Do you feel like you’re working all the time but not producing the results you desire? You’re not alone. It’s a problem that a lot of talented entrepreneurs must overcome. Unfortunately, some people, as a last-ditch effort, embrace time management techniques that only add to the time mismanagement struggle.
Avoid these 9 common time management traps that most entrepreneurs make. Learn ways that you can conquer the mismanagement of time — and you’ll rectify this headache.
1. Denying you have a time management problem
Stop saying that you don’t have enough time to complete your commitments. Instead, admit that you need to get better at managing your time and start experimenting with techniques that will help you reach your goals.
2. Neglecting to plan out your day
“It’s important to plan out your day for maximum efficiency. You don’t have to know what you’re doing minute-by-minute, but try to set daily goals including tasks you’d like to complete, then prioritize them in order of importance.
Spend a few minutes in the evening laying out your clothes and prepping your meals for tomorrow. Reviewing your calendar will brace you mentally, save time in the morning and reduce decision fatigue. Whether you use a calendar app or jot-down a detailed to-do-list, planning out your day gives you structure so you aren’t scrambling to figure what’s next.
3. Letting the “urgent” overtake the “important”
Distinguishing “urgent” from “important” is a challenge for most entrepreneurs. How can you put out a fire when you’re on your way to an investor meeting?
You can use the Eisenhower Matrix to help prioritize the tasks so that you don’t let the urgent take control of the schedule. Take all of your tasks and place them into four quadrants:
- To do first. These are the most important responsibilities that need to be done today or tomorrow.
- Schedule. For important tasks that are not urgent, you can schedule them into your calendar.
- Delegate. If there are essential items that are not important, you can hand them off to someone else.
- Don’t do. What tasks aren’t important or urgent? Delete these from your lists or add them to a “would like to do if I ever get a chance.”
4. Improper delegation.
Entrepreneurs pride themselves on being a jack-of-all-trades but you don’t need to be involved with every single part of your business. Be aware of what’s going on but check your ego at the door and delegate the right tasks to the appropriate people.
If you don’t have a staff, outsource specific jobs to freelancers. For instance, you can hire a personal assistant to manage your calendar, email, social accounts or blog. Personal assistants can also take care of personal errands, recruitment and booking your flight and hotel for an upcoming business trip.
5. Having to wake up early.
Take a moment and read other time management articles. You’ll find one of the most common pieces of advice shared is to wake up early. As someone who practices habit — I completely understand the rationale. Let’s say you wake-up an hour earlier. You can use that time to review your calendar, exercise, eat a healthy breakfast, read or clean out your inbox without getting distracted.
Here’s the thing. Setting your alarm to four a.m. isn’t all there is to time management. It’s all about working around your peak productivity and setting aside blocks of time to focus on your priorities. Think about it this way. If you’re a night owl, you’re going to miserable if you start waking up at some unbelievable hour.
Plan out your days to work on your most important tasks when you have the most energy and focus. If your peak is at sunset, that’s when you should block out the time to focus on your most important tasks. It’s a much better strategy than fighting against your body’s internal clock.
6. Being inflexible
No matter how well planned you are, you will get interrupted. That’s why it’s crucial that your calendar has some flexibility.
7. Being “perfect”
We all strive to deliver quality work, but constantly aiming for perfection is unrealistic. Often the pressure we put on ourselves to “be perfect” leads us to pressure other people about their issues. It’s not worth it.
Take Steve Jobs as an example. While his perfectionism drove him to create some of the most iconic products in recent history — it also extended the time it took to develop products and created friction with employees. As an entrepreneur, you already know that you can’t afford to prolong the development of your products or services excessively.
8. Cleaning your workspace daily.
Should you leave food wrappings on your desk? No. Should you grab a file or tool and never return it to its rightful place? Of course not. The first is unsanitary, and not returning items to their home results in you spending a boat-load of time searching for misplaced items.
It’s acceptable to have a little clutter around your workspace. One study found that a messy desk can spark creativity. So, if you don’t have the time, then there’s no need to stress yourself out about a small mess.
9. Working non-stop
A lot of entrepreneurs pride themselves for putting in an insane number of hours at their startup. Elon Musk, for example, is known to work 80-some hours per week. The truth is regardless how much you have on your plate, everyone needs breaks to refocus and recharge.
Your break need only be a 10-minute walk between but try to unplug completely during non-business hours. Seriously, force yourself to take a break and unplug — get a remote desk and move it up and down a couple of times a day. Walk while you have a meeting on the phone — anything helps.
