The reality is, there are only 24 hours in a day and there is nothing we can do to change that (at least not yet). I’m sure you struggle to make the most out of those hours, but if you’re anything like me, more often than not, you look at the clock at 6 PM and wonder where the day went. Some days are more productive than others, but overall I’m sure there’s a lot of room for improvement when it comes to how your manage your time.
And I’m not saying that every day has to be 100 percent full of productivity; life is all about balance, but one of the great things about effective time management is that you can get more done in less time and have more hours available for things you enjoy.
A good way to start improving your productivity is to take a good hard look at how you waste time. We all do it, and many of us waste minutes and hours of our days on the same tasks things that can either be made more efficient or eliminated all together.
N2Growth, a company that provides leadership coaching and consulting has put together an infographic that lays out the 15 time wasters that successful people avoid. They are:
- Not listening
- Not finishing
- Working late
- Lack of focus
- Bad planning
- Technology interruptions
- Initiative overload
- Drop-in visits
- Bad delegation
- Poor organization
- Procrastination
- Improper use of “yes” and “no
- Unproductive meetings
- Not learning
- Not engaging
I’m sure you can relate to at least a few of these and the infographic goes into further detail about how to avoid these time wasters, and also gives some statistics on the top time wasting industries and states. In the wise words of Golda Meir, “I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.”
