Proper time management means having a clear plan about what you need to do for the day. It involves discipline in following time blocks where you assign specific tasks that should be dealt with during that period. It’s a necessary skill that business leaders should master to succeed.

You see, time is the most valuable resource we all have. It’s quite priceless because it’s not like a monetary investment that you can earn again in case you fail. There’s no way to turn back time and re-do your past.

Not only that, but time is a resource given in equal measure. We all operate on the same time construct and we lose it at the same rate as everyone else. If you have inefficient time management habits, you’re losing so much more than you imagine. Learning how to use time wisely is of utmost importance to achieve great things in your business.

This is what I want to focus on in this article. I want to help you identify the red flags that indicate time management inefficiencies so you can work on correcting them.

7 Signs of Inefficient Time Management

There’s one thing I noticed with the business owners that I’ve coached in the past.

Some of them had no idea they needed to improve their time management skills. In fact, some never gave a second thought about how they used their time. They clocked in, did their job, rushed through some things and then they clocked out. It’s the same thing the next day.

They worked hard but they’re not getting the results they’re expecting.

If you can relate to that, you might want to check how you manage your time.

Here are 7 signs of inefficiencies in your time management skills - and the effects that these have on your business.

You don’t have clear goals and strategic direction

When you do a task at work, is it clear to everyone why it needs to get done? Apart from the fact that a client is expecting the job to be completed - are you aware of the impact of that job on the business?

If you can’t answer that question, that’s one sign that your time management skills need improvement. To use your time wisely, it’s important to understand why you’re doing it. Your business should identify clear goals because they align all your tasks and give you strategic direction.

Without it, you lack purpose. You’re just going through the motions without putting in the right effort to achieve the maximum impact of that task. There’s a higher chance that high-impact tasks will be disregarded and you’ll fall short of business expectations.

You’re always running late

If you find yourself always running behind schedule and asking a client for an extension, that’s another sign of poor time management skills.

Before you start a task or project, you have to calculate how long it’ll take to do it. With the due date in mind, you should be able to determine how much time you need to work on that task each day until you complete it.

Without proper planning, you’ll have no control over the situation. There’s no schedule to follow and that can lead to several delays that can compromise your ability to meet deadlines.

You’re constantly rushing

This coincides with being late. Poor time management leaves you constantly rushing and struggling to complete tasks with a limited amount of time.

Rushing through a task won’t give you exceptional results. It compromises the quality of your output and in effect, client satisfaction. Since you don’t have enough time, you’ll be in a state of panic and everything feels like a priority. You’ll have trouble delegating tasks because you don’t want to waste time teaching someone else to do it. In the end, you’ll just work on it yourself. 

In most cases, this will leave some tasks unattended or delayed.

You have low productivity

What happens when you rush through tasks? It won’t just sacrifice the quality of your work. It can also reduce productivity. Since you’re not managing your time wisely, there’s no order in how you do things. There’s no flow because you don’t know what to prioritise. You might even end up jumping from one task to another. This will make you end up doing fewer tasks than when you started.

The result is missing targets because you end up doing fewer tasks.

You feel distracted

Time management involves using time blocks to help you focus on specific tasks. Without these blocks, you’re in danger of distractions. You can be in the middle of a task only to open an email and start working on another issue. Distractions can lead to further issues like miscommunication and errors. This can compromise the quality of work that you’re doing.

If you have a time block for that task, you won’t let anything distract you from doing it within the time allotted for it. Unless it’s an emergency or related to the task, you won’t let yourself be distracted.

You have a habit of procrastinating

According to psychologists, one of the drivers of procrastination is a lack of structure. If you don’t define what needs to be done within the day, chances are you’ll find reasons to delay tasks. You’ll waste time focusing on menial tasks instead of working on high-impact tasks.

This is what inefficient time management can lead to. The lack of structure won’t make you feel accountable for completing tasks immediately - making it easier to succumb to procrastination.

You suffer from stress and unhealthy behaviour

All the tasks that you can’t do and the missed targets will make you feel stressed and unfulfilled. This could lead to unhealthy behaviour like inability to eat well, lack of sleep, low self-esteem and even fatigue. You’ll find yourself putting in long hours or late nights because you did not use your time wisely during the day.

Without property time management, you’ll always be struggling to catch up and the stress that comes from that can take a toll on your physical and mental well-being. If you don’t correct the inefficient use of your time, this can lead to irreversible effects on your business as well as your personal life.

Effects of Poor Time Management Skills

Inefficient time management leads to various negative effects that manifest in two important areas in your life.

First, poor time management skills can lead to tense and stressful work relationships. The stress and discontent that you feel from missing targets and constantly rushing around will put you on edge. You’ll feel irritable and errors could lead to disagreements with your team. You might even blame them for inefficiencies in the business productivity and output.

And since we’re on the topic of relationships, this can also affect your personal life. The time you spend catching up with tasks will take away from what should have been spent with your loved ones - or your well-being.

Second, your business growth and revenue potential will be compromised. All the rushing and delays will lower your productivity and work quality. You’ll be so focused on trying to meet deadlines that you won’t have spare time to think about business growth. Not only that, the poor quality of work can affect your company’s deliverables. If you fail to meet the expectations of your clients, this can affect your relationship with them and your revenue potential.

Tips to Start Managing Time Like a Pro

Now that you know the red flags that indicate inefficient time management, how can you correct them?

There are many articles online that provide tips like creating a daily diary, using a calendar tool, teaching how to create time blocks, etc.

These are all helpful but they’re not always effective. Let me tell you why.

Managing time like a pro requires a change in attitude. That’s the key to being efficient in time management. You need to change your mindset about time and your perception of how it should be used. 

I read an article published by Erich C. Dierdorff on the Harvard Business Review website that can explain this further. According to Dierdorff, there are 3 important stages to improve time management: awareness, arrangement and adaptation.

Awareness is all about changing your perception of time. If you want to improve your time management skills, you need to learn how to treat time as a limited resource.

Once you’ve worked on that, it’s time to work on arrangement. This involves organising, not just your tasks, but also how they align with your goals and plans. Combine all these to create a schedule that will increase your productivity and work quality.

Finally, you get to the adaptation stage. With what you know through the awareness and arrangement stages, you can adapt time management hacks to meet the unique goals you’re trying to reach. It’s not just about implementing the right skills. It’s about monitoring how you develop these skills and if they’re effective in helping you be efficient with how you use time.

Learn to Manage Time Wisely

Managing time wisely is a skill that can bring significant success to your business. Without it, you’ll have a harder time reaching your goals. You’ll always be rushing and compromising your work output. This could lead to losses that can take a toll on your business growth.

As a business leader, you set the pace for the rest of your team. As long as you implement the right time management skills, your team can adopt the same practices which in turn will lead to higher productivity and quality of work.

Learning to manage your time properly is not just about implementing schedules and monitoring your calendar. It requires a change in your mindset and attitude towards time.

If you want to learn more about recognising signs of inefficiency in your business, consider working with a business coach. They have the expertise to analyse your business to provide a fresh perspective on how to improve the way you work.

Are you ready to conquer time management red flags and achieve greater success in your business? Book a complimentary 15-minute call here: https://www.butleradvisory.com.au/time-with-trent.