Time – Page 2 – mardihumphreys.com

Beyond the Standard

We’ve all been there. The project that was supposed to be simple turns into something bigger, harder, and more time consuming than you expected. You don’t just get things done. You do them to a higher standard. That extra effort can pay off, but it almost always takes more time and energy than you planned.

It’s the Law

One reason is Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” You give yourself a week to write a presentation, and somehow it takes a week, even if you could have done it in two days. Or you procrastinate until the last day, then scramble to finish. That’s where it gets tricky. How can you tell the difference between Parkinson’s Law slowing you down versus the simple reality that excellence takes longer? Continuing our example of preparing a pitch deck for a big client, if you only give yourself one afternoon, you’ll rush through it and probably copy a standard template. But if you want excellence, customizing the deck, tailoring the message, and practicing the delivery, it may take three full days. You may think you’re being slow, but you’re actually doing deep work. On the other hand, if you keep tweaking fonts and adding new slides all week long because you’re avoiding sending it, that’s Parkinson’s Law at work.

Rule of Thumb

Excellence feels hard, but it moves forward. Parkinson’s Law feels busy, but stuck. If you’re learning, improving, clarifying, or producing higher-quality work, then you’re likely on the excellence path. If you’re constantly polishing, stalling, or starting over without real progress, then you may be letting Parkinson’s Law slow you down.

Keep Moving Forward

Set shorter deadlines: Give yourself less time than you think you need. Not to rush, but to push for focus. If it really does need more time, you’ll find out quickly and can plan for it.

Break work into chunks – Instead of: finish the project, aim to: finish the outline by Tuesday, gather feedback by Friday, etc. This stops you from drifting.

Build in review time – If you plan a day or two to step back and review your work before final delivery, you get the benefits of excellence and the discipline of a deadline.

Watch for procrastination triggers – Be honest. Are you avoiding getting started because you’re afraid it won’t be perfect? Progress matters more than perfection. Starting gives you momentum.

Check in with others – Talk to colleagues or mentors about how long similar work usually takes. It’s a reality check to see if you’re being thorough or just spinning your wheels.

Embrace learning curves – Excellence means growing skills. It takes longer to do something well the first time. If you’re pushing beyond what you know, that’s a good thing. The next time you feel discouraged that excellence is taking so long, ask yourself: Am I making progress? Am I learning or improving? If yes, stay the course. If not, shorten the deadline, break the task down, and commit to shipping what’s good enough. Then improve on it next time.

How do you tell the difference between striving for excellence and spinning your wheels? Please share in the comments.

What Matters?

It’s time to rethink your expectations around job benefits. Health insurance, 401(k)s, and Paid Time Off (PTO) used to be standard. Now, they’re negotiable. Rising costs, shifting priorities, and new work models are changing what companies can offer. What employee benefits can you ask for? Can you design a plan both you and your employer are happy with?

Why Employers Offer Fewer Benefits

Healthcare: Premiums continue to rise and companies are struggling to keep up. Offering comprehensive plans can cost thousands of dollars per employee, per year. Government rules around healthcare, insurance, and employment affect what companies are required to offer.

Profit: Small and midsize businesses may want to provide great benefits but they can’t afford to. Profit margins are tight. Even big companies are watching the bottom line. Short-term and freelance contractors and at-will hiring mean different obligations for employers.

Flexibility: Some employers are moving away from standard plans to offer personalized options: more cash, stipends, or the ability to customize your benefits. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Companies are starting to tailor benefits to age, life stage, or role.

How to Rethink Your Expectations

You don’t have to settle for less. But you do need to adjust your expectations based on where you are in life and what matters to you right now.

Evaluate: Ask yourself: Do my benefits expectations match my role, experience, and life stage? For example, moving into leadership might mean shifting from PTO priorities to executive coaching or equity. A new parent might prioritize healthcare over travel perks.

Refocus: Your needs change. What mattered to you when you were 25 years old probably doesn’t matter at 50. Don’t cling to outdated goals. Shift your focus based on what’s useful to you today.

Traditional Benefits Missing? Ask for These

Education or Upskilling: Ask if they’ll fund certifications, courses, or conference attendance. It helps you grow, and you will use what you learn to help them.

PTO for Mental Health Days: Even if PTO is limited, see if you can take a few days each year to unplug without using vacation time.

Flexible Work Arrangements: If they want you on-site five days a week but don’t offer benefits, ask for a hybrid schedule. Saving time and money on commuting has real value.

Technology or Home Office Stipend: Working remotely? Ask for support with home internet, desk setups, or hardware.

Know What to Ask

Use the conversation to shape the benefits that matter to you. Negotiate for what you need. Be proactive, specific, realistic, and adaptable. Your goal is to satisfy both you and your employer. You won’t know what’s possible unless you ask. Here are some questions you can use:

“Is the benefits package flexible?”
“What kind of mental health support is included?”
“Do you offer nontraditional perks like student loan help?”
“What benefits are included beyond salary?”
“What professional development resources are available?”
“Can we add a few mental health days or a stipend for leadership training?”
“Can you increase base pay or offer a monthly health stipend to offset insurance costs?”
“Are flexible hours or hybrid options negotiable?”
“Can we revisit the package in six months based on performance?”

What work benefits are most important to you? Please share in the comments.

Take the Time

You take time off work for a vacation because it’s a culturally acceptable reason to rest and restore your body. But what about your brain? If your mind is overloaded, your work suffers. In conversations about taking a mental health day, I’ve heard opinions running the gamut from eye rolls to enthusiasm. Of course, this made me curious.

Why Take a Mental Health Day?

It’s like resting a strained muscle. Pushing through the discomfort doesn’t make you tougher, it wears you down. If you’re feeling mentally exhausted, overwhelmed, or unmotivated, this shows up in your work through mistakes, slow responses, or irritability. Would you trust your job performance after three nights of bad sleep and three days of nonstop Zoom calls? If you catch yourself zoning out in meetings, dreading small tasks, or struggling to care about the outcome of your work, it’s time to step away and reset. How often you take one depends on your workload. Does it regularly drain you? Then maybe quarterly is a good cadence. Do you usually need a break after an intense project? Then schedule one for immediately after delivery. Create a personal system that accommodates the pace of your work and makes it sustainable.

How Do You Request One?

Some people I spoke with worried taking time off for mental health would make them appear unreliable or weak. The good news is more organizations recognize that productivity depends on sustainable work habits. Unlike calling in sick with the flu, a mental health day is best planned ahead. Choose a day that doesn’t interfere with deadlines, major events, or key meetings and give your manager as much notice as possible. Communicate clearly and keep the focus on coverage and continuity.

If your workplace is supportive: Be direct. For example say, “I’d like to take a mental health day next Friday. I’ll make sure everything is on track before I’m out, and I’ll loop in [Teammate] on anything that might come up.” After your manager approves it, coordinate coverage of your projects. Let coworkers know who to contact while you’re out and make sure that person has all the resources they need. Offer to return the favor when they take a day off.

If not: Be indirect. Label your request the term your company uses for flexible paid time off. Usually it’s called a personal day or a vacation day. You don’t have to explain how you intend to use it. For example say, “I’d like to request a personal day for Thursday. My workload is covered and I’ll be back Friday.”

What Should You Do on One?

Nothing: Turn off your laptop. Watch a show. Lie on the couch. Do not feel guilty.

Spend time with people you like: Meet a friend for coffee or lunch. Visit a sibling. Talk to someone who doesn’t expect work talk. Social connection lowers stress and boosts mood.

Roam if you want to: Take a long walk, go to a hot-yoga class, or bike around your neighborhood. The goal is to boost your energy not your fitness.

Something just for you: Read a book. Cook a slow meal. Run errands you’ve been avoiding. Clear clutter. Anything that restores your sense of control.

Volunteer: Spend an hour helping someone else. This could be anything from packing food at a local pantry to helping a student learn to read. There are many local nonprofits who need help.

What is your take on a mental health day? Please share in the comments.

Completion Anxiety

Are you unable to step away from work until every task is checked off your to-do list and every email answered? Do you often think, “I have all these things to do and I can’t get any one of them DONE.”? This relentless drive may be more than dedication. It could be Completion Anxiety (CA).

What Is CA?

Completion Anxiety is the persistent fear of not finishing tasks or not meeting set standards. It causes stress and impedes your productivity.

What Does It Feel Like?

Overwhelmed: You feel swamped by your number of tasks or nervous about your incomplete work.
Restless: Not completing every item on your daily to-do list makes you irritable at the end of the day.
Sick: You get frequent headaches at work or at lunch time you realize you’ve been clenching your muscles all morning.
Unfocused: You can’t concentrate on the task in front of you because you’re worried about all your other unfinished tasks. You are too paralyzed to do anything so you procrastinate.
Perfectionistic: You’re afraid your work is subpar so you try again, but striving for perfection results in missed deadlines.
Dodgy: You avoid tasks that give you stress but the unfinished work doesn’t go away it just accumulates.
Exhausted: The constant pressure you put on yourself to finish projects leaves you burned out and unmotivated.
Tense: Every ding of an email notification stresses you out because you’re nervous you either won’t respond promptly enough or it means another task has been added to your to-do list.

What Can You Do About It?

Confine: Define specific work hours and stick to them. At some point during the last half of your workday, identify tasks that can wait until the next workday. Striving for completion is commendable, but not at the expense of your well-being.
Prioritize: Which tasks are urgent? Which tasks are important? Work a lot on completing the urgent and a little on the important. Schedule time on your calendar to work more on the important later in the week.
Good Enough: Done is better than perfect. Remind yourself perfection isn’t always necessary. Shift your focus from getting every detail absolutely right to making steady progress toward delivering a competent and sufficient result.
Divide: Breaking tasks into smaller steps makes them more manageable and less daunting. Take breaks between completing one step and starting the next.
Celebrate: Recognize your achievements. Acknowledging your completed tasks builds confidence and reduces anxiety. The celebration can be as small as moving a task from your to-do list to your is-done list.
Limit: Allocate specific timeframes to each task to prevent overextending yourself. Sometimes you stare at a project for so long it stops making sense and you doubt yourself. Save your work and come back to it a little later with fresh eyes.
Feedback: Get your work to a minimum viable product then get your manager’s input. This should help reduce your tendency to overwork. Your manager decides when a task meets the required standards. If your work gives them all they need, move on to the next project. If not, clarify what else needs done and keep working on it.

How do you combat Completion Anxiety? Please share in the comments.

Get SMART

I’m a fan of S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals. They were introduced in the November 1981 issue of Management Review by George T. Doran in his article, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.” Forty-four years later, are they still effective?

Why S.M.A.R.T. Goals Still Matter

Focus: Without a clear objective, it’s easy to get distracted or overwhelmed. S.M.A.R.T. goals define what success looks like for you.
Motivation: A deadline creates urgency. When goals are specific and time-bound, you’re more likely to take action rather than procrastinate.
Measurability: If you can’t track it, you can’t improve it. Measurable goals ensure you recognize progress and adjust when needed.
Achievability: Setting goals that stretch you but are still possible prevents burnout and frustration.
Versatility: Whether you’re managing time, switching careers, or improving work-life integration, S.M.A.R.T. goals help you navigate challenges by providing structure and clarity. You don’t have to overhaul your entire approach overnight. Small, consistent steps will lead to big results over time. Let’s look at these three common situations and how S.M.A.R.T. goals get results.

Managing Your Workload

Do you struggle with an overwhelming number of tasks? A vague goal like “be more productive” doesn’t help. Instead, apply the S.M.A.R.T. method:

Specific – “Reduce the number of unfinished tasks at the end of each week by prioritizing three key tasks daily.”
Measurable – Use a spreadsheet (or a task management App) to track completed vs. pending tasks.
Achievable – Ensure the three tasks are realistic given your workload.
Relevant – Align your priorities with your role’s most important deliverables.
Time-bound – Set a four-week deadline to evaluate whether this approach is improving your productivity.
Immediate Action – Start tomorrow by identifying three priority tasks for the day and reviewing your progress at the end of the week.

Navigating a Career Transition

Are you aiming for a promotion or switching industries? A vague goal like “find a better job” doesn’t lead to results. Try this:

Specific – “Apply to 10 roles in my target field and schedule two networking conversations per month.”
Measurable – Keep track of your job search on a spreadsheet to monitor applications, interviews, and responses.
Achievable – Target companies where your skills match at least 70% of the job requirements.
Relevant – Ensure these steps align with your career aspirations.
Time-bound – Set a three-month deadline to secure interviews and reassess your strategy if needed.
Immediate Action – Spend 30 minutes today identifying job roles that align with your career goals and updating your LinkedIn profile.

Work-Life Integration

Does work spill into your personal time? Setting boundaries requires a concrete plan. A vague goal like “work less” doesn’t stop you from working less. Try making it a S.M.A.R.T goal:

Specific – “Log off by 6:30 PM at least four days a week and avoid checking emails after hours.”
Measurable – Use a time-tracking App to monitor your work hours.
Achievable – Start with four days a week instead of aiming for a full work-life overhaul at once.
Relevant – This goal aligns with maintaining mental well-being while still being effective at work.
Time-bound – Reassess in six weeks to see if you’re more recharged and productive.
Immediate Action – Set an end-of-day reminder on your calendar to log off at your designated time today.

What’s one goal you can refine into a S.M.A.R.T. goal today? Please share in the comments.

The Priority

Meetings pile up, emails flood in, and by the end of the workday, you’ve spent more time reacting than making intentional choices. What if managing your time Isn’t just about productivity? What if it’s an act of self-respect?

The Reasoning

Value: When you prioritize your schedule, you send a message that your time is valuable and should be used purposefully. Research from ScienceDirect.com shows that people who set clear boundaries around their time experience greater job satisfaction and overall well-being.

Self-Care: Just like you care for your physical health by eating well and exercising, managing your time is a form of self-care. A study published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that employees who have control over their schedules experience lower stress levels and higher engagement.

Benefits

Better Mental Health: When you take control of your schedule, you reduce feelings of being overwhelmed. A report by the American Psychological Association found that time-related stress contributes significantly to burnout. By allocating time for work, rest, and personal activities, you maintain a healthier mental state.

Increased Job Satisfaction: Prioritizing tasks that align with your goals and values makes your work more meaningful. Research from Happy Companies indicates that employees who spend more time on meaningful tasks report higher job satisfaction and are more likely to stay engaged in their roles.

Stronger Sense of Self-Worth: Making deliberate choices about how you spend your time shows you believe your goals and well-being are important. This leads to greater confidence and resilience at work.

Prioritize

Review: At the beginning of each workday, take a few minutes to review and prioritize your tasks. Identify the top three most important things you want to get done and work on those first, preferably uninterrupted.

Technology: Use apps like digital calendars, task management tools, and reminders to keep track of your schedule and commitments. Tools like Asana, Trello, or even a spreadsheet can help you stay organized and focused.

Boundaries: Through status messages or direct conversations, communicate your availability to your coworkers and managers. Let them know the best times to reach you and when you need uninterrupted time to focus.

Rest: Schedule short breaks throughout your day to recharge. This not only boosts productivity but also respects your need for downtime. You may find The Pomodoro Technique useful. It suggests 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break.

Calls to Action

Delegate: Thinking you have to do everything yourself is a trap. A study by the American Management Association found organizations who delegate well have a 30% increase in productivity. Learn to trust colleagues and delegate tasks that don’t require your direct involvement.

Say No: It’s hard to say no to projects you find attractive, but pause and assess whether a request aligns with your goals before committing. A 2024 study from Mental Health America found that professionals who confidently say no experience lower stress levels and higher job performance.

Manage Decision Fatigue: Decision fatigue is real, and it drains your mental energy. A study published in PNAS found that judges make less favorable rulings later in the day due to decision fatigue. The same thing applies to you. Automate minor decisions, like meal planning or outfit choices, to free up mental space for more important work-related decisions.

What’s one small change you can make today to respect your time? Please share in the comments.

Natural Intelligence

For 2025 our conversations will focus on Power Skills (the skills formerly known as “Soft”). Why? To future proof our jobs. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) reshapes the planet, we face a unique challenge: Staying relevant in a workplace where technology automates repetitive tasks. AI excels at technical, hard skills tasks like data analysis, coding, and project tracking. Eventually quantum computing will do hard skills jobs at enterprise-level scale. But AI can’t yet replicate humanity like our ability to adapt, connect, and relate. Power skills like flexibility, empathy, and communication, aren’t just nice to have anymore. They’re essential tools you need for surviving in the future of work.

Finding the Gaps

AI creates opportunities to offload repetitive tasks, freeing you up to focus on solving complex problems, working with others, and making decisions that require emotional intelligence. Power skills fill the gap where technology ends. What does that look like? Here are some examples:

Time management: AI can organize your schedule, but it can’t prioritize tasks based on your unique team dynamics.
Productivity: Automation tools can handle routine updates, but they can’t motivate a team to overcome roadblocks.
Decision-making: Algorithms can analyze data, but interpreting how it impacts people often requires human judgment.

Filling the Gaps

In what areas can you grow where AI struggles? Empathy, adaptability, and effective communication are hard to automate because they require context, emotional nuance, and creative problem-solving. Let’s say you’re a project manager leading a team during a major transition. AI can help forecast timelines and budgets, but it can’t address your team’s concerns about job security or coach them through adapting to new tools. That’s where your emotional intelligence and leadership come in, ensuring the transition is productive and supportive.

Foiling the Gaps

Upskill: Platforms like LinkedIn Learning offer courses on communication, leadership, and conflict resolution. Start with a course that aligns with your current challenges.
Practice: Actively listen to colleagues by summarizing their concerns before responding. This shows you’re not just hearing but also understanding them. For example, during a team meeting, you realize you dominate discussions. You adjust your approach to create space for quieter teammates to contribute, leading to better outcomes. This self-awareness and empathy are skills AI does not have.
Adapt: Volunteer for cross-functional projects or tasks outside your comfort zone. It’s a great way to build resilience and learn to pivot under pressure. For example, your company adopts a new AI-based tool. Instead of resisting, you learn its features and become the go-to resource for your team, showcasing your value.
Lead: Launch small initiatives for your team, like organizing brainstorming sessions or mentoring a colleague. For example, you take the lead on a high-visibility project. You rally the team with clear goals and encouragement making everyone feel invested in the outcome.
Evaluate: Use your 1:1 meetings with your manager to request honest feedback about your communication, adaptability, or leadership. Ask for specific examples and tips for improvement.

The workplace is evolving fast, but your ability to flex, empathize, and communicate will keep you in demand. The future of work is about using AI as a tool so you can do what it can’t. Be human.

What power skill did I forget? Please share in the comments.

Get in Align

The end of the year is a good time to reflect. Don’t know where to start? You can modify the agile retrospective used in project management and use it to both look back on what you accomplished this year and look forward to what you want to accomplish next year.

Start with Four Basic Prompts:

What went well?

Acknowledge wins, big or small. Maybe you mastered a new tool, streamlined your workflow, or received positive feedback from a client. Recognizing these moments builds confidence and clarifies what you should keep doing.

What didn’t?

Reflect on challenges. Did you struggle to meet deadlines or communicate effectively with a coworker? Identify pain points without self-judgment.

What do I need to improve?

Be specific. If you found time management difficult, pinpoint the cause. Was it procrastination, overcommitment, or distractions?

What are some ideas for achieving that improvement?

Brainstorm solutions. If you aim to improve your productivity, think about turning notifications off on all your devices.

Need a template?

Here is an example to help you get started. Let’s say you struggled with time management this year. Your reflection might look like this:

What went well? You met your quarterly goals for client deliverables.

What didn’t go well? You felt constantly rushed and missed a few deadlines.

What do I need to improve? Prioritizing tasks better.

Ideas for improvement: Use a time-blocking app to organize your day, plan weekly reviews, and delegate admin tasks to focus on high-value work.

But Wait, There’s More

Now that you have a framework, here are some additional prompts to help you reflect more deeply.

What tasks energized me this year? What drained me?

If presenting at meetings invigorates you, but repetitive admin work wears you down, consider delegating low-impact tasks or automating processes to free up energy for high-value activities.

What can I let go of?

Free yourself from habits or projects that no longer serve you. Maybe it’s saying no to tasks outside your organization’s mission or stepping away from a committee that’s not aligned with your goals.

What skills do I want to develop next year?

If you’re aiming for a leadership role, focus on skills like strategic thinking or team-building.

Where did I spend most of my time? Was it aligned with my goals?

If a significant portion of your time went to handling urgent but unimportant tasks, consider revisiting your prioritization methods. For suggestions on tools, Google “time management techniques.”

What feedback did I receive this year? Did I act on it?

If you received repeated comments about your unclear communication, then use them to set improvement goals.

What decisions or actions had the most impact? What can I learn from them?

Reflect on high-impact decisions, whether positive or negative. Did you successfully manage a challenging project? Or did you miss an opportunity because you hesitated? Identify patterns in your decision-making process. It will sharpen your capability to continuously improve.

What prompts do you use to gain insight on your professional development? Please share in the comments.

Time to Give

This is the final installment of our series, Give a Little Bit. For the last three weeks we’ve talked about generously giving your energy, attention, and money to your coworkers. Let’s wrap up this topic by talking about generously giving your time. It is the most precious resource you have. Once it’s spent, you can’t get it back and you can’t make more. So, why should you give it away to your coworkers? Because it builds strong relationships which improves your team’s productivity, morale, and culture. Here are five things you can do.

Check In: Regular huddles go a long way to build a strong foundation for efficient teamwork, communication, and productivity. You can set up 15 minute weekly meetings with your team to give everyone a chance to share the most important or urgent project they’re working on, ask for assistance, and decide who is working together this week. These short meetings allow you to stay informed, connected, and aligned across projects without taking up too much time. They sustain a reliable rhythm for your team to build rapport and trust.

Shared Resource: A shared folder centralizes key information, templates, and tools. It’s especially valuable for asynchronous work when time is tight, and efficiency is crucial. Create a spreadsheet with tabs for current goals with deadlines, and a checklist of what needs to be done. Also file resources like logos, confirmation receipts, a Word document with links to pertinent articles, etc., in the shared folder. Update it regularly and encourage team members to contribute their own resources. After your weekly huddle, send out a brief recap of the week’s plan including a link to the folder. This ensures everyone has easy access to resources and keeps the whole team on the same page without lengthy meetings.

Help Out: If a colleague is struggling with a specific project, offer to work with them on a portion of it. Resist taking over the whole task. Your intention is to empower them. Could you do just the research or the data analysis or the rough draft of the report? This way, you can manage your own workload while providing immediate, practical help. You want to be known as a team player, but not a steamroller nor a doormat. If you and a teammate click, think about mutual mentorship. Can meeting informally once a quarter to share your experiences and networks be mutually beneficial? At the very least, it showcases your leadership development.

Set Goals: What gets measured, grows. Each week, aim to share one useful resource with someone on your team. Give genuine support without the expectation of getting something in return. Document these in a spreadsheet. They will be useful for your performance review. Not all accomplishments can be easily quantified. Capture anecdotal evidence describing the relationships you are strengthening, like testimonials from clients and LinkedIn recommendations from coworkers, to track the relationship-building skills you use.

Highlight Wins: When you’re in a group setting, whether it’s a team meeting or an email update, mention the accomplishments of others. It is a social norm that when you do someone a favor, like amplify their good work in front of others, they feel compelled to return that favor in kind. This should not be your only motivation to encourage your team. Instead, use it as a tool to build morale and design the environment you want to work in.

How do you generously give your time to your coworkers? Please share in the comments.

Unite and Conquer

Packed schedules, differing work styles, and multiple distractions all conspire to make you want to do the entire project yourself. But teamwork, while sometimes challenging, produces better results. If you are strategic about how you collaborate, then working with your teammates enhances time management rather than hinders it. What can you do to solve some common collaboration challenges?

Challenge: Schedule Coordination. One of the biggest hurdles to effective collaboration is aligning everyone’s calendars. The more people involved in a project, the less everyone is available at the same time.

Solution: Flexible approaches to meetings. Not every challenge needs to be solved in real time. Consider tools like asynchronous communication (e.g., email updates, shared documents, video messages, etc.) so team members can contribute when they’re available. Save meetings for solving complex problems and making decisions. One of the goals of your meetings should be getting everyone on the same page by regularly reviewing and prioritizing tasks as a team. This reduces misunderstandings and ensures that time is spent on what matters most. The further out you can schedule regular meetings, the more likely everyone is available. For example, Plan your first one-hour meeting two weeks out, then have it recur every two weeks, making scheduling smoother over time.

Challenge: Work Habits. Some people work best in bursts of energy and others need a rigid routine. This gets frustrating when there is misalignment in how tasks are approached because bottlenecks happen and progress slows.

Solution: Civil communication. When people come together they bring a variety of strengths to the table. Working with others gives you different perspectives, which reduces decision fatigue. Instead of going back and forth alone on whether to pursue a particular strategy, discussing options as a team can lead to quicker, more confident decisions. Collaboration also spreads the workload. When done effectively, delegation allows everyone to focus on their strengths and contribute where they are most effective. It’s easier to complete complex tasks when you divide them into manageable pieces, shared among the team. Discuss work preferences early in a project, so each person’s habits are clear, and adjust workflows accordingly. For example, if someone prefers frequent check-ins while others need deep focus time, strike a balance that respects both. Recognizing these differences at the beginning of a project allows you to anticipate potential friction and smooth it out before it becomes a problem.

Challenge: Interruptions and Distractions. With more collaboration comes more chances for interruptions. Whether it’s the ping of an instant message or a spontaneous request for a huddle, interruptions fracture focus and distractions derail productivity.

Solution: Boundaries around collaborative time versus focus time. Set, clearly communicate, and defend those boundaries. Establishing how and when your team communicates helps prevent unnecessary distractions. Schedule specific times for check-ins and avoid interrupting teammates during their deep work time. Make it known when you’re available for quick chats and when you need uninterrupted work time and stick to the schedule. Either batch your questions and save non-urgent issues for the team’s designated meeting times, or use one of your asynchronous communication channels.

Efficient time management isn’t just about organizing your own schedule. It’s about finding ways to work more effectively with others. By tackling the above challenges, you can turn collaboration from a time drain into a time saver.

How do you reap the benefits of collaboration without losing control of your time? Please share in the comments.