Common Myths About Time Management
We all have heard them, and many of us believe them. By influencing our thinking these myths influence our actions. It is time to get out from under them!
1. The more you sweat, the more you get. Keep your shoulder to the wheel and your nose to the grindstone. Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.
a. Hard work and success are related, but so is hard work and failure (work, school marriage, etc.) We often overstate the value of hard work.
2. Activity means productivity.
a. Don’t confuse activity with results. We can measure activity, so measuring may become an end in itself.
b. This is overcome by setting goals and keeping them in focus.
c. Activity should be a means not an end.
3. Efficiency means effectiveness.
a. Effectiveness must precede efficiency.
4. Burn the midnight oil.
a. Results are not necessarily proportionate to time spent pursuing a goal.
b. Life needs balance. Long hours create procrastination (“I can always finish later”).
5. The best way to get the job done is to do it yourself.
a. There is only one of you and almost limitless demands on your time.
b. Are you an expert on everything? Realize your limitations and ask others for assistance.
6. Work is not fun.
a. From childhood, we are taught that work is a necessary evil so we carry that paradigm around with us.
b. How can you change your frame of reference and do something that will make work enjoyable for you and others?
7. There is only one best way.
a. We are taught very early to look for “the” solution or “right “way.
b. A broom is certainly better than a hand for picking stuff up, but not as good as a vacuum.
c. There are probably at least two ways to do anything.
8. More discipline means less freedom.
a. Low Freedom/Low Discipline… High crime areas where you fear for your life.
b. High Freedom/Low Discipline… South Sea Islands. Little gets accomplished.
c. Low Freedom/High Discipline… Prisons, Autocratic Government.
d. High Freedom/High Discipline… Self Discipline is imposed.
We set goals; we set strategy; we impose order. We make the most of our time and energy. We work less and accomplish more.
9. We work best under pressure.
a. This is a defense of procrastination and a superb self-delusion. Pressure makes us far less effective. We increase mistakes with no time for correction.
b. Nothing is as easy as it looks.
c. Everything takes longer than you expect.
Turn off these tapes. Irrational thoughts must consciously be exposed before we can banish them from our lives. Take active steps to replace them with positive rational thinking and enjoy the results.
