We often find that those making the most common time management mistakes are also those who have the best intentions. While they think they’re improving upon their productivity, or getting things done just right, they’re actually wasting valuable time that could be used to push their business forward. A proper time keeping system can help to alleviate the stresses that these mistakes cause, and show business owners how they could be using their time more wisely. Time is something that is never returned once it’s gone, and we want to show you what common time management mistakes you may be making and that could be hurting your business.
What Are Timekeeping Systems And How Can They Help?
Before we delve into avoiding common time management mistakes, it pays to know just what time keeping systems are and how they can benefit you. A time keeping system allows employees to clock in and clock out when they arrive and leave from work, but they can do so much more. Employees may also clock in and out of certain tasks, and the system logs their time spent on certain tasks digitally, allowing you a way to keep track of how time is being spent. With a time keeping system, you can see just where time problems are and where improvements can be made, so you can manage your time more effectively all throughout your business.
Time keeping systems can also help immensely in the payroll department, as time and pay are managed digitally and in a simple to decipher manner. This will save additional time, as payroll workload will be a fraction of what it once was without the system keeping track. By outsourcing this payroll work to a time keeping system, you’ll also be left with more budget to play with when it comes to hiring in other departments, allowing you to take on more talent to push your progress forward and save you even more time.
Common Time Management Mistakes To Avoid
Time management mistakes are often made with good intentions, as those making the mistakes actually feel they’re being more productive in doing what they choose to do. While this isn’t always the case, in these instances time keeping systems are an immense help. With a time keeping system, you may be able to track time spent on particular projects or tasks, and determine how this time could be better managed.
A few of the most common time management mistakes and how to avoid them are:
- Going solo – This is one of those mistakes that is made with productivity in mind, but often not in practice. Going solo refers to working alone on projects in an effort to get everything “just right”, but this could be wasting quite a bit of valuable time. Allowing others to work on a project with you can cut the time in half or more, and provide different perspectives and ideas you may not have thought of before.
- Distraction – Distraction is something that every business owner and every employee are probably equally guilty of at some point throughout their career. You’re working on one task, but something else comes up, and that something else takes up your energy and your attention, pulling you away from the task at hand. With a time keeping system, you can “clock-in” to different tasks specifically, which can help to keep your mind from falling victim to the distraction lurking around the corner.
- Continuing without a goal – Goals help to keep us on track, and when we don’t have them, we can really use our time unwisely. To work on a project or task without a specific goal in mind, whether the goal is rooted in time or progress, is a big time waster, and a goal should always be put forth before delving into any particular activity.
- Too much multitasking – Multitasking is considered a talent or a skill, but in reality, it’s often cutting your effort up into little pieces and assigning those little pieces to various tasks. While this may sound like something positive in terms of productivity, it’s actually stopping you from giving all of your effort to one central task and completing it at your best.
