“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose” – Thomas Edison.

If lately you have been feeling stressed out and overwhelmed with how much you have to do, if you believe that you can be more productive or learn to manage yourself and your time more efficiently, if you have an incredibly busy week ahead of you – take a few minutes to read about the 7 Biggest and Boldest Time management Lies that are the main cause of our stress, burn out, and procrastination.

You might be surprised to catch yourself telling at least one of these lies before lunch time!

1. I Can Do It All!

This is one of the most frequent lies I tell myself. And then some few hours later, I have to admit that I was wrong. There simply is not enough time to do everything we usually plan on doing. Nor is there the need to do all of it. Often we are the ones who willingly put too much on our plate and then stress out about it.

So next time the thought “I can do it all!” crosses your mind – take a few deep breaths, relax and remind yourself that effective time management is not about doing more in a shorter amount of time. It is about enjoying what you do and doing it well!

2. It will Only Take a Minute!

This is another frequent lie I am guilty of. It just seems easier to get small tasks off your hands first and then dedicate yourself fully to the priorities on your list. However, priorities are called this, because you should complete them “prior” to any other tasks.

Do not kid yourself with the idea that “This will just take one minute”. Nothing ever takes just a minute – and even if it does, any such interruption usually costs you anywhere from fifteen to thirty five minutes of your productive “flow” time.

3. If I only had more time…

We often rationalize that if we only had more time we would be able to accomplish more. But the truth is that we are not going to get more than 1440 minutes a day, regardless of what we do or do not do. And no Time Management System will help us accomplish this. What makes the difference is not how much time you have, but how you choose to spend it.

4. I can do it better/faster than anyone else!

I often catch myself with this white lie. In fact, it might not necessarily be a lie. You could do something better and faster than your colleagues, assistants and employees. But it does not mean that you have to do it. This is so important that I am going to repeat it once again. Doing something better and faster than other people DOES NOT mean you should do it!

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Time management is a great theory. It helps us to get more organized, to set priorities, and to increase our productivity. Except for when it does not work…

1. Establish your “flow” times.

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Script: 5 minutes of your life.

You are sitting at your desk trying to concentrate on your project.

“I really need to get it done by the end of the day… Let’s see… What are the numbers for the last month?… Hold on. Is that a new email? It might be from Terry.”

You open the email box…
“No that’s just spam. Why would I want to buy a Rolex watch?! … Where was I? Numbers for the last month… God, who is writing to me on Facebook? I’ll just say I’m busy… Finally!… Numbers for the last month should be right here… Great!”

Janice from her desk: “Oh my God! Look at that! Hold on! I’ll send it to you!”

You accepting an image file… waiting for it to download… opening it. It is a picture of a KITTEN!

You to Janice, “It’s cute!” while thinking, “Why in the world would she send me a picture of a cat?! I really don’t have time for this! Where was I? Right… Numbers for the past month…”

Distractions can be very annoying, especially when you are trying to get some work done. They are like thousands of midges swarming around you and following you everywhere you go, making it impossible for you to focus on important tasks.

Just by eliminating those daily distractions alone you will instantly improve your focus, double your productivity and avoid unnecessary stress.

Here is how to do it:

1. Block out the noise. Our brain actually starts to deal with distractions the day we are born. A large portion of the incoming information is blocked to prevent us from feeling overwhelmed. The two main senses that we rely on the most are vision and hearing.

The results of much psychological research show us that we mainly get distracted by visual stimuli as well as unwanted acoustic information. The solution to the distraction problem is genial, because it is so simple – get ear plugs or put on a pair of headphones without listening to any music. When you block one of the senses, the other senses become heightened. But it also helps to improve your focus.

2. Avoid visual stimulation. It has been shown that we only block out about 20% of what comes in through our eyes. This is why we need to keep all visual distractions to a minimum. Most of us do not even notice that our eyes are repeatedly turning to email pop-ups, flashing banners, clutter around our desk, tens of icons on our desktop or the person sitting in front of us.

Therefore, turn off your IM, Twitter, Facebook, email notifications. Remove all the clutter from your desk and your desktop. If you work in an open-plan office, find a spot where you will not be directly facing someone. At home just close the door (lock it if you can) and inform your family members that you will be busy working for about an hour.

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