My Thoughts

The Uncomfortable Truth About Time Management Training (And Why Most of It's Rubbish)

Three weeks ago, I walked out of my own time management workshop.

Not because it was bad—it was actually going rather well—but because halfway through explaining the Eisenhower Matrix for the thousandth time in my career, I realised I hadn't checked my emails in four hours. The irony wasn't lost on me. Here I was, teaching twenty-something professionals how to prioritise their tasks while my own inbox was probably exploding with "urgent" requests that weren't urgent at all.

That moment of self-awareness made me question everything I'd been preaching about time management for the past fifteen years. And frankly, most of what passes for time management training these days is absolute bollocks.

The Problem With Cookie-Cutter Solutions

Here's the thing nobody wants to admit: traditional time management training doesn't work because it treats everyone like they're the same person with the same brain, the same job, and the same life circumstances. It's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, except the peg is your chaotic work schedule and the hole is some American productivity guru's morning routine.

I've sat through countless time management courses over the years, and they all follow the same tired formula. They'll tell you to:

Make lists (as if you're not already drowning in them)
Use the Pomodoro Technique (because apparently we're all Italian tomatoes)
Block your calendar (which works great until your boss needs "just five minutes")
Say no more often (brilliant advice for someone trying to keep their job)

The reality? About 73% of people who attend these workshops go back to their old habits within two weeks. I know this because I've been tracking it, and the results are depressing.

What Actually Works (Spoiler: It's Not What You Think)

After years of trial and error—mostly error—I've discovered that effective time management isn't about managing time at all. It's about managing energy, attention, and expectations. Revolutionary, I know.

Energy Management Over Time Management

Your energy levels fluctuate throughout the day, and fighting against your natural rhythm is like swimming upstream in concrete boots. Some people are brilliant at 6 AM; others hit their stride after lunch. I learned this the hard way when I tried to force myself into a 5 AM routine because some Silicon Valley executive swore by it. Three weeks later, I was basically a zombie in a suit.

Instead of forcing yourself into an unnatural schedule, work with your natural energy patterns. Schedule your most challenging tasks during your peak hours and save the mindless stuff for when your brain feels like mush.

The Art of Strategic Procrastination

Here's something that'll make productivity experts clutch their pearls: sometimes procrastination is actually intelligent. Not all procrastination, mind you—scrolling through social media for three hours isn't strategic, it's just avoiding life. But delaying certain tasks can reveal which ones actually matter.

I once had a client who stressed about responding to every email immediately. After some gentle encouragement (okay, I hid their phone), they discovered that 60% of their "urgent" emails resolved themselves without any input. Magic? No. Most workplace drama is self-limiting if you don't feed it attention.

The Australian Approach to Getting Things Done

We Australians have a unique relationship with work that the rest of the world could learn from. We work hard, but we also understand that life's too short to stress about every minor deadline. This doesn't mean being slack—it means being smart about where you direct your energy.

Embrace the "She'll Be Right" Mentality (Strategically)

The phrase "she'll be right" gets a bad rap in business circles, but there's wisdom in it when applied correctly. Not everything needs to be perfect, and not every task deserves your best effort. Some things genuinely will sort themselves out, and recognising which ones fall into this category is a superpower.

I remember working with a Perth-based mining company where the operations manager was losing sleep over monthly reports that literally nobody read. Once we figured out these reports were disappearing into a digital black hole, we streamlined them into a simple email update. Problem solved, stress eliminated.

The Power of Saying "Yeah, Nah"

Australians are masters of the polite decline, and this skill is invaluable for time management. "Yeah, nah" is our diplomatic way of saying "I understand what you're asking, but that's not happening." Learning to say this professionally (without the Aussie slang, unfortunately) is crucial for protecting your time.

Why Most Time Management Training Misses the Mark

The productivity industry has convinced us that we need to optimise every moment of our lives, turning us into human spreadsheets obsessing over efficiency metrics. This approach ignores the fundamental truth that humans aren't machines—we're messy, emotional, inconsistent beings who need flexibility and grace.

The Myth of the Perfect Schedule

Every time management guru will show you their colour-coded calendar blocked out in perfect 30-minute segments. They'll claim this is the secret to their success, conveniently ignoring the fact that life rarely cooperates with our plans. Kids get sick, clients change their minds, and sometimes you just need an extra coffee break to maintain your sanity.

The most successful people I know don't have perfect schedules—they have flexible frameworks. They block out time for important work but leave buffer zones for the inevitable chaos. They understand that adaptation is more valuable than rigid adherence to a plan.

Practical Strategies That Actually Work

Let me share some techniques that have stood the test of time (and Australian scepticism):

The "Good Enough" Principle

Perfectionism is the enemy of productivity. Most tasks don't require your absolute best effort—they just need to be completed competently. Learning to recognise when "good enough" is actually good enough will free up enormous amounts of time and mental energy.

This doesn't mean being careless or sloppy. It means understanding that spending four hours perfecting a presentation that could be effective with two hours of work is often poor time allocation.

Batch Processing Like a Champion

Group similar tasks together and knock them out in one focused session. Check emails twice a day instead of constantly monitoring your inbox. Make all your phone calls in a designated block. This reduces the mental energy lost in task-switching and helps you maintain momentum.

The Weekly Reset Ritual

Every Sunday evening (or Monday morning if you're not a masochist), spend 15 minutes reviewing the upcoming week. Not planning every detail—just getting a sense of the major commitments and potential pressure points. This simple practice prevents most scheduling disasters and reduces weekday stress.

The Technology Trap

Here's where I might lose some of you: most productivity apps make you less productive, not more. The time you spend setting up elaborate systems, tweaking settings, and maintaining complex workflows often exceeds any efficiency gains.

I've watched brilliant professionals become productivity app addicts, constantly searching for the perfect digital solution to their time management problems. They'll switch from Todoist to Notion to Obsidian, spending hours migrating data and learning new interfaces, all while their actual work sits neglected.

The best time management system is the one you'll actually use consistently. For many people, that's still a simple notebook and pen. Revolutionary technology, I know.

Building Sustainable Habits Instead of Perfect Systems

The goal isn't to become a time management robot—it's to develop habits that support your work and life goals without requiring constant willpower. This means starting small and building gradually.

The Two-Minute Rule (But Applied Correctly)

David Allen's famous two-minute rule suggests that if something takes less than two minutes, do it immediately. This is solid advice, but it comes with a crucial caveat: only apply this rule during designated "administrative" time blocks. Otherwise, you'll spend your entire day responding to minor requests and never tackle important work.

Weekly Themes Over Daily Schedules

Instead of trying to plan every day in detail, consider assigning themes to different days of the week. Mondays for planning and meetings, Tuesdays for creative work, Fridays for wrap-up and preparation. This provides structure without rigidity and helps you batch similar types of work.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Productivity Culture

The dirty secret of the productivity industry is that it's largely selling anxiety relief dressed up as efficiency improvement. We're convinced that if we could just find the right system, app, or technique, we'd finally have control over our chaotic lives.

But here's the reality: some degree of chaos is inevitable and even beneficial. The most innovative ideas often come from unexpected interruptions or unplanned conversations. The most meaningful work relationships develop during spontaneous coffee breaks, not scheduled networking sessions.

Embracing Productive Inefficiency

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is take a long lunch with a colleague, go for a walk without your phone, or spend an extra ten minutes chatting with a team member who seems stressed. These activities don't appear productive on paper, but they often generate insights, solutions, and goodwill that formal meetings cannot.

What Actually Matters in the Long Run

After fifteen years of helping people manage their time better, I've noticed that the most satisfied professionals share certain characteristics. They're not necessarily the most organised or efficient, but they're clear about their priorities and comfortable with their choices.

They understand that time management is really about life management. They make conscious decisions about how to spend their energy and attention, rather than reacting to whatever screams loudest for their focus.

The Three Questions That Change Everything

Before accepting any new commitment or starting any task, ask yourself:

What am I trying to achieve?
Is this the best use of my time right now?
What am I not doing because I'm doing this?

These questions cut through the noise and help you make intentional choices about your time. They're simple but not easy—which describes most useful advice.

Moving Forward (Without the Guilt)

The biggest obstacle to better time management isn't lack of techniques or tools—it's the guilt and shame we carry about our current productivity levels. We beat ourselves up for not being more organised, more focused, more efficient.

This self-criticism is counterproductive and exhausting. Instead of trying to become a completely different person, work with your natural tendencies and constraints. Build systems that support your actual life, not your idealised version of it.

Most importantly, remember that the goal of time management isn't to squeeze more productivity out of every moment. It's to create space for what matters most to you, whether that's career advancement, family time, personal projects, or simply the luxury of not feeling constantly rushed.

The best time management strategy is the one that helps you sleep better at night, not the one that looks most impressive on Instagram. And if that means occasionally walking out of your own workshop to check your emails, well... she'll be right.

Further Reading: Companies Professional Development Investment | Career Growth Essentials | Changing Job Market Adaptation | Professional Development Benefits