Time Management Mistakes Most Employees Make

In any organization, management must learn how to maximize and use time efficiently, but the responsibility also falls on employees. When employees misuse time, they are stagnating productivity and costing the company money.

There are a lot of time wasters that can be attributed to employee negligence, but it’s up to management to spot these mistakes and help employees restructure their time to make the most of their day.

Here are a few time management mistakes most employees make:

Not Having Any Goals

This is a huge time management mistake. If there are no goals to meet, there won’t be much productivity to match them. Employees who set goals have better judgment on what to do, how to do it and when to do it.

Not Prioritizing Their Tasks

Once goals are in place, the tasks associated with those goals must be prioritized. By prioritizing their tasks, they can see at a glance how much they have to do, what is important, what can wait, what can be delegated and what can be discarded.

Not Having a To-Do List

Once the priorities are in order, compiling a to-do list of daily activities will increase productivity and allow blocks of time to be set in which to do them.

Having Too Many Responsibilities

As more roles are consolidated, it is important for employees to know how to do a variety of tasks. This does not mean that one person can do it all. It may seem like a good thing to take on a lot to impress the boss, but it won’t matter if nothing gets done, or the work is sloppy.

Not Taking Any Breaks

Everyone needs a break. If an employee is staring at a computer for more than an hour, chances are they are seeing the same thing over and over. It’s time to stare at something else to rest the eyes. When bogged down with a lot of work, taking a break will alleviate the monotony and help to recharge internal batteries.

Having Too Many Distractions

This is a major culprit for not only employees, but management as well. An incessant ringing phone and constant E-mails make it hard to stay on task. Unless their job is to respond to phone calls and E-mails all day, having employees create blocks of time to address these things will help in avoiding this time management mistake.

Having group meetings to assist employees in avoiding these common time management mistakes can save the company lost time and money, increasing the bottom line.