Why Time Management Systems Fail

When people think of a time management system, they usually think of an annual planner and some sort of personal organizer to keep track of telephone calls, meetings, assignments and other information. This seems to satisfy the dictionary definition of a system, i.e. a set of connected things that work together to perform a common function. But something is missing from most time management systems - the source of power that makes them work. Just as the body’s circulatory system needs the heart to pump blood through the blood vessels, so a time management system needs a driving force to make all the parts work. That driving force is the self-discipline of forming new habits.

You can’t get organized simply by purchasing a personal organizer. You must develop self-discipline to use the system as intended, whether that is to make notes while talking on the telephone or scheduling your major tasks in the planner or jotting down assignments and other information as they occur. In other words, you must power the system in order for it to work.

Most time management systems come with instructions on how to use the system. But they fail to explain that you also have to develop new habits in order to make them work. Consequently most people become discouraged quickly, blaming their lack of success on the system. It’s not the system that’s at fault; it’s the application of the system.

For example, if you want to develop the habit of making notes in your organizer when talking on the telephone, it will take time. Initially you may forget. If you do, make notes when you do think about it – even if it’s after you hang up. Persist in performing the activity again and again until it becomes a habit. It’s as though repetition slowly wears a track in your mind that behavior can follow.

It could take years to replace the multitude of bad habits that we have formed over our lifetime. We must be patient and persistent, tackling one habit at a time. You rid yourself of one habit by replacing it with another. For example, you replace the habit of making mental notes with one of writing everything down. You replace the habit of continually checking your e-mail with the habit of checking your e-mail at specific times during the day. And so on.

The payoff, in terms of personal productivity, well being and life balance is well worth the effort. And it’s encouraging to realize that a good habit is just as hard to break as a bad habit. Once you have formed new habits, you are unlikely to slip back to your old ways. But the habits must be firmly entrenched. Don’t rush the process. Form one habit at a time. One new habit each month will produce a major change in your operating methods within a few years. Then you will have a time management system that really works, a collection of tools and techniques that work together to achieve a common purpose.

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