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Time Management Myths That Will Hurt Your Best Month of the Year

According to an article published in Business Insider, September is “the best month of the year.” September kicks off the three-month period of greatest productivity for small business owners and their teams.

One of the biggest bottlenecks to productivity is Time.

In this article, I share 5 Time Management Myths that will hurt your productivity, more than they’ll help.

Time management is crucial in today’s always-on business world. Many professionals think they have the best tips for prioritizing and balancing one’s responsibilities and tasks. Among these tips, however, are myths and poor advice that could actually have more of a negative impact.

I was asked by Forbes Magazine to contribute to an article, to set the record straight on certain “good” time management tactics, like multitasking and detailed daily to-do lists.

Here are 5 Time Management Myths that will hurt your productivity, more than they’ll help:

Better Time Management Means Better Task Management

Some say that if we better manage the tasks on our to-do list we can better manage our time. I don’t believe that. To have better time management, make better choices. I am a fan of time blocking as a way of managing priorities. To have good time management, we need to have good boundaries and make intentional choices about where to focus our energy. The choices we make dictate our priorities.

You Don’t Have Time

Saying “You don’t have time” is just another way of saying “I don’t want to.” You will make time for the things that you feel are important. If you catch yourself thinking or saying that you don’t have time, then that’s an insightful clue to take a look at what’s on your plate and re-prioritize.

Multi-Tasking Helps You Get More Done

A common time management tip that is actually a myth is the concept of multi-tasking. Research has shown that multitasking takes as much as 40 percent more time than focusing on one task at a time — more for complex tasks.

The more effective way to manage time is to practice mindfulness and be fully present in the moment, increasing the ability to both focus and recall information, which saves time and increases productivity.

You Need A Detailed Task List To Properly Manage Your Time

A common time management tip that is actually a myth is the detailed task list. While it is important to list your tasks, it is more important to structure tasks in line with your strategic objectives. To master time management, know your desired outcomes and take 15 minutes to plan your next day the night before. Limiting your planning time increases decision-making and productivity.

A Structured Day Leads To Well-Managed Time

One of the biggest myths is that a structured day is inherently the basis of good time management. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Productivity, effectiveness, efficiency and time management require individualization for maximum results. You have to experiment to find what works for you, based on knowing your peak energy times throughout the day. Knowing when you feel the most creative, inspired, focused, mentally and emotionally available are all key. It’s not the same for everyone. The more you align your work-time with your body’s natural rhythm of things – the more productive you’ll be.

If productivity is a bottleneck to your business growth, I’d love to share more tips with you inside my exclusive online community at QYourBusinessSuccess.com. We need to know you, and you need to know us – so drop by, tell us how we can support your business growth, while expanding your network with like-minded business leaders and entrepreneurs. See you in the group!

To your success,

 

 

p.s. Listen to the audio version of this blog on my Podcast.

About Michela Quilici

International Business Growth Coach, Award-winning Marketing Strategist, Best-Selling Author, Speaker and Forbes Coaches Council. Known as a Business Navigator, Michela works with growth-minded business owners, service professionals and CEOs who want to ignite their businesses and accelerate growth, while building a business aligned to who they are.

She is passionate about creating roadmaps that ignite leaders to take inspired action to navigate their growth on purpose using strategy, systems and self-leadership, so they can get noticed, get clients and get profitable.