Time Management Styles: Improve Your Time Management

As the classic saying goes, “time is money.” When your employees aren’t using their time most effectively, your business isn’t reaching its full potential. That’s why it’s important to provide the training your team needs to prioritize tasks and stay on track.

If you’d like to improve your time management skills, learning more about the most common time management styles is a great place to start.

Now, let's dive into the various time management styles and see how each one functions in the workplace.

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Go-Getter Style

Those who embody the go-getter time management style are all about prioritization. As soon as they receive an assignment, they break it down into a series of smaller tasks and plan out how much time each will take. They often have a checklist of items that they work through, moving from one assignment to the next. Many times, they complete tasks even before they are due.

The downfall of this style is that it generally focuses on a single project at a time. They don’t respond well to sudden changes or uncertainty, as this often derails the plans they set for themselves. The importance they place on maintaining a strict schedule can sometimes make them lose sight of the bigger picture and ultimate goal.

Procrastinator Style

The procrastinator time management style is perhaps the most well-known. It involves waiting until the last possible moment to complete an assignment. Employees who embody this style struggle with prioritization, but they tend to work well under pressure. They leave themselves plenty of time to come up with ideas and are often readily available to assist others, as they don’t adhere to a strict schedule.

While it may work for some, this time management style has serious drawbacks. An employee’s work may not be completed to the best of their abilities because they did not allow themselves enough time to fully engage with the project. Sometimes, the assignment may even be turned in after the stated deadline. Because of their risky behavior, they may cause mistrust, resentment, and serious stress amongst coworkers.

Multi-Tasking Style

Multi-taskers thrive in fast-paced environments that keep them on their toes. With a clear grasp of their priorities, they leap between projects and embrace handling several responsibilities at once. Having total control over their schedules lets them choose what tasks energize them in the moment. For them, juggling is not just a method – it's the shortcut to getting things done faster.

The primary issue with this style is its lack of follow-through. Multi-taskers sometimes underestimate how much time assignments will take, and since they bounce from project to project, they may miss deadlines because not enough time was allotted for a task. In addition, because they lack focus, you might find that there are many errors in their work. They usually don’t have enough time or energy to pay much attention to detail.

Perfectionist Style

Everything is in the details with the perfectionist time management style. When you give an employee who embodies this style a project, you can trust that the end result will be flawless – perhaps with touches you may not have thought to include. They stick to the task at hand until it exceeds expectations.

The problem here is that the perfectionist style gets bogged down in the details. They get so obsessed with producing flawless work that they spend far too much time on even the simplest of projects. They can only work on one assignment at a time, and when tasks start piling up, they can feel quite overwhelmed. Perfectionist styles have a difficult time letting go of their work to move on to the next assignment.

Collaborator Style

Collaborator time management styles are always eager to take on new projects. They enjoy assisting coworkers with their assignments and are quick to join new teams, which helps to expand their areas of expertise. Although their schedules are usually quite packed, they always make time to help a fellow employee out. In addition, they typically plan their schedules around others'.

The main pitfall of the collaborator style is the frequent inability to say “no.” These individuals juggle many projects at once, risking overload and quick burnout. Their help is consistently appreciated, but without firm boundaries, they tend to prioritize others over themselves, often falling behind on their own responsibilities.

Discover Your Time Style with HRDQ's Assessments & Training Materials

Understanding these common time management styles is the foundation for improving individual and team time management skills. Discover your time style with the What's My Time Style assessment. For more performance skills training resources, explore our full collection of work-style assessments in the HRDQ Style Suite. This virtual library is filled with easy-to-use personality style assessments that can help improve many facets of organizational life.