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How Time Planning Training Is Useless in Poorly-Run Organizations

 

Quit Teaching People to "Organize" When Your Organization Has Absolutely No Idea What Actually Matters: The Reason Task Organization Training Fails in Dysfunctional Organizations

 

 

I'm ready to destroy one of the greatest widespread myths in organizational training: the idea that training employees more effective "time organization" techniques will solve time management problems in workplaces that have no coherent strategic focus themselves.

 

 

After extensive experience of training with companies on productivity challenges, I can tell you that priority management training in a poorly-run workplace is like showing someone to sort their possessions while their home is literally on fire around them.

 

 

This is the basic problem: most businesses experiencing from time management issues cannot have time management problems - they have management problems.

 

 

Conventional priority planning training believes that workplaces have consistent, stable priorities that workers can learn to recognize and work toward. This belief is totally separated from the real world in the majority of current companies.

 

 

The team consulted with a major marketing agency where workers were repeatedly complaining about being "failing to manage their tasks properly." Management had spent enormous amounts on time management training for every workers.

 

 

The training covered all the typical methods: Eisenhower systems, priority ranking approaches, schedule organization techniques, and sophisticated project organization applications.

 

 

But performance kept to get worse, staff stress instances got higher, and work delivery results became more unreliable, not improved.

 

 

After I analyzed what was really going on, I found the actual cause: the agency at the leadership level had no consistent priorities.

 

 

Here's what the daily situation looked like for staff:

 

 

Monday: Top management would communicate that Client A was the "highest priority" and each employee must to concentrate on it immediately

 

 

24 hours later: A separate senior manager would send an "urgent" email stating that Initiative B was now the "highest essential" focus

 

 

48 hours later: Yet another team leader would schedule an "urgent" meeting to communicate that Initiative C was a "critical" deadline that required to be completed by Friday

 

 

The following day: The original executive executive would express frustration that Project A was not been completed sufficiently and insist to know why employees were not "focusing on" it as instructed

 

 

Friday: All three projects would be behind, multiple commitments would be missed, and staff would be criticized for "inadequate task planning abilities"

 

 

That pattern was occurring week after week, regularly after month. Zero amount of "time management" training was going to assist staff navigate this organizational chaos.

 

 

This fundamental issue wasn't that employees couldn't know how to manage tasks - it was that the agency at every level was completely unable of maintaining clear direction for more than 24 hours at a time.

 

 

The team convinced management to abandon their emphasis on "individual priority management" training and instead establish what I call "Organizational Direction Management."

 

 

Instead of attempting to show workers to manage within a chaotic organization, we concentrated on creating real company direction:

 

 

Established a single leadership management team with specific power for determining and maintaining organizational focus

 

 

Established a structured project review process that took place on schedule rather than daily

 

 

Created clear criteria for when initiatives could be modified and what degree of approval was needed for such changes

 

 

Established enforced communication systems to guarantee that any project adjustments were announced clearly and uniformly across every teams

 

 

Established buffer times where absolutely no project modifications were acceptable without emergency circumstances

 

 

The improvement was instant and outstanding:

 

 

Staff overwhelm levels fell dramatically as staff finally were clear about what they were supposed to be working on

 

 

Productivity improved by nearly 50% within 45 days as employees could actually work on delivering projects rather than continuously changing between multiple priorities

 

 

Client delivery results decreased substantially as teams could coordinate and execute work without constant interruptions and modifications

 

 

Customer satisfaction improved substantially as work were actually delivered according to schedule and to requirements

 

 

That reality: before you show staff to organize, ensure your leadership genuinely has consistent strategic focus that are suitable for prioritizing.

 

 

Let me share one more method that time organization training fails in chaotic organizations: by believing that employees have genuine control over their work and responsibilities.

 

 

We worked with a public sector department where employees were constantly being blamed for "inadequate time planning" and required to "efficiency" training workshops.

 

 

Their truth was that these workers had virtually absolutely no influence over their job activities. Let me describe what their average day appeared like:

 

 

About 60% of their time was taken up by mandatory meetings that they were not allowed to decline, irrespective of whether these sessions were useful to their actual responsibilities

 

 

A further significant portion of their workday was assigned to filling out bureaucratic reports and administrative obligations that contributed zero usefulness to their real job or to the people they were supposed to help

 

 

The remaining 20% of their workday was meant to be allocated for their actual responsibilities - the tasks they were employed to do and that actually made a difference to the agency

 

 

But even this tiny amount of availability was constantly invaded by "emergency" requests, unexpected meetings, and bureaucratic obligations that couldn't be rescheduled

 

 

Given these constraints, no level of "priority management" training was able to assist these staff turn more effective. Their challenge wasn't their individual priority planning skills - it was an organizational system that ensured productive activity essentially unattainable.

 

 

The team assisted them implement systematic improvements to fix the actual impediments to effectiveness:

 

 

Eliminated unnecessary sessions and implemented clear standards for when gatherings were actually justified

 

 

Simplified bureaucratic requirements and eliminated unnecessary documentation procedures

 

 

Created dedicated time for actual work tasks that couldn't be interrupted by meetings

 

 

Developed defined procedures for deciding what qualified as a legitimate "urgent situation" versus routine demands that could be scheduled for scheduled slots

 

 

Created task distribution approaches to make certain that tasks was distributed appropriately and that zero individual was carrying excessive load with unrealistic workloads

 

 

Employee effectiveness improved substantially, work fulfillment got better notably, and the department finally began delivering improved services to the public they were supposed to help.

 

 

The crucial insight: companies won't be able to solve time management challenges by teaching people to function better efficiently within dysfunctional systems. You must repair the systems initially.

 

 

Now let's discuss perhaps the biggest ridiculous aspect of priority planning training in chaotic companies: the assumption that workers can magically prioritize work when the company as a whole modifies its priorities numerous times per month.

 

 

We worked with a IT startup where the executive leadership was famous for going through "innovative" revelations multiple times per period and demanding the entire company to instantly shift to implement each new idea.

 

 

Staff would arrive at work on regularly with a clear understanding of their objectives for the week, only to learn that the leadership had decided overnight that all priorities they had been working on was no longer relevant and that they needed to immediately begin focusing on a project totally new.

 

 

This behavior would happen numerous times per week. Projects that had been stated as "highest priority" would be abandoned mid-stream, groups would be repeatedly re-assigned to alternative work, and significant amounts of time and investment would be wasted on work that were not finished.

 

 

This startup had poured heavily in "flexible work planning" training and complex priority organization systems to assist workers "adapt efficiently" to evolving directions.

 

 

However absolutely no amount of skill development or systems could overcome the core issue: people won't be able to efficiently prioritize constantly changing priorities. Continuous modification is the opposite of effective planning.

 

 

I worked with them implement what I call "Strategic Priority Stability":

 

 

Established quarterly priority assessment periods where important priority modifications could be discussed and adopted

 

 

Established clear requirements for what qualified as a genuine reason for changing established objectives outside the regular review periods

 

 

Implemented a "direction consistency" period where no changes to current directions were allowed without exceptional approval

 

 

Established clear communication systems for when objective adjustments were really required, including thorough consequence analyses of what initiatives would be abandoned

 

 

Required formal authorization from multiple stakeholders before any significant strategy shifts could be enacted

 

 

Their change was outstanding. After a quarter, real project success rates increased by more than 300%. Staff burnout instances decreased substantially as employees could actually focus on finishing work rather than constantly beginning new ones.

 

 

Innovation surprisingly increased because departments had adequate opportunity to thoroughly implement and refine their solutions rather than continuously moving to new initiatives before any work could be properly finished.

 

 

The point: good prioritization needs directions that remain consistent long enough for teams to actually work on them and accomplish substantial outcomes.

 

 

Here's what I've concluded after extensive time in this industry: task organization training is exclusively effective in organizations that already have their leadership act functioning.

 

 

When your company has consistent business direction, achievable expectations, functional management, and processes that support rather than hinder efficient performance, then task organization training can be beneficial.

 

 

But if your workplace is marked by constant crisis management, unclear messages, incompetent coordination, excessive expectations, and emergency leadership approaches, then priority management training is more counterproductive than pointless - it's directly damaging because it holds responsible employee behavior for leadership incompetence.

 

 

End wasting time on time organization training until you've addressed your leadership direction before anything else.

 

 

Focus on creating companies with clear business priorities, effective management, and systems that genuinely enable productive accomplishment.

 

 

Your workers will manage tasks extremely well once you offer them direction suitable for focusing on and an organization that actually enables them in completing their jobs. carrying excessive load with impossible demands

 

 

Staff effectiveness improved significantly, professional fulfillment improved substantially, and their agency genuinely commenced delivering better services to the citizens they were meant to support.

 

 

That important point: organizations can't fix productivity problems by teaching people to operate more effectively efficiently within broken structures. Organizations have to repair the systems initially.

 

 

Currently let's examine probably the biggest laughable element of priority planning training in dysfunctional workplaces: the belief that staff can mysteriously organize work when the management as a whole shifts its priorities multiple times per week.

 

 

I worked with a technology startup where the executive leadership was notorious for having "game-changing" revelations numerous times per week and requiring the whole company to right away pivot to pursue each new direction.

 

 

Workers would show up at work on regularly with a specific understanding of their priorities for the period, only to discover that the leadership had decided over the weekend that all work they had been focusing on was not relevant and that they needed to right away begin working on something entirely different.

 

 

That cycle would repeat multiple times per week. Initiatives that had been declared as "critical" would be dropped before completion, departments would be continuously re-assigned to different initiatives, and significant amounts of time and investment would be lost on initiatives that were never delivered.

 

 

Their startup had spent heavily in "flexible work planning" training and sophisticated project tracking systems to enable staff "adapt quickly" to changing directions.

 

 

But absolutely no degree of skill development or tools could address the basic problem: people won't be able to effectively manage constantly changing objectives. Constant modification is the opposite of good organization.

 

 

We assisted them establish what I call "Strategic Direction Management":

 

 

Established scheduled planning review cycles where major direction modifications could be evaluated and adopted

 

 

Created strict criteria for what constituted a genuine justification for adjusting set directions beyond the planned planning cycles

 

 

Established a "priority consistency" phase where no adjustments to established objectives were acceptable without emergency circumstances

 

 

Created defined coordination systems for when direction adjustments were absolutely required, featuring thorough impact assessments of what initiatives would be abandoned

 

 

Established written sign-off from multiple stakeholders before any major priority shifts could be approved

 

 

This improvement was outstanding. After 90 days, real project delivery rates increased by nearly dramatically. Employee stress levels fell significantly as staff could finally work on delivering tasks rather than continuously initiating new ones.

 

 

Creativity remarkably got better because groups had adequate resources to thoroughly implement and refine their ideas rather than repeatedly moving to new projects before anything could be fully developed.

 

 

That reality: good prioritization demands directions that remain consistent long enough for teams to really concentrate on them and achieve significant progress.

 

 

Let me share what I've concluded after years in this industry: time organization training is only effective in companies that currently have their strategic priorities functioning.

 

 

When your workplace has consistent organizational priorities, reasonable workloads, competent management, and structures that enable rather than hinder productive work, then priority organization training can be beneficial.

 

 

However if your organization is characterized by perpetual chaos, conflicting directions, inadequate organization, excessive expectations, and crisis-driven management styles, then task organization training is more counterproductive than ineffective - it's directly destructive because it faults employee behavior for organizational dysfunction.

 

 

Quit squandering resources on priority organization training until you've fixed your leadership direction initially.

 

 

Begin creating organizations with clear business focus, effective management, and structures that actually facilitate efficient work.

 

 

The workers would organize extremely well once you give them direction worth focusing on and an workplace that actually supports them in doing their jobs.

 

 

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