a deadline. But it's impossible for anyone to focus and produce really high-quality work without giving their brains some time to rest and recharge.

So, don't dismiss breaks as "wasting time." They provide valuable down-time, which will enable you to think creatively and work effectively.

If it's hard for you to stop working, then schedule breaks for yourself, or set an alarm as a reminder. Go for a quick walk, grab a cup of coffee, or just sit and meditate at your desk. Try to take a five minute break every hour or two. And make sure that you give yourself ample time for lunch - you won't produce top quality work if you're hungry!

Mistake #10. Ineffectively Scheduling Tasks

Are you a morning person? Or do you find your energy picking up once the sun begins to set in the evening? All of us have different rhythms, that is, different times of day when we feel most productive and energetic. You can make best use of your time by scheduling high-value work during your peak time, and low-energy work (like returning phone calls and checking email), during your "down" time.

Twelve Tips for Making 2012 Your Best Year Yet

1. Stay Positive. It's more important than you think or others want you to believe, You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible and that having a positive attitude doesn't matter or you can trust that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. Develop Laser Focus. Each day when you wake up in the morning ask yourself: "What are the three most important things I need to do to move me closer to my goals?"

3. Get Real Instead of being disappointed about where you are, think optimistically about where you are going.

4. Get more sleep. You can't replace sleep with a double latte.

5. Filter - Surround yourself with the right people. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control.

6. Take 100% Responsibility for who you are and what you do. If you are looking to give something up in 2012; try giving up all blaming, complaining and excuse making. You can not make excuses and progress at the same time.

7. Develop Faith - Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

8. Stop Wasting Your Time - Reevaluate how you spend your time and stop doing the time-wasters. The Pareto Principle, the 80/20 rule says that 20 percent of your activity produces 80 percent of your income. Simply put, this means you should spend 80 percent of your time on the 20 percent of your activities responsible for driving your income. Figure out what your 80 percent activities are, and stop doing those so you can focus more time on the 20 percent activities that make the real difference in your results and income.

9. Commit to Learning - Read more books than you did in 2011. Divide your reading list into books to enhance your career as well as books for pleasure. Attend classes or trainings and divide those up as well between work and personal or spiritual development.

10. Celebrate your successes on a daily basis, the small victories as well as the big accomplishments. Review your day every night before you go to bed and acknowledge what you are most thankful for and what you did well.

11. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants. And it can actually help you attract more opportunities and business because people will be drawn to you.

12. Be accountable. To your goals and to others. Creating goals is important. Achieving them is better! So develop an action plan to help you get there and realize that an accountability partner can help you stay on track.

Anna Gibbs is a Certified Business Coach and a Certified Life Coach for more information about Anna and her coaching services please visit www.annagibbs.net or www.facebook.com/coachannagibbs

If you are like most people than you probably started out this new year with a list of new goals for yourself. You know a new you for the new year kind of thing. I know how you feel; a resolution created because it's a new year can be exciting and inspiring. However, the problems start when your resolve stops. And again like most people that usually happens sometime before Valentine's Day. And by Memorial Day you don't even remember what your resolutions were; and then before you know it, it's New Year's Eve again! Now suddenly you remember last year's resolution and start berating yourself saying, How did I waste another whole year?

This year CAN be different! Turn your resolutions into a reality by focusing on the reality of things. In other words; creating goals for ourselves is important to our achievement however, not when our goals are unrealistic or too out of reach because we don't take the time to figure out HOW to achieve the goals. Goals should be clear, simple to understand, measurable and do-able. The other thing to keep in mind this time of year is to just focus on one or two important resolutions or goals that will have a profound and positive impact on your life rather than coming up with a dozen things you are going to do differently in the new year.

Take a look at the list below for some strategies to implement to help make whatever your resolution(s) might be into a reality finally. Won't it be great to celebrate rather than scold yourself next New Year's Eve!

• Write it down! You have heard it before (especially from me) but the truth is there is power in your pen! Writing down your goals forces you to get clear about what you want. Taking pen to paper will allow you to create a contract with yourself. Taking the time to put your thoughts on paper also brings those thoughts "outside" of you. Now your words can speak back to you from the paper.
• Find a replacement. If one of your resolutions is to stop doing something or to break a bad habit; what will you replace it with? What can you choose to add to your life that will fill a possible void left by eliminating even a bad habit? This will allow you to focus on adding positive things to your life rather than just removing negative.
• Tell someone else. Talking about your goal(s) -regardless of what it is - with someone else will give you support and encouragement as well as a sense of accountability. And that can accelerate your progress.
• Take baby steps every day. Even small steps taken toward a goal consistently will move you in the right direction. Focus on progress rather than perfection. Consistent effort over time is how we accomplish our goals so don't give up!
• Decide and act. The one thing that gets in the way of accomplishing our goals is often ourselves! The first step in getting out of your own way is to make a decision about what you really, really, really want. Then the next step is to take action! A decisive plan and a positive outlook are great but that alone does not get the hob done! You must take action! So once you make the resolution, how will you get there? What's the plan?
• Celebrate your successes. Anytime you reach a milestone in your progress, stop for a moment and celebrate! Acknowledge your accomplishments in a positive way. For example, if your New Year's resolution is to loose 30 pounds, acknowledge the first 10. If you drop a size in clothing, buy a new outfit. Celebrating your success is rewarding yourself for the progress you have made and that will inspire you to stick to your action plan.

We are in a new era. The world is changing faster than ever before and a driving force behind this change is a group of individuals known as Generation-Y. Born in the mid-1980's and later, Generation Y professionals are in their 20s and are just entering the workforce. With numbers estimated as high as 70 million, Generation Y (also known as the Millennials) is the fastest growing segment of today’s workforce. This group of individuals are also consumers and if you want to be relevant to them and gain them as a customer you need to be just as tech savvy and on the cutting edge as they are.

Today, everyone has a new attitude and a new way of doing things. Technology and social media has blurred the lines between work and personal life. Through proper leverage of this technology, we are able to get more done in less time wherever and whenever we can.

The younger generation has mastered technology and has made a new "normal" for the way we communicate, share, shop, sell and do business. The younger generation, roughly between the ages of 20-40, known as Gen-Y & Gen-X respectively operate in a very different mode. Texting, tweeting and updating a status over a Grande Carmel Macchiatto can all be done before 7am. This group has no need for a watch, because their cell phones have always told them what time it is.

How does this impact your business? Well for one thing, this younger generation has incredible buying power. Market research has shown us that the average consumer is getting younger and savvier all the time. If you want to gain the confidence & ultimately the business of this powerful segment of the population, you need to be attractive and more importantly relevant to them. One way to formulate that strategy is to first understand how the target audience thinks and lives. However, defining the younger generation can be challenging because they are moving at the speed of light.

For this generation, technology is a way of life. They don't need to "wrap their heads around it", they grew up with it. They communicate in 140 characters or less. They keep in touch with family & friends through "shared: photos and status updates, you tube videos and tweets. Social media, technology & even reality tv has made transparency the new norm. These younger consumers expect genuine, real communication and they want to know that anyone they work for, deal with or do business with "gets it".

As a sales professional it's important to attract people from across the spectrum and most importantly from these younger generations to truly build your business so that it can sustain in this decade and beyond.

Now, I want to be sure that I also state the importance of face to face communication as well. I am in no way implying that technology or the internet will replace the value you offer your customer as a trained and experienced professional. You will still need to engage in person to person networking and most deals will be struck sitting across the table from each other.

However, social media and the technology you implement in your business on a daily business will allow you to attract more clients and retain a different group of consumers than ever before. Social media for example allows you to start a conversation with a new prospect as well as continue to communicate with your existing clients all at the same time.

So isn't it time to position yourself to connect with more clients in less time? If you are not embracing technology, implementing social media in your everyday marketing is your business growing? Consumers are looking for us in new and different ways. Technology is a fundamental aspect of everyday life for the younger generations and beyond - for communication, education, entertainment and naturally business. How will you step up, reach out and connect?

I am often told that I am a pretty positive person; often happy, smiling and energetic. I am so grateful every time I hear that because I know that it is exactly the kind of person I intend to be every day!

Research has shown that people with a more positive disposition are usually more optimistic, tend to be healthier (perhaps even live longer), are more energetic and often achieve more because of their mindset. With all of that to offer who wouldn't want to work at being more positive day in and day out!

Being positive is a choice and I have come up with a list of ways you too can be more positive!

TIPS FOR A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

1. Stay Positive. You can listen to the cynics and doubters and believe that success is impossible or you can know that with faith and an optimistic attitude all things are possible.

2. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: Today will be a great day because _______________________.

3. Instead of being disappointed about where you are think optimistically about where you are going.

4. Focus on learning, loving, growing and serving.

5. Believe that everything happens for a reason and expect good things to come out of challenging experiences.

6. Don't waste your time or energy on gossip, energy vampires, dwelling in the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

7. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone.

8. Be enthusiastic! It's contagious!

9. Be focused on your personal and professional growth. Ask yourself each day, “What are the three most important things I need to do today that will help me create the success I desire?” Then tune out all the distractions and focus on these actions.

10. Stop Complaining!

11. Read more books.

12. Get more sleep.

13. Each night before you go to bed, express your thanks for all your blessings, big and small.

14. Smile and laugh more. They are natural anti-depressants.

15. Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.