You don’t wake up intending to overwhelm your team, but poor time management can do just that. When you don’t have a handle on your schedule, the chaos trickles down, creating unnecessary emergencies and eroding morale on your team. Here are five common time management mistakes—and how to avoid them.

Ignoring capacity. Track your team’s workload with shared task lists or project tools. Regularly review these in one-on-ones to ensure no one’s stretched too thin.

Last-minute delegation. The moment you know about a task, ask yourself if you should delegate it. For bigger projects, use roadmaps to track deadlines and milestones in advance. This will help you delegate commitments before they become emergencies. 

Lack of boundaries. Don’t say yes to every new project or initiative that comes your way. Instead, clarify priorities with leadership to protect your team’s bandwidth.

Being inaccessible. Schedule consistent one-on-ones and office hours—and show up. Your team should never feel like they don’t have access to you.

Withholding feedback. Don’t assume your employees know that you appreciate their work. A quick “Great job!” or public acknowledgment can boost engagement and morale more than you think.
This tip is adapted from “Don’t Let Bad Time Management Undermine Your Leadership,” by Elizabeth Grace Saunders.
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