5 Time Management Myths That Are Holding You Back
Are these time management myths keeping you stuck?
If you’ve spent any time trying to improve your productivity, you’ve probably fallen for one of these common myths like multitasking increases your efficiency or one day you will complete your to-do list.
As a Mindset and Productivity Coach for perfectionists, I’ve seen these limiting beliefs crop up time and time again. Many of my clients get stuck in the loop of trying to do more than physically possible in the time available, only to end up feeling overwhelmed and not good enough.
I don’t want that for you.
In this post, we’ll debunk 5 of the biggest myths about time management, explain why they don’t work and show you how to rethink your approach to get more done without sabotaging your productivity.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I earn a small commission if you purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products and services I trust and believe will add value to your life.
What is time management?
Time management is generally understood as ‘the practice of using the time that you have available in a useful and effective way, especially in your work’ (Cambridge Dictionary).
Most definitions, I’ve found, relate time management back to work in some form probably because work is where we feel the strongest pressure to be productive and efficient.
However, I find time management to be a useful skill in all areas of my life, not just work. I’m a better friend, daughter, sister, partner, business owner, collaborator and hobbyist because of it.
I haven’t always been good at time management, it’s something I learnt and adapted as time went on. Honestly, letting go of these time management myths was key to my success.
Myth 1: Multitasking Increases Productivity
This myth needs to be debunked right off the bat. No, multitasking does not increase your productivity despite how capable you think you are at juggling tasks.
In fact, studies show that only 2.5% of people can effectively multitask which means the majority of people who claim to be good at it are horribly misguided.
Further studies have shown that multitaskers are less productive, less organised and more likely to engage in dangerous sensation-seeking behaviours like using their mobile phones while driving.
Confession time: while I’m not guilty of text driving (I don’t have a car), I am guilty of flipping between my email and Pinterest tabs when writing blog posts. And I know for a fact the quality of my writing goes down because my brain has less energy to focus.
This phenomenon is known as ‘task switching costs’ and explains that every time we switch from one task to another, our brain has to ‘reset’ which consumes mental energy and reduces our efficiency.
Dr. Sophie Leroy’s research found that each task leaves ‘attention residue’ or a mental ‘hangover’ in our minds from our previous task which makes it even harder to switch back and ‘reset’ our focus.
So don’t multitask guys!
What should you do instead of multitasking then?
Instead of multitasking just focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention. Research shows that single-tasking improves the quality of your work, and the time it takes to complete it and reduces mental fatigue.
I use time blocking and task batching to stop me from multitasking because, trust me, the desire is real.
Sometimes, I convince myself that putting a YouTube video on in the background will help me focus— but I know that’s a lie.
I have evidence that it is, in fact, a lie because I produce more words per hour in silence.
“The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time.” – Samuel Smiles
Myth 2: You will complete your to-do list
The truth is your to-do list will never be completed, there will always be something to do, something to work towards and some kind of problem to solve.
As Daniel Kahneman proposed in his book Thinking Fast and Slow, the planning fallacy is the tendency to underestimate how long tasks take. This means we pile on more tasks to our to-do list that end up being unfinished.
It’s never-ending and so believing that there would ever be an end is holding you back from living life in a meaningful way. ]
Instead of focusing on the few tasks that matter and bring you closer to living a life in full alignment with your values, you focus on ticking off quick wins and unimportant tasks that don’t move the needle far enough to make any tangible difference in your goals.
Oliver Burkeman explains it beautifully in his book Four Thousand Weeks on page 49
“Despite my thinking of myself as the kind of person who got things done, it grew painfully clear that the things I got done most diligently were the unimportant ones, while the important ones got postponed – either forever or until an imminent deadline forced me to compete them, to a mediocre standard and in a stressful rush.”
“one can waste years this way, systematically postponing precisely the things one cares about the most” page 50
Accepting that your to-do list will always be unfinished is the first step to actually choosing activities that bring you the most joy and value in life.
“You can do anything, but not everything.” – David Allen
Myth 3: The perfect time management system exists
I hate to break it to you but the perfect time management system doesn’t exist. I should know.
I’ve tried everything from Notion, Bullet Journaling, Getting Things Done, Eat The Frog, Passion Planner, Zero Inboxing and even Filofaxes. There is no perfect system despite what productivity gurus promise.
Their productivity system isn’t going to cure your inability to manage your time. There will always be gaps, flaws and aspects that just don’t meet your needs.
And that’s okay.
Perfection doesn’t exist and systems are tools, not cures. Besides, what works for you might not work for another person and that’s backed by research. Aeon et al. found that “Time management’s effectiveness is not universal; it is deeply influenced by individual and contextual factors.”
The real problem is constantly searching for the perfect system because that leads you directly into The Efficiency Trap where you end up creating more tasks for yourself over time (e.g. tweaking templates, optimising routines, building complicated systems etc…)
No matter what, your mindset around productivity needs to change if you want to effectively use any time management technique. Psychologists found that ‘satisficers’ (those who accept a good enough system) were more productive and happier than ‘maximisers’ who obsess over finding the best solution.
So instead of obsessively searching on Google, TikTok and YouTube for the perfect routine, why not look for a system that is good enough? You might actually get things done without procrastination and overwhelm.
The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases.” – Carl Jung
Myth 4: There are not enough hours in the day
If you’ve ever heard yourself say ‘I’d get more done if I had more time’, this message is for you.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. I know, we all have different obligations and commitments but the fact always remains—the hours in the day never change.
The truth is your time can’t be ‘managed’ in the way that you desire. There will always be something unexpected that crops up, commitments from family or work to be done.
And even if you had more time, you would still feel like there wasn’t enough of it.
I always used to complain that I was so busy and that I never had enough time to focus on hobbies outside of my project management job when the truth was I was constantly wasting time on things that weren’t important.
It wasn’t until I had a 6 month social media detox, I realised that I had so much free time to learn how to draw, sing and study music theory (I got to grade 3!).
Time management is an illusion.
Besides, the 80/20 principle suggests that 80% of results come from just 20% of our efforts, so instead of focusing on squeezing more things into your day, just focus on prioritising the few tasks that make the most impact.
“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four-hour days.” – Zig Ziglar
Myth 5: You need to stick to the schedule no matter what
Joseph Goldstein, a meditation teacher once said ‘a plan is just a thought’.
As Oliver Burkeman explained in his book:
‘We treat our plans as though they are a lasso, thrown from the present around the future, in order to bring it under our command. But all a plan is – all it could ever possibly be – a present-moment statement of intent’.
So while it is good to have a plan and organise your mind, it’s not ever something you have full control over and accepting that is the first step to actually being productive.
In fact, studies have shown that being able to self-regulate and adapt to changing circumstances is essential for sustained productivity and general life satisfaction.
So being more flexible to your schedule is key to getting more done in the long run and not feeling overwhelmed when life interrupts you, and it will.
If you put pressure on yourself to focus on achieving everything on your schedule, I recommend you try creating a done list. It’s a great way to acknowledge the things you’ve done even when life gets in the way.
For example, last week I had planned to write a blog post but disruptions in my personal life got in the way. Instead of focusing on what I didn’t accomplish I was able to acknowledge what I did get done: I managed a crisis effectively and completed important errands.
“Flexibility requires an open mind and a welcoming of new alternatives.” – Deborah Day
So are you going to let go of these time management myths?
By now you’ve probably realised that time management isn’t really about finding the perfect system or completing your to-do list because those things are impossible.
This means you can finally let go of these time management myths that are holding you back and start creating a more meaningful, values-driven approach to productivity.
As long as you have a growth mindset towards your productivity and learn from your mistakes, you’ll be able to use your time effectively.
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