Good time management is not about creating a perfectly organized life in which nothing ever goes wrong. It’s about having the tools to get back in control whenever you get thrown off track. Prepare to recover from the most common time management traps, with the following quick solutions: 

Mistake:  Thinking of Time as Intangible

Solution: View Time as a Closet

When we approach time as elusive, the hours slip through our fingers, and it’s hard to plan our days.  Change your perception by thinking of time as a closet, a container with a limited amount of space into which you must fit a certain number of tasks. Before taking on anything, ask how long it will take, so that you put only the most effective, and high value items into your day.

Mistake:  Multitasking

Solution:  Group Similar Tasks

Batching tasks will stretch your time and help you get more done because you gain efficiency and momentum as you repeat each action.  Beware multitasking by working sequentially through your tasks. 

Mistake:  Waiting until the morning to plan your day

Solution: Plan tomorrow +2 at the end of each day.

Waiting until the morning to map out your to-do list brings on too much pressure. Instead, spend 15 minutes at the end of each day to plan tomorrow plus two days beyond that. Having a 3 day arc gives you context for each activity on your schedule, frees you from worry about what you might be forgetting, and prevents you from getting caught up in unimportant urgencies.

Mistake: Overworking and Burning Out

Solution: Find an Escape from Work

Top tier performers put as much thought into how they spend their time off as they do to their work to ensure they are energized and renewed every day.  No matter how busy you are, carve out :30 minutes per day or a few hours weekly to do something that completely transports you: golfing, dancing, cooking—any passion that brings you instant joy.  A solid work/life balance boosts your performance at work by increasing your energy, accuracy, innovation, and patience.