Why Is Time Management A Problem?

Caution : I am NOT talking about why is POOR time management a problem here…read on.

I struggled personally with my perception of time and how to structure a path to reach my goals for many years.

Indeed, I am still a student and I get fascinated more and more as I dive more deeply into the immense quantity of details this topic can provide…

Let´s Clarify the Topic

I found that there are a number of reasons why time management can be a problem for some people.

For some, it may be due to a lack of organizational skills. Others may have trouble staying focused on one task at a time. And still, others may procrastinate or have difficulty prioritizing their tasks.

If you’re struggling with time management, there are a number of things you can do right now to improve. A simple but powerful activity to start is assessing how you’re currently using your time. Are there any areas where you can cut back or be more efficient? Is the project you are involved in providing the results you expect? Is maybe time to outsource some?

Next, from the analysis of the data collected, adjust how you’ll use your time in the future. Break down your goals into smaller tasks and set a schedule for when you’ll work on each one. 

But in the end, the hard truth is that none of your efforts will provide some value if you don’t commit and stick to your plan!

Is Time Management Really Important?

Hey, let us put it this way : Think about yesterday. How did you feel at the end of the day?

Exhausted?

Electrified about the great party you had with your friends?

Worried because you couldn’t accomplish the sea of things you thought you “had to”?

Fearful because tomorrow is the deadline for you to provide that particular report to that client of yours?

Or maybe proud and satisfied because all the planned work to complete that project paid out better than expected?

But “a day” is a conventional name we humans use to define a particular lapse of time.

And, on the other hand, If you sit down doing nothing, probably very little will happen, right?

So, to rephrase, all the listed above are a greatly a result of your skills at managing the time of your day more or less effectively. Makes sense?…

What is your life made of in the end? TIME.

Think!

How do you feel good? having a good TIME, maybe with friends, or loved ones, maybe alone working hard on your stuff, or simply getting to know yourself better…

What could be then a reasonable recipe for happiness? Use the TIME of your life as best as you can to develop the best version of yourself possible, be it emotionally, physically, spiritually or professionally.

Now, from my direct personal experience, everybody I came in contact with who was always on time, met constantly deadlines, and had a pretty high work standard was invariably highly sought for his reputation, could build a beautiful career, had stable relationships, and tended to accomplish more than the rest of the team, although he seemed less stressed than others…

Apart from offering a better quality of life, an optimized use of time can also leads to better opportunities, gives more free time, more effective learning, reduced hunger, improved sleep, and thus reduced fatigue and bad mood.

But wait a minute… reduced hunger and improved sleep??

That’s right. A day correctly planned, gets you focused and engaged in various activities, limiting the natural tendency of our brain to seek easy pleasures for the sake of distraction (=food, the everybody’s favorite).

If we follow our plans and reap the obvious rewards, we could be maybe tired at the end of our day, but with a positive feeling of accomplishment, a desirable attitude to recover energy with a good night of sleep

Aren’t these excellent reasons to give it a try?

Read more: What Is Time Management In Simple Words?

Why is it hard to manage time?

We can synthesize the difficulties of managing time to 2 principal causes : 

External

1. We do not have total control of our time because the unexpected can always come in the way and interfere with our plans.

In case this happens, there is really no point in beating yourself up. Something unexpected forces you to accept a different course of action for the time being. 

It is much smarter instead to accept the situation as it is and deal with the interruption as quickly as possible while thinking about alternative strategies to get back on track as soon as pssible .

Internal

2. Our Psychology gets very often in the way, inducing anxiety or pushing us to operate changes on the fly to a well-thought plan.

If you have been lurking for some time around the subject, you already found what the traditional enemies of correct and healthy use of time management are,

It is widely assumed to be procrastination, not sticking to the plan and excessive anxiety. (often due to an excessively crowded schedule).

In reality, any of them is a by-product of our Psychology reacting to an uncomfortable condition :  we procrastinate tasks and obligations because we do not want to endure the hassle of doing something that we feel uncomfortable with. So our psychology throws anything possible at us in the attempt to discourage us from starting or going on.

Not sticking to the plan has similar causes as Procrastination:  we feel physical or emotional pain for different reasons as we proceed with the occupation at hand

Thre unese we feel is our emotional response is to stop and run to eliminate that pain right now. 

This mechanic then continues pushing us to indulge in something to relieve us (e.g. social media, video gaming, food, smoke or alcohol.

And since the pleasure is immediate we find ourselves going on way longer than planned (“just one more minute…”).

Going deeper…

Excessive Anxiety : another common situation when we let our achievements (or lack of) define us as persons. As an example, we feel inferior to the rest of the class. And to prove ourselves smart in the eyes of others (the other students or the teacher herself) accept an impossible assignment with a very strict deadline.

Since this acceptance is basically motivated by fear, there is nothing there to motivate us, nor the purpose of the situation has something positive and empowering to offer.

So we struggle under a strong sense of urgency. We feel helpless and terrorized to look bad in front of others since we cannot stop time while the tasks to complete are simply too many.

Anxiety is a reasonable and natural response to such a situation, but as we can understand here, it is a symptom and not the cause.

But I guarantee you, the difficulties of managing time effectively are not exclusive to the regular guy!

Just look at the data : if the research in this field goes on for decades now, it is because there is an objective struggle in the professional world to find more accurate ways to reduce the negative side effects (fatigue, chronic stress, depression and many other syndromes) while aiming for the ultimate peak performance.

No easy task, really…you are fighting a big beast here man…

Read more : How To Fix Bad Time Management Skills?

What are the disadvantages of time management?

There could be effectively a few potential disadvantages of time management…

First, if you’re not careful, you can easily become a slave to your schedule.

It’s important to be flexible and allow yourself some free time, or you’ll start to feel like you’re living in a prison.

But the opposite can also happen : if you feel too much at ease and protected from a rigid schedule, this could also affect other areas of your life, like relationships and your attitude to receive.

Second, you can miss out on important opportunities if you’re not careful. If you’re excessively focused on completing your to-do list, then you could be not receptive to new possibilities.

(you might miss out on great chances Sir…)

Third, you might become so obsessed with time management that you forget to enjoy the present moment.

The ultimate goal of life should not be limited to efficiency and productivity. Make sure to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

And more importantly, check out continuously that the destination still makes sense to you.

What are some of the biggest time management problems?

OK, ok, I was maybe ranting here like I often do!! 😀 😀

Let’s try to slow down a bit and look at some more simple issues everybody could find along the way…

One of the most popular Time Management problems that people face is trying to do too many things at once. Like I said many times in this blog, I see it as a sign of our times, but it can lead to feeling overwhelmed and stressed, and can actually make it harder to get things done.

Moreover, as I experienced personally, your overall results won’t be any better.

Multitasking, is that a good idea? : Read more

Another big time management issue is not having a clear plan specifically designed for the goal to achieve. This can lead to aimless wandering and wasting time on activities that don’t help you move closer to your goals.

Do not guess! Take your time to learn the basics, then apply with Committment and Consistency.

Rinse and repeat.

Finally, procrastination can be a huge time management problem. (In all reality, this is more of a reaction to a different problem than the cause)

When you postpone important tasks, it can be hard to get back on track, isn´t it? …and you will definitely end up feeling even more stressed!

Is Time Management Stressful?

Nope. Just the opposite. Good habits in time management help greatly in reducing stress and anxiety! (while at the same time improving your chances to succeed in reaching any goal…)

It can seem overwhelming at first, so I recommend starting small.

Like I said before a solid start is to track our actual routine and make adjustments accordingly.

We can learn so much about ourselves! So many insights that normally go unnoticed under the usual rush of our normal days.

Is Time Management A Threat?

Yes, it could be a threat to your business if not implemented correctly.

In business, time and money are strictly related. A delay in shipment can cause our company to lose an important client. A slow, non-effective renovation of a production department will most surely erode our market share. If you are too much ahead of time with your product you could not find clients easily. 

(Just joking!! why would you be here reading and trying to improve yourself then?? 😂)

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed in deep the various issues we can encounter while learning and practicing how to manage the time at our disposal.

Though it takes just common sense and logical thinking, we learned how to deal with the unexpected as well as with our psychology (=subcontiouis reactions in this instance).

We walked then through a brief discussion about the role time in general has in everybody’s life, some manageable disadvantages, and some of the most popular issues we can encounter along our way to master this valuable skill.

In the end, we touched on the topic of stress and other subtle damages poor time awareness can cause in a business environment as well as in one’s personal life.

So, in the end, can really Time Management be a problem?

Yes, it can be if you are for instance an absolute beginner, or you are too lazy (pun intended) to invest time and attention in this powerful tool (because, do not forget it, it is “just” a tool).

Maybe you are pressed by an exhausting work schedule and you think you do not have time enough to learn good time management practices. Or you will waste too many resources you should instead employ in your ongoing project…

Maybe you’ll work even more intensely the first couple of times you’ll implement time management in your routine, but after a while, it will come easier and easier.

Be always eager to incorporate as many good habits as possible in your life. You will bring your own game a level further straight away.

If you have any questions or want to share your experiences, by any means write them down in the comments.