10 COMMON TIME MANAGEMENT MISTAKE

10 COMMON TIME MANAGEMENT MISTAKE

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. 

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 using To-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.

You can also use Action Programs to manage your work when you have many large projects happening at once. (Action Programs are "industrial strength" versions of To-Do Lists.)

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.

To learn how to set SMART, effective goals, read up on Locke's Goal Setting Theory. Here, you'll learn how to set clearly defined goals that will keep you motivated. 

You might also enjoy our Book Insight into "Long Fuse, Big Bang" by Eric Haseltine. This book teaches you how to focus on your long-term goals without overlooking your short term priorities.

 

MISTAKE 3: NOT PRIOTIZING

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.

One tool that will help you prioritize effectively is the Urgent/Important Matrix. This helps you understand the difference between urgent activities, and important activities. You'll also learn how to overcome the tendency to focus on the urgent.

The Action Priority Matrix is another useful tool, which will help you determine if a task is high-yield and high-priority, or low-value, "fill in" work. You'll manage your time much better during the day if you know the difference.

You might also want to go through our Bite-Sized Training Class, How to Prioritize, to further enhance your skills.

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.
Additionally, our article on managing email effectively teaches you how to gain control of your email, so that it doesn't eat up your entire day.

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.

Start by taking our Procrastination Quiz to find out if procrastination is a problem in your life. If it is, then learn the strategies you need to beat procrastination.

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.

Our Expert Interview with Dave Crenshaw, looking at The Myth of Multitasking, will give you an enlightening look at multitasking, and will help you explore how you can manage simultaneous projects more effectively.

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 TASK

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. Our article, Is This a Morning Task? will teach you how to do this.

TEAM MANAGEMENT SKILLS

TEAM MANAGEMENT SKILLS

This article looks at some of the key things that team managers need to do if their team is to thrive and succeed. These range from choosing the right people and deciding who does what, to communicating with, developing and motivating people. It also covers some of the most common pitfalls to be avoided.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF DELEGATION 

 

The top priority for team managers is delegation. No matter how skilled you are, there's only so much you can achieve working on your own. With a team behind you, you can achieve so much more: that's why it's so important that you delegate effectively!

Successful delegation starts with matching people and tasks, so you first need to understand fully what the team's role and goals are. A good way of doing this is to put together a team charter, which sets out the purpose of the team and how it will work. Not only does this help you get your team off to a great start, it can also be useful in bringing the team back on track if it's veering off course.

Only then will you be in a position to analyze the skills, experience and competencies within your team, and start matching people to tasks. Read our article on task allocation for more detail on how to go about this, and to find out how to deal with real-world challenges, such as managing the gaps between team members' skill sets.

MOTIVATING YOUR TEAM

Another key duty you have as a manager is to motivate team members. Our article on Theory X and Theory Y explains two very different approaches to motivation, which depend on the fundamental assumptions that you make about the people who work for you. If you believe that they're intrinsically lazy, you believe in Theory X, while if you believe that most are happy to work, you'll tend towards Theory Y. Make sure that you understand this article – it will fundamentally affect your success in motivating people. 

You can find out much more about motivation with our quiz How Good Are Your Motivation Skills?

Whatever approach you prefer to adopt, you also need to bear in mind that different people have different needs when it comes to motivation. Some individuals are highly self-motivated, while others will under-perform without managerial input. Use our article on Pygmalion Motivation to understand how to manage these different groups of people.

DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM

Teams are made up of individuals who have different outlooks and abilities, and are at different stages of their careers. Some may find that the tasks you've allocated to them are challenging, and they may need support. Others may be "old hands" at what they're doing, and may be looking for opportunities to stretch their skills. Either way, your responsibility as a manager is to develop all of your people.

Your skills in this aspect of management will define your long-term success as a manager. If you can help team members to become better at what they do, you will soon become known as a manager who other people want to work for, and you'll be making a great contribution to your organization too.

The most effective way of developing your people is ensuring that you give regular feedback to members of your team on their work. Many of us are nervous of giving feedback, especially when it has to be negative. However, if you give and receive feedback regularly, everyone will come to benefit from improved performance.

Beyond this, our article on Understanding Developmental Needs will help you develop individual team members, so that they can perform at their best.

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR TEAM

Communication skills are essential for success in almost any role, but there are particular skills and techniques that you'll use more as a manager than you did as a regular worker. These fall under two headings: communicating with team members, and communicating with people outside your team. We'll look at each in turn.

As a team manager, you're likely to be chairing regular sessions as well as one-off meetings. Meeting of all kinds, and regular ones in particular, are notorious for their capacity to waste people's time, so it's well worth mastering the skill of running effective meetings.

Many meetings include brainstorming sessions, and as team manager, you'll often have to facilitate these, so you'll need to be comfortable with how to do this. There's more to it than simply coming up with creative ideas, as you do when you're just a regular participant in such a session: read our article to find out how to run brainstorming sessions. Make sure that you understand where they can go wrong, and what you can do to avoid this.

Active listening is another important skill for managers – and others – to master. When you're in charge, it can be easy to think that you know what others are going to say, or that listening is less important because you've thought of a solution anyway. 

Don't fall into this trap. Most good managers are active listeners: it helps them detect problems early (while they're still easy to deal with), avoid costly misunderstandings, and build trust within their teams.

Duties of student in classroom management

What Are the Duties of a Student in Classroom Management?

While it may seem like classroom management is the sole responsibility of the teacher, a student's role in maintaining a healthy and positive atmosphere in the classroom is equally important. While teachers set the tone of a classroom, students have an integral part in ensuring that classrooms stay efficient and manageable through proper discipline, active listening, full engagement in classroom projects and peer-to-peer relations.

PROPER DISCIPLINE

The single most important duty of a student in terms of classroom management is to obey the disciplinary guidelines that have been outlined by the teacher. Often, these tasks are simple: raising one's hand when one has something to say, not speaking over another, and respecting the space and belongings of fellow classmates. If students follow these simple rules, teachers are able to focus on teaching material instead of managing an unruly classroom. 

ACTIVE LISTENING

A definite duty of a student in classroom management is active listening. Active listening involves not just staying quiet while a teacher speaks, but also truly making an effort to fully absorb what the teacher is saying, explaining or teaching. Active listening is important for two reasons: firstly, it saves the teacher from having to explain things multiple times, and secondly, it saves the student from getting distracted. Both are factors that contribute to effective classroom management. 

Full Engagement in Classroom Projects

For a classroom to be managed effectively, every student needs to be fully engaged in the project at hand. When students become disengaged, teachers must spend valuable time disciplining those students or trying to engage them once more. It is the duty of every student to give his full attention to whatever project the class is working on in order for the classroom to function properly. Participation is a major part of fully engaging in any classroom project. 

Peer-to-Peer Relations

Perhaps one of the most poignant duties of a student in classroom management is her relationship with her peers. According to the website Cyberbullying in Schools, studies have shown that students who are bullied at school become withdrawn and do less well than their non-bullied peers on academic assignments, so the maintenance of cordial relations with classmates is of utmost importance. While the teacher should certainly be monitoring the class for any unscrupulous behavior, it is ultimately up to the student to ensure that she is treating her peers the way she would like to be treated.

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

What Are Three Ways of Maintaining Discipline in the Classroom?

As a teacher, besides we teaching student of course the others important thing is to managing classroom discipline right? This is because during teaching, if we don't know how to take student attention of course our objective to give information not achieved. Here i list a few tips how to maintaining discipline in classrooms. 

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT  

Have a basic understanding of classroom management and how to effectively run a well-organized classroom. Visualize your day. There are many things that happen everyday, multiple times a day. Students enter the room. Students leave the room. Students turn in work. Students get work back. Students switch from one subject to the other.

It is a good practice to develop procedures for each thing that students do on a daily basis. Make sure your students know how to turn in papers. Develop procedures for what they are to do when they enter the classroom and what they should do before they go home. A checklist is an excellent tool that will greatly cut down on student discipline issues, because the students will know what you expect them to be doing at any given time.

Procedures should be reviewed before each activity. When one subject ends and the next begins, remind the students of what they are expected to do, whether it is to put away their own books or wait for the table leader to collect the books and return them to the shelf.

Good procedures are the start of good classroom management.

ENGAGING LESSON 

Maintain discipline in the classroom by designing engaging lessons. When students are actively engaged in an activity, there will be fewer discipline problems. What makes an engaging lesson differs from subject to subject and from grade to grade. However, there are some basic elements that should be present in all lessons.

First, preview the lesson before you begin. Make clear what is going to be taught, what you expect the students to learn and what activities they will engage in. Taking a few minutes to preview the lesson sets the stage for the teaching that will follow.

Second, plan out the lesson. Winging it rarely works. Have any needed materials ready. Know what pages the students need to turn to and already have the closing activity planned. A good practice is to prepare ahead for two possible issues. First, what will you do if the lesson takes longer than you anticipated? Second, what will you do if the lesson does not take as long as you anticipated? Answering these questions ahead of time helps you be better prepared and ensures that you will be able to keep your students engaged.

Finally, close every lesson and transition to the next activity. Remind the students what they learned. Talk about any homework. Preview what will happen tomorrow. Then, using your procedures, transition to the next activity. When students know what they have done and what they are going to be doing, there is less confusion and this helps maintain student discipline. 

CLEAR EXPECTATION AND CONSEQUENCES

The last strategy for maintaining discipline in the classroom is to have clear expectations and clear consequences for the times students may not follow these expectations. Again, these vary from class to class and grade to grade, but they also vary from activity to activity. You do not have the same set of expectations for group work as you do for when a student is presenting to classmates. Here are a few elements that can be incorporated regardless of the setting.

First, regularly review the expectations and consequences. It is better to prevent discipline issues than to have to solve them, and sometimes something as simple as a reminder is enough to prevent things from going wrong in the first place.

Second, avoid whole class consequences. Do your best to handle discipline problems by addressing the individuals who are having trouble that day. If it is a whole class problem, it is most likely the result of a procedure problem, not a student discipline issue.

Third, do everything you can to handle discipline problems discretely. Many times a child who is not following your expectations is hoping to receive attention from the class. By handling the problem privately, as opposed to in front of the class, you will take away the motivation for class attention.

CLOSING THOUGHTS 

Having a well-managed classroom with engaging lessons and clear expectations and consequences does not happen overnight. It takes time and practice. The more you work at it, the better you get.