Why time management so often fails

Why time management(ˈmanijmənt) so often fails(fāl)

Productivity hacks promise(ˈpräməs) a better, less stressful life. Why do they deliver(dəˈlivər) the exact(igˈzakt) opposite(ˈäpəzət) to many people?

By José Luis Peñarredonda

People are obsessed(əbˈses) with time management. Every single person I have discussed this subject with had a strong opinion(əˈpinyən). There were fierce(fi(ə)rs) debates(dəˈbāt) between those who say nothing works, those who swear(swe(ə)r) by their low-tech Moleskines, and those who cannot live without their apps.

The stories always start in a hopeful tone(tōn), but often end on a sour(ˈsou(ə)r) note. Charlotte(ˈSHärlət) Bordewey, an entrepreneur(-ˈnər,ˌäntrəprəˈno͝or) in Herefordshire(ˈhɛrəfədʃ(ɪ)ə), UK, has tried all sorts of apps, books, and techniques – and wasted(ˈwāstid) hours later, she still feels like time is melting(melt) between her hands. “I never seem to be organised enough to set myself tasks and actually complete(kəmˈplēt) them,” she despairs(diˈspe(ə)r).

Ana Cecilia(səˈsilyə) Calle, a PhD student in Austin(ˈôstən), Texas(ˈteksəs), started to keep track of so many tasks she thought her mind would not be able to cope(kōp). Time-management tools offered “this promise that you would gain certain control over your life”, she says. “But whatever you start doing, it works for a while, and then it stops working.”

When this happens, most people try another app or another technique. There are hundreds out there, from straightforward(ˌstrātˈfôrwərd) to-do lists to complicated(ˈkämpləˌkātid) services with dozens(ˈdəzən) of features. It is its own genre(ˈZHänrə) of internet self-help, with countless(ˈkountləs) blogs and videos about it. Most universities(ˌyo͞onəˈvərsətē) in the US and the UK offer time some form of time-management training.

Still, searching for a technique that works leaves many people frustrated(ˈfrəsˌtrātid), anxious(ˈaNG(k)SHəs) and guilty(ˈgiltē) – the opposite(ˈäpəzət) of the ‘stress-free productivity’ that time management is supposed to achieve.

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http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180904-why-time-management-so-often-fails