Time Control Errors: What Prevents Us from All the Succeeds?
Today, many methods of time management have been developed aimed at time control and justified by the desire to do more things in a limited time. However, those lists of tasks that we compose are only half fulfilled: there are constantly urgent tasks that break down plans and do not allow us to freely dispose of our own time.
What are we doing so? What mistakes do we make? How to control time and keep up with all the cases? So, here are the top 6 time control errors:
1. Prioritization is important
To Do-list is a useful and important tool. It helps to make a plan for the day, sometimes even to distribute tasks in time. However, if priorities are not placed in the cases, you can perform unimportant tasks and at the same time not have time to do something extremely important.
Managers who practice time control do not tire of recalling: always set a clear goal for the team and, in accordance with it, prioritize. Most managers use the rule: 80% of the time – priority tasks, 20% – secondary.
2. To indulge procrastination – a big mistake
This error can be a consequence of the previous one. It was quite common to postpone a difficult task, delaying its decision as long as possible. An important and difficult matter, as a rule, requires considerable effort. If you do small tasks – you can much easier spend a working day.
The main disadvantage here is not even in harm from delaying the task (although if you control the time, you can calculate the monetary expression of the loss of precious hours). The main harm is that as a result, the task, which will bring a significant result, will not be accomplished.
3. Evaluate your abilities correctly
Competent project time tracking software helps to soberly estimate how many hours or minutes this or that task will take. Often people think that it takes at most 10 minutes to complete it, and in fact it turns out to be 3-4 times more.
In order to better plan the working day, you can use special project time tracking software. It shows how much time you spend on certain cases, displays the average value for the selected period, and at the same time shows where you spend time inefficiently.
4. Level the distractions
Another point in which you will need project time tracking software. What distracts us from work more often? That’s right, mail, the Internet, social media sites. Systems like the one mentioned in the previous paragraph will help identify the main “devourers of time”. Then everything is in your hands: block notifications, pop-ups or, if necessary, access to these resources.
A great way to control time is to schedule incoming messages to be checked for a specific time. Then it won’t be tempting to check the mail every 3-5 minutes.
5. Time control is not a superfluous occupation
And again about the control of time and its calculation. Time management ideologists, before using its practice, are strongly encouraged to analyze: what, in fact, is your day spent on?
There are simple and complex ways to control time.
Complicated: a few days (usually 7 or 14) to measure the time to solve work assignments. Simple: install special project time tracking software, which will do all the work for you. The main purpose of this calculation is to analyze your day, identify errors and, on the contrary, best practices.
6. Multitasking is a myth
We want to do everything at once, manage to solve several tasks simultaneously and even more. However, there is scientific evidence that multitasking does not exist. In fact, this is a throwing between several cases, a low concentration on each of them and a high probability of errors.