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How Time Planning Training Is Useless in Poorly-Run Organizations
Stop Teaching People to "Organize" When Your Organization Has Absolutely No Understanding What Really Matters: The Reason Task Management Training Is Useless in Chaotic Organizations
I'm ready to dismantle one of the biggest widespread myths in corporate training: the belief that training staff more effective "task management" methods will solve time management issues in workplaces that have absolutely no consistent direction themselves.
After nearly two decades of training with organizations on time management challenges, I can tell you that priority management training in a poorly-run workplace is like instructing someone to sort their belongings while their home is currently burning down around them.
Here's the core problem: nearly all businesses experiencing from productivity crises don't have time management challenges - they have organizational problems.
Traditional task organization training assumes that companies have consistent, unchanging objectives that employees can be trained to understand and work on. That belief is completely disconnected from the real world in the majority of contemporary companies.
I consulted with a major advertising agency where staff were continuously complaining about being "unable to organize their work properly." Executives had spent hundreds of thousands on time planning training for every workers.
This training included all the usual methods: urgency-importance systems, priority ranking approaches, calendar organization methods, and detailed work organization software.
However productivity kept to get worse, worker overwhelm levels increased, and work delivery results became longer, not better.
When I examined what was actually going on, I found the actual issue: the organization at the leadership level had zero clear direction.
Let me share what the typical experience looked like for employees:
Regularly: Executive management would declare that Project A was the "highest priority" and each employee needed to concentrate on it right away
The next day: A different executive leader would distribute an "urgent" message declaring that Project B was really the "top critical" priority
Wednesday: Another different team manager would organize an "urgent" conference to declare that Project C was a "critical" requirement that required to be finished by Friday
Thursday: The first top leader would show frustration that Project A had not advanced sufficiently and require to know why people were not "working on" it as instructed
By week's end: Every three clients would be behind, multiple deadlines would be missed, and workers would be held responsible for "inadequate task management abilities"
That pattern was happening week after week, month after month. Zero amount of "time management" training was able to assist employees navigate this systemic chaos.
Their fundamental problem wasn't that staff did not learn how to prioritize - it was that the company at every level was totally incapable of maintaining consistent direction for more than 48 hours at a time.
I helped management to abandon their emphasis on "personal time organization" training and instead create what I call "Strategic Priority Clarity."
Instead of trying to show employees to manage within a dysfunctional system, we worked on building actual company priorities:
Created a single executive management committee with specific power for setting and enforcing strategic priorities
Established a formal initiative review procedure that occurred regularly rather than constantly
Created clear criteria for when initiatives could be changed and what type of authorization was necessary for such adjustments
Created required coordination protocols to make certain that each project modifications were shared systematically and to everyone across each teams
Implemented stability periods where zero priority disruptions were permitted without emergency justification
This transformation was instant and outstanding:
Worker overwhelm instances decreased dramatically as people for the first time were clear about what they were required to be focusing on
Output rose by more than significantly within six weeks as employees could genuinely concentrate on delivering projects rather than continuously switching between multiple priorities
Client delivery times improved significantly as staff could plan and execute projects without constant interruptions and re-prioritization
Customer relationships improved significantly as deliverables were actually finished on time and to requirements
This lesson: instead of you show staff to manage tasks, ensure your leadership genuinely maintains stable priorities that are suitable for focusing on.
Let me share a different way that priority organization training proves useless in poorly-run workplaces: by believing that staff have genuine power over their time and priorities.
I worked with a government organization where employees were constantly getting criticized for "poor priority management" and required to "time management" training workshops.
This actual situation was that these workers had almost absolutely no influence over their daily activities. Here's what their typical schedule looked like:
About the majority of their time was occupied by mandatory sessions that they had no option to skip, regardless of whether these conferences were necessary to their actual work
An additional one-fifth of their time was dedicated to filling out required reports and administrative requirements that added no benefit to their actual work or to the clients they were intended to assist
Their final one-fifth of their schedule was supposed to be used for their core responsibilities - the work they were paid to do and that actually made a difference to the public
Additionally even this tiny amount of schedule was constantly invaded by "emergency" requirements, last-minute meetings, and administrative requirements that had no option to be postponed
Under these conditions, absolutely no level of "task planning" training was able to enable these staff turn more effective. This problem wasn't their employee task organization techniques - it was an institutional framework that rendered productive activity almost impossible.
We worked with them establish organizational improvements to address the actual impediments to productivity:
Eliminated pointless conferences and created strict standards for when meetings were really justified
Simplified administrative requirements and eliminated unnecessary reporting requirements
Implemented dedicated periods for real job responsibilities that couldn't be disrupted by non-essential demands
Created clear systems for deciding what qualified as a legitimate "urgent situation" versus normal tasks that could be scheduled for designated periods
Established delegation processes to guarantee that tasks was distributed fairly and that no single person was overwhelmed with unsustainable responsibilities
Staff effectiveness increased dramatically, work satisfaction improved notably, and the organization actually began delivering better services to the citizens they were intended to serve.
That important insight: companies cannot address efficiency issues by training employees to function more efficiently within dysfunctional systems. You need to fix the systems before anything else.
Now let's examine probably the biggest ridiculous aspect of time organization training in poorly-run workplaces: the assumption that employees can magically manage responsibilities when the management as a whole shifts its priorities multiple times per day.
The team consulted with a software business where the executive leadership was famous for going through "innovative" revelations several times per week and expecting the complete organization to right away pivot to implement each new idea.
Staff would arrive at the office on Monday with a defined awareness of their objectives for the period, only to find that the leadership had concluded overnight that everything they had been focusing on was not a priority and that they should to instantly commence focusing on an initiative completely unrelated.
This cycle would occur numerous times per week. Work that had been stated as "critical" would be abandoned halfway through, teams would be repeatedly re-assigned to different projects, and enormous amounts of resources and work would be lost on projects that were never completed.
Their company had spent significantly in "agile task organization" training and advanced task management tools to enable workers "adapt rapidly" to evolving directions.
Yet no amount of skill development or software could solve the core issue: people can't efficiently organize perpetually evolving objectives. Constant shifting is the opposite of successful planning.
I assisted them create what I call "Focused Priority Stability":
Created regular planning review periods where major direction modifications could be discussed and approved
Developed clear standards for what represented a genuine basis for adjusting agreed-upon objectives beyond the planned review periods
Implemented a "priority protection" phase where absolutely no adjustments to current directions were permitted without exceptional justification
Established defined coordination systems for when objective changes were absolutely essential, featuring complete cost analyses of what work would be abandoned
Established formal authorization from senior decision-makers before all major strategy changes could be approved
Their transformation was remarkable. In three months, measurable work success rates improved by over three times. Staff stress levels decreased substantially as staff could at last concentrate on completing work rather than repeatedly beginning new ones.
Product development actually got better because groups had adequate time to thoroughly explore and test their concepts rather than repeatedly changing to new initiatives before any work could be properly completed.
This reality: good organization demands priorities that keep consistent long enough for employees to actually work on them and complete substantial results.
This is what I've discovered after extensive time in this field: task planning training is exclusively useful in organizations that already have their leadership systems functioning.
If your company has clear business direction, reasonable workloads, functional management, and structures that enable rather than obstruct productive work, then priority organization training can be beneficial.
However if your organization is marked by continuous dysfunction, unclear directions, poor planning, unrealistic demands, and crisis-driven leadership cultures, then priority organization training is more counterproductive than ineffective - it's systematically harmful because it blames individual behavior for organizational incompetence.
Stop squandering money on priority organization training until you've addressed your organizational priorities before anything else.
Begin creating organizations with clear organizational priorities, effective leadership, and structures that actually facilitate meaningful activity.
Your workers can organize perfectly effectively once you offer them direction worth working toward and an organization that actually facilitates them in completing their jobs. overburdened with impossible demands
Worker effectiveness improved substantially, professional happiness increased notably, and this agency actually started delivering higher quality services to the community they were supposed to serve.
This crucial point: organizations cannot fix efficiency challenges by training people to operate better efficiently within broken organizations. Organizations have to fix the systems before anything else.
At this point let's examine possibly the greatest laughable element of priority organization training in poorly-run companies: the idea that staff can mysteriously organize work when the organization at leadership level shifts its direction numerous times per week.
The team consulted with a technology business where the founder was famous for having "game-changing" ideas numerous times per day and demanding the whole company to immediately shift to accommodate each new idea.
Workers would show up at the office on regularly with a clear knowledge of their priorities for the period, only to discover that the CEO had decided over the weekend that everything they had been concentrating on was not relevant and that they must to instantly commence focusing on a project totally new.
Such behavior would occur multiple times per week. Projects that had been stated as "essential" would be forgotten mid-stream, groups would be constantly re-assigned to new work, and enormous amounts of resources and investment would be wasted on projects that were ultimately not delivered.
This company had poured heavily in "adaptive project planning" training and advanced priority organization systems to enable employees "adjust quickly" to changing directions.
But absolutely no amount of education or systems could solve the fundamental problem: organizations can't effectively prioritize perpetually shifting directions. Constant change is the antithesis of effective organization.
I assisted them create what I call "Disciplined Objective Stability":
Created regular planning review cycles where significant priority modifications could be considered and approved
Developed clear standards for what qualified as a legitimate reason for modifying agreed-upon priorities beyond the regular planning sessions
Established a "direction protection" period where zero adjustments to set objectives were allowed without emergency approval
Established clear communication procedures for when objective changes were absolutely required, featuring thorough consequence evaluations of what projects would be abandoned
Required formal sign-off from multiple stakeholders before any significant priority shifts could be enacted
This improvement was dramatic. In 90 days, measurable work success statistics improved by nearly three times. Employee burnout rates dropped significantly as people could finally focus on completing work rather than repeatedly beginning new ones.
Innovation remarkably got better because departments had adequate resources to completely develop and test their solutions rather than constantly switching to new projects before any work could be properly completed.
The lesson: effective organization demands directions that stay consistent long enough for employees to really focus on them and achieve substantial outcomes.
Let me share what I've learned after years in this field: priority planning training is merely useful in organizations that currently have their strategic priorities working properly.
When your company has clear organizational priorities, achievable workloads, competent leadership, and systems that support rather than prevent effective work, then task management training can be helpful.
Yet if your workplace is marked by perpetual crisis management, conflicting messages, poor coordination, unrealistic workloads, and crisis-driven management styles, then task management training is worse than pointless - it's actively harmful because it blames individual performance for systemic incompetence.
Quit throwing away resources on task organization training until you've resolved your systemic priorities first.
Focus on establishing organizations with stable strategic direction, competent leadership, and systems that actually enable productive accomplishment.
Company employees would prioritize perfectly well once you provide them priorities worth working toward and an organization that genuinely supports them in completing their work.
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