The Problem with Time Management Strategies

By Dr. Jackie Holt
© 2005 Jackie Holt
All rights reserved.
Reprinted by Remacue with permission

At a recent conference I asked participants “What one skill would help you to reduce stress and better balance work and life responsibilities?” Over 180 people identified ‘time management’. I then asked them how many of them had a shower before they come to work every day. Most people put their hand up.

And then I ask them - take moment and think – how many times during the last 6 months did you fail to have a shower before work because you were too busy? And if I am talking to anyone except teenage boys, the answer is usually none.

The reality is that time is a constant. We choose what is important and not important and then we spend the time on that activity. How we arrive at what is important is based on a range of influential factors including: our upbringing; our culture; gender; our work ethic; and economic and financial circumstances.

Too often the advice suggested by time management experts focuses on making more efficient use of time. They tell us to get up earlier, delegate or cluster our tasks. We have technology that enables us to do things more quickly. We have microwaves; drive though establishments and internet services such as banking. There is no doubt that these strategies have helped many people fit more into their day.

What they haven’t done though, is create more time for us. In fact many of us are working longer and harder than ever before. Our obsession with ‘doing more in less time’ has turned us into a nation of clock watching nervous wrecks.

In my research involving professionals from the medical and education field, I found that if people did not have the basic belief that their personal time was important, then any time that they saved from time management strategies was most likely spent doing more work-related activity. This compounded the exhaustion they were feeling rather than alleviating it.

Why Time Management is Often Not the Answer

The trouble with time management is that even if I taught you the most whiz bang strategies about prioritising, about urgent versus important, about clustering your activities, about touching paper once and so on – the reality is that it's unlikely to create more time for you.

Why? Because if history is anything to go by, when we found ways to do things faster in the past, we used that so-called ‘saved time’ to do more work. In fact recent research shows that despite all the labour-saving technology and quality systems we now have in place, we are working longer and harder than ever before. This is ironic, as in the 1970’s we used to wonder what we would do with all that leisure time in the future!

What is the Answer?

Focusing on doing things faster does not translate into more time for us. We need to examine the underlying problems. These include unrealistic expectations, information overload, less support structures, coping with ‘affluenza’, choice overload and learning to use and maintain so-called labour saving technology.

So, if you really want to reclaim some time for your self, the key is Mind Management – NOT Time Management. Even though there are many legitimate external pressures that affect us, undoubtedly the single most important problem we need to address is our own mind set.

Unfortunately, when push comes to shove, it is our expectations of self sacrifice and delayed gratification that are largely to blame. So while we may kid ourselves that we won’t defer happiness forever; that we will slow down once the business is up and running, or when we pay off the mortgage; or when we can build the extension; or put the kids through university; the reality is that what we are doing may leave us with long term health and relationship consequences.

Now changing a mind set is difficult and can sometimes seem impossible. In the midst of financial and other pressures we can feel trapped in our unhealthy work patterns. Now, there is nothing wrong with short term sacrifices when you are trying to achieve something – the problems arise when it becomes a way of life.

Unfortunately, it is often a crisis that gives us permission to stop and really reflect on our priorities. One of the principals told me that originally when he wanted to work less he got no support – but once he had his heart attack – everyone was really supportive. He said he wished he had his heart attack years earlier.

The Bottom Line

If you don’t believe that you are ‘worthy’ of your time – even down to basic self-care needs – it is unlikely that you will ever incorporate them or other personally important things into your day. Rather than focusing on managing time, we need to examine our mind set regarding the underlying problems and how they impact on our personal priorities.

Dr Jackie Holt (Ph.D.,M.Stud.Ed,DipPHC,B.Ed) is the Director of Ripplemakers Pty Ltd a boutique company that specialises in strategies for personal and professional well being.

Jackie is a professional speaker and workshop leader with over 20 years experience in the health and education field. Jackie has turned her research into a range of proven practical strategies that have enabled people to achieve significant results in their lives. For information about Jackie visit www.worklifeskills.com