The Three Top Time Management Mistakes
The major mistake that most people make is over-committing, or taking on more tasks than they can reasonably handle.
This comes from two places; first from underestimating how much time it will take to complete a task (or meet with someone, make a phone call, or travel to an appointment), but also from a difficulty or inability to say no. If you can learn to correctly estimate the time it will take to go places and get things done, and also become confident in saying no when you’re asked to take on more than you can handle, you will be most of the way toward managing your time in a satisfactory way.
Another big issue in time management is procrastination, and you can get a grip on it by recognizing and working on your personal procrastination triggers.
Finally, many people become overwhelmed and panic when faced with too many demands and too little time, and then nothing at all gets done; the answer is to learn prioritizing and negotiating skills, so that you can calmly put the really important things first and work with people to eliminate or arrange new deadlines for the less-important things.
These aren’t easy tricks that you’ll pick up overnight, but long-term skills and habits to work toward for a happier, more organized life.
