Managing time and making sure that every minute of each work day is accounted for is believed to be the key to achieving business goals. There are, however, some time management myths that you should take note of. Shifting from these myths to a whole new perspective in managing your employees’ time will give your business the push it needs to get to your goals faster. It’s not all about racing against time. It’s all about making sure that your employees are maximizing their skills and talents and are performing optimally.
These are just some of the time management myths that you should address immediately:
1. Multi-tasking gets more tasks done. This is one of the most common time management myths. Some people believe that doing several things simultaneously helps them accomplish more things. On the contrary, this practice gives you several projects that are half-done. Studies show that the brain actually works harder when shuffling between tasks. A more productive practice is to break your project into “digestible” chunks and completing each task before you switch to another task or project.
2. The more tasks you complete, the more productive you are. This only ensures quantity but not quality. There are some employees who actually gripe about why they do not get recognized for all the packed work days they have logged in. What they do not realize is that by cramming more tasks into their work days, they are putting too much strain on themselves to finish as many tasks as possible at all costs. A lot of people would agree that mistakes and work done haphazardly are magnified in the eyes of management. It is important that daily deliverables are clear for both the employee and his boss. This should involve all the tasks that can reasonably be completed within a given time period.
3. Sticking to your schedule is the trick to completing your projects. Organizational tools like calendars, to-do lists, and schedulers are helpful in more ways than one. But, these tools are counterproductive when they are not used properly. Fussing over calendar entries and obsessing over scheduled tasks are time wasters. These tools should serve as guides on what needs to be done. Employees will have to be flexible enough to deal with unavoidable unforeseen project delays. There should always be a contingency plan for such eventualities. Instead of worrying about not being on schedule, find out whether other tasks can be done in the meantime so that the delays will not affect the final project completion target date.
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