The 6 Time Management Lies You Must Stop Believing
I talk to a lot of people who believe they’re just bad at managing their time.
They get how valuable time is. It’s the one resource we can’t get back. And when you break it down, life is really just a collection of moments, shaped by how we choose to spend our time.
Time spent working.
Time spent with loved ones.
Time spent chasing our goals or having new experiences.
Time spent lost in our thoughts (for better or worse).
The problem isn’t that people don’t value time; it’s that they’ve been misled about what time management really means and what it should look like. They’re buying into misconceptions that lead to unrealistic expectations.
Are you telling yourself these same time management lies?
Time Management Lie #1
You think managing your time will make you feel better.
You’re trying to avoid the disappointment of not getting to do more of what you love.
You’re trying to avoid the guilt of letting people down when you miss a deadline or can’t take on a new project.
You’re trying to avoid the procrastination and dread that comes when sitting down to complete a task that you just don’t wanna do.
THE TRUTH: Good time management can definitely reduce some of those icky feelings you’ve been dragging around like stress and overwhelm. But being good at time management also brings a whole new package of uncomfortable feelings.
It’s uncomfortable to say ‘no’.
Saying ‘yes’ to things you want in your life means there are a million things you’re saying ‘no’ to. People you’re letting down. Dreams you’ll never accomplish. Adventures you’ll never have. But avoiding the ‘no’s’ is never an option.
It‘s uncomfortable to set boundaries.
You’ll feel selfish when you turn down an invite because it doesn’t fit your plans or you don’t have the energy to truly enjoy it.
It’s uncomfortable to work when all you want to do is play.
Life is full of responsibilities. It’s the things we don’t want to do but choose to do to make the money we want, to stay healthy, or to feel fulfilled. Even if the “how” doesn’t feel so great in the moment.
Time management is getting comfortable with these uncomfortable feelings.
Time Management Lie #2
You think being good at managing your time means you’ll only have to do what you want to do.
You won’t have to attend that meeting you’d rather skip.
You won’t have to stay late to finish that high-priority project that took longer than you thought it would.
You’ll get to wake up to a blank schedule, waiting for inspiration to strike, free to fill your time with whatever feels good.
You think if you feel bad about what you’re working on, it’s a sign you’re not truly in control of your time.
THE TRUTH: Life is full of obligations. There are bosses to answer to, family members to show up for, and responsibilities that don’t care about how you feel in the moment.
Good time management doesn’t eliminate those tasks. Instead, it helps you find the areas where you do have control.
You can be more intentional with filling your time with the good stuff and choosing what’s worth neglecting. But you’ll never be able to completely eliminate the bland and boring.
Time Management Lie #3
You think managing your time means you’ll have to give up spontaneity.
You’re drawn to the idea of managing your time, but you resist because it just feels too structured. You worry you’ll lose the thrill of those unplanned moments you love so much.
To protect your spontaneity, you believe you have to embrace the chaos that comes with it.
You assume planning is for the boring. And you want a life full of excitement and surprises.
THE TRUTH: Planning the important things actually creates space for guilt-free spontaneity.
When you make a plan, you know your work will get done, you can say ‘yes’ to the events that matter, and you’ll have plenty of time to take care of yourself and your needs.
The space in between these planned priorities? That’s all yours.
You can plan a week that includes a completely free Saturday, ready for whatever you just feel like doing. Use that time to embrace the whims or adventure or day of absolute nothingness.
You won’t end the weekend feeling guilty about not getting enough done—because that spontaneity…? It’s part of the plan.
Time Management Lie #4
You believe once you’ve mastered time management, you’ll never have to go back to the drawing board.
You’ll be an expert in your chosen time management framework and life will flow with ease.
It will be hard to remember a time when you weren’t maximizing every minute, living 100% stress-free, and in total control of what your days look like.
You forget life loves to throw curveballs.
THE TRUTH: Your approach to managing your time will constantly evolve. Old habits will stop being effective and you’ll need to find new approaches to situations you never had to deal with before.
You’ll get sick.
An emergency will come up.
Between work and travel, your schedule will get so crazy that you’ll have to cancel back-to-back date nights with your spouse, regardless of how important they are to you.
And even if you have succeeded at fitting more in, the goalpost will move. As soon as you prove you can work faster and more efficiently, you’ll slowly try to sneak in more or others will pass more work your way, confident you’ll fly through it all.
Good time management is about establishing key routines and systems, but it’s an ongoing process of adapting to life’s changing demands and circumstances as you re-assess and adjust to fit your current reality.
Time Management Lie #5
You think there’s an end to your to-do list.
You’re trying to get ahead, to finally reach that moment when everything’s done, and you can relax.
You’re trying to avoid the frustration of feeling like you’re always behind, racing against the clock, and never catching up.
You’re trying to avoid the overwhelm that comes when your to-do list just keeps growing, no matter how much you cross off.
THE TRUTH: Your to-do list will never be finished.
The house will need to be cleaned again, you’ll discover a new destination you want to visit, or a new project will drop a slew of tight deadlines to juggle. The list of things you can spend your time on is infinite.
The finish line doesn’t exist.
Time management is about being able to evaluate that infinite list. Realizing not everything that makes it on your to-do list is truly necessary.
Being busy may feel productive, tricking you into thinking you’re getting closer to the end of the to-dos. But the more you do without thinking, the more your days fill with things you don’t really value. All in the pursuit of finishing some self-imposed checklist.
Time management isn’t about doing it all. It’s about accepting that some things will never get done…and being okay with that.
Time Management Lie #6
You think you have to maximize every minute.
The productivity experts say to cut out TV or to wake up at 4 AM so you can squeeze in 3 hours of focused work before the rest of the world has crawled out of bed.
If you were committed to your goals, you wouldn’t need anything other than your drive and a plan for efficiency.
You’re wasting time if you aren’t producing something of value with every waking moment.
THE TRUTH: When you push too hard to maximize every second, you risk missing out on actually enjoying your life.
Sure, there’s a place for diligence and dedication. But don’t cut out everything you love in the name of becoming a time management expert.
Ask yourself why you’re spending time on the things you’ve dubbed “unproductive”.
Are you sitting down to hours of Netflix every night because, while you’d love to write that book, it just seems too overwhelming?
Try planning for both. Write 100 words before you turn on the TV, letting the writing momentum build from there.
Do you sleep in because late-night talks with your spouse are the only time you can truly connect?
Hit the snooze on the 4 AM alarm and prioritize enough sleep AND connection then plan the rest of your day accordingly.
While being mindful of why you’re spending your time the way you do can be helpful to avoid self-sabotaging your bigger goals, leisure time shouldn’t be villainized.
When you start seeing time as something that always needs to be used productively, it puts pressure on you to make even your downtime "worthwhile." Suddenly, just relaxing doesn’t feel like enough. It starts to feel like you're falling behind.
Leisure time doesn’t need to be earned. It’s an important piece of an enjoyable and productive life.
So What?
The truth is, time management is messy.
No matter how good you get at planning and organizing, there’s always going to be some level of missing out.
Making a plan might make you feel more secure, but can place false expectations that you can control the future.
Chasing a “someday” that’s always just over the horizon can leave you in a constant struggle, thinking the good parts of life just haven’t started yet.
Time management is about finding balance and flexibility to adapt. It’s about being intentional and finding the space for the things that bring you joy, fulfillment, and connection. Because that’s what truly matters.
If you’re ready to build healthy time management habits, check out my time management course. My system is simple, flexible, and easy to implement so you can start creating the moments that make up your dream life.
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About Me
Hi, I’m Kara. I’m a former workaholic turned time-management expert. I help women stressed out in their 9-5 get more done, in less time, so they can get back in the driver’s seat and start living a life they love.
