Focusing on tools and tactics is the worst way to improve your time management skills.

I can totally understand why you might think that turning to tools and tactics to fix your time management skills is the way to go. However, it’s a false narrative.

What we’ve been told about time management tools and tactics

Numerous books, articles, and companies who market and sell things like planners and productivity apps have sent us the message that having the right tools and tactics is essential to getting things done efficiently.

We’ve been told that if we can just find the perfect planner, or the perfect time-tracking app, then our time management struggles will disappear.  We see a lot of people focusing on tools and tactics to try and improve their time management as a result.

The problem with relying on tools and tactics to improve your time management

If tools and tactics are the key to effective time management, then why is it that some people find what they believe is the “perfect” planner, use it for a few days or maybe even a week, and then give up on it?

Trying to improve your time management skills with tools and tactics alone is like putting new walls on a house with a cracked foundation.

It might work okay for a while, and things might look better.  Ultimately, though, those changes don’t stick.  The same problems come up again.  The walls begin to sag, because you tried to put something new on top of that cracked foundation.

If you continue to search out tools and tactics to improve your time management, a few things happen:

• First, you waste precious time and energy on options that won’t solve your time management issues.
• Second, you end up feeling even more stuck, frustrated, and disappointed than you did before.
• Finally, you might even start to think something is wrong with you, because you just can’t seem to manage your time effectively… even though you’ve been trying all the tools and tactics.

What to do instead

So, what SHOULD you focus on to improve your time management skills?

Take a holistic approach to time management that starts with mindset.

Effective time management is 80% mind management.  Tools and tactics are important too, but they’re like the walls of the house.  Mindset is the foundation.  And a solid foundation allows you to build a more sustainable and effective approach to time management.

What most people do (that doesn’t work)

So, what can you do to build that strong mindset-based foundation to improve your time management skills?

What most people do is try to just think positively.  That often doesn’t work, though.  And the reason is rooted in neurocognitive processes.

When you ask your brain to buy into a thought that doesn’t align with your underlying beliefs (like a “positive” thought that is too much of a stretch), it creates what’s called cognitive dissonance.

In other words, your brain considers this new thought, compares it to your current beliefs, and says, “No, thanks.  This doesn’t fit with what we have in stock.”  Your brain rejects that new thought, and continues on with its old way of thinking.

And here’s what happens when you just try to slap “positive” thoughts on top of your current beliefs and patterns of thinking:

• You get frustrated.
• You don’t make progress toward your goals.
• You feel discouraged.
• You might even decide to discount mindset work altogether, because trying to “think positive” hasn’t worked for you.

Trying to “think positively” without addressing the underlying issues is kind of like planting more flowers in a garden to get rid of the weeds.  You don’t need more flowers, you need to remove the weeds.

Take these 4 steps to overhaul your time management mindset

This is a fairly involved process, but if you undertake it, it will change your life.  For the sake of time and because I don’t want to overwhelm you, I’ll just give you the 10,000 foot view of the process I use with my clients in my Aligned Entrepreneur Time Mastery program.  This is the process I use to help them weed out those unhelpful thoughts and beliefs that keep them stuck, and create a solid mental foundation for effective time management.

Identify internal barriers to effective time management

First, identify any internal, mindset-based barriers that are preventing you from managing your time effectively.  This could include factors like:

• Perfectionism
• Procrastination
• Overwhelm
• Fear of failure
• Self-doubt
• Indecision
• Lack of motivation
• Giving in to distractions

Again, even if someone realizes that they have an internal barrier to effective time management, many people will simply try to “think positively.”  But, as I mentioned earlier, that generally doesn’t result in lasting, impactful changes in your mindset.  Here’s what to do, instead, after you’ve identified those internal barriers.

Uncover root causes of internal barriers

Next, identify the root causes of those internal factors that are keeping you stuck.  They are often the result of a faulty thought or belief.  It might even a thought or belief that served you in the past, but is no longer helpful.  Remember the weeds in the garden I mentioned earlier?  This is where we find the weeds the need to be pulled from your mindset.

Break down and rebuild

Then, it’s time to break down those unhelpful thoughts and beliefs and build new ones that will help you overcome those internal barriers to managing your time effectively.  This is a process that I don’t have time to discuss in detail in today’s article, but it does require some specific steps over time.

Build internal skills to improve your time management

Last, you can work to develop the neurocognitive skills that will help you to manage your time more effectively.  Those might include:

• Discipline
• Focus
• Self-confidence
• Creativity
• Decisiveness
• Bias toward action

Again, from a brain science standpoint, building these traits takes time and specific steps.  However, developing them is so worth it.

The benefits of a mindset-based approach to time management

When you’re no longer bogged down by significant internal barriers, and you have the neurocognitive skills to manage your time effectively, things change.  Tools and tactics become significantly more impactful, and you’ll have the skill and discipline to use them more consistently.  You’ll also able to effectively set and pursue both business and personal goals.

Ready to take control of your time management?

So, let me ask you:  Do you want to continue focusing all your time and effort on time management tools and tactics, and continue getting disappointing results?  Or, are you ready to lay a strong foundation for lasting, sustainable, and impactful time management and achievement?

If you’re ready to make some serious changes to the way you approach time management, join me for a free productivity power session.  We’ll talk about your internal barriers to effective time management, and develop a concrete plan to help you overcome them.  Visit amyschield.com/book.  I’ll see you at your session!