The Time Management Myth That's Killing Your Productivity (And Why I Stopped Believing It)

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Most productivity gurus are selling you a fantasy. There, I said it.

After seventeen years of running workshops across Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney, I've watched thousands of professionals chase the unicorn of "perfect time management." They download apps, colour-code calendars, and religiously follow the latest productivity system from some Silicon Valley entrepreneur who's never had to deal with unexpected client demands or a team member calling in sick on deadline day.

But here's what really grinds my gears: the entire premise is wrong.

Time management isn't about managing time—it's about managing energy and accepting that some days are just going to be absolute chaos. Yet we keep pretending otherwise, setting ourselves up for failure with unrealistic expectations and rigid systems that crumble the moment real life interferes.

I used to be one of those consultants. You know the type. Standing at the front of corporate training rooms, preaching about the importance of "eating the frog first" and blocking out sacred calendar time. I'd watch participants frantically scribbling notes, convinced that this time would be different. This system would finally crack the code.

What changed my mind? A client in Adelaide—let's call her Sarah—who attended three separate time management workshops over two years. Each time, she'd implement the system religiously for about six weeks before it fell apart. The third time I saw her, she looked genuinely defeated.

"Maybe I'm just bad at this," she said during the coffee break.

That's when it hit me. We weren't failing Sarah. Sarah wasn't failing the systems. The systems were fundamentally flawed because they ignored human psychology and the unpredictable nature of modern work.

Here's what I wish I'd told Sarah from day one: effective time management is 80% energy management and 20% actual scheduling. Most training programs get this backwards.

Think about it. You can have the most beautifully organised calendar in the world, but if you're mentally exhausted by 2 PM because you've been in back-to-back meetings since 9 AM, those afternoon "deep work" blocks might as well be scheduled nap time. Which, frankly, might be more productive.

The energy piece is where most professionals get it wrong. We treat ourselves like machines that should operate at consistent capacity throughout the day. But our brains don't work that way. We have natural rhythms, peak performance windows, and yes—we need actual breaks that aren't spent checking emails on our phones.

I started teaching a completely different approach about five years ago. Instead of rigid time blocking, I focus on energy auditing. Instead of trying to squeeze more into each day, we look at eliminating the stuff that drains you unnecessarily.

For instance, that daily 10 AM status meeting that could be an email? That's not just 30 minutes of your calendar—it's often 45 minutes of mental preparation, the meeting itself, plus the 15 minutes afterward where you're trying to refocus on what you were doing before. That's 90 minutes of cognitive load for what should be a five-minute update.

But here's where I'm going to say something controversial: some people are naturally better at this stuff than others, and that's okay.

I know, I know. As a trainer, I'm supposed to tell you that anyone can master time management with the right system. But that's bollocks. Some people have brains that naturally compartmentalise and prioritise. Others are more creative, intuitive thinkers who struggle with linear planning. Neither is wrong—they just need different approaches.

The creative types often benefit more from theme days than scheduled blocks. Marketing on Mondays, admin on Tuesdays, client work Wednesday through Friday. It gives structure without the claustrophobic feeling of minute-by-minute scheduling.

The natural planners, on the other hand, often benefit from loosening up their systems. They're usually over-scheduled and under-energised because they try to account for every single minute of their day.

Here's what actually works, based on 300+ workshops and countless one-on-one coaching sessions:

Start with your non-negotiables. Not your work tasks—your human needs. Sleep, exercise, meals that aren't consumed while staring at a screen. If these aren't protected time, everything else becomes infinitely harder.

Identify your personal prime time. Everyone has 2-3 hours per day when their brain works optimally. For most people, it's mid-morning, but night owls might find their groove at 2 PM or even 8 PM. Schedule your most important work during these windows, not when everyone else thinks you should be productive.

Batch similar tasks. But not in the way you think. Instead of "all admin in the afternoon," try "all decision-making tasks when your brain is fresh." Reading emails, reviewing proposals, choosing vendors—these all require similar cognitive resources.

Build in buffer time. Not just 15 minutes between meetings, but genuine buffer days or half-days every week. Something will always come up. Client emergencies, team member questions, your own brain needing time to process complex problems. If you're scheduled to the max, these necessary interruptions become sources of stress instead of just part of the job.

Now, here's where I might lose some of you: stop trying to be productive all the time.

Seriously. Some of my best strategic thinking happens when I'm walking around the block or having a coffee without my phone. Some of my best client solutions come to me in the shower, not during dedicated "problem-solving time."

Your brain needs downtime to synthesise information and make connections. If you're constantly consuming information or producing output, you're missing opportunities for breakthrough thinking.

I learned this the hard way during a particularly demanding project with a Perth-based mining company. I was working 12-hour days, trying to redesign their entire leadership development program under an impossible deadline. The harder I pushed, the more mediocre my ideas became.

On day six of this madness, I took the afternoon off and went to the beach. Didn't bring work. Didn't check emails. Just sat there watching surfers and feeling guilty about not being productive.

That's when the solution hit me. Not a good solution—the perfect solution. One that addressed every stakeholder concern while actually being implementable. It took twenty minutes of "unproductive" time to solve what I'd been struggling with for a week.

The client was thrilled. The program launched successfully. And I learned to trust the process of managing my energy rather than just my calendar.

This is why I'm increasingly skeptical of productivity apps and complex systems. They often become another task to manage rather than actually making your life easier. How many people do you know who spend more time organising their to-do lists than actually doing the things on them?

The best time management system is the one you'll actually use consistently without it becoming a burden. For some people, that's a simple notebook and pen. For others, it's a sophisticated digital setup. There's no moral superiority in either approach.

But there is one thing I'm absolutely certain about after all these years: if your time management system is making you feel more stressed about time, it's the wrong system for you.

What about interruptions? People always ask about this. "How do I manage my time when my boss/colleagues/clients constantly interrupt me?"

Here's the thing—interruptions are part of most jobs. Instead of fighting them, build them into your planning. If you know you typically get 5-7 interruptions per day, plan for 5-7 interruptions per day. Schedule your focused work during times when interruptions are less likely.

And sometimes, those interruptions are actually more important than what you had planned. A team member who needs guidance, a client with an urgent question, an opportunity that requires quick action. Good time management isn't rigid adherence to a plan—it's having enough structure to be flexible when it matters.

I remember working with a financial advisor in Brisbane who was frustrated because client calls kept "ruining" his planned admin time. We reframed those calls as his actual job—the admin was just supporting activity. Once he stopped seeing client needs as interruptions and started seeing them as opportunities, his stress level dropped considerably.

The bottom line? Time management training that doesn't account for the messy reality of human psychology and workplace dynamics is academic masturbation. Pretty in theory, useless in practice.

Start with energy. Build in flexibility. Protect the important stuff. And stop feeling guilty about the fact that you're a human being, not a productivity robot.

Your future self will thank you. Trust me on this one—I've been there, done that, bought the colour-coded planner, and learned the hard way that simple often beats sophisticated when it comes to actually getting things done.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a coffee break scheduled. And yes, it's actually on my calendar. Some things are just too important to leave to chance.