Quit Teaching People to “Manage Tasks” When Your Business Has Absolutely No Clue What Really Should Be Priority: How Task Organization Training Doesn’t Work in Dysfunctional Organizations
Let me going to dismantle one of the most widespread false beliefs in workplace training: the idea that training employees better “time organization” skills will resolve productivity issues in organizations that have zero consistent strategic focus themselves.
With nearly two decades of training with organizations on efficiency issues, I can tell you that time planning training in a chaotic workplace is like teaching someone to organize their possessions while their house is currently on fire around them.
Let me share the core issue: nearly all organizations dealing with from efficiency issues don’t have time management issues – they have organizational failures.
Traditional priority planning training assumes that companies have clear, reliable goals that staff can be trained to recognize and focus with. That idea is entirely disconnected from actual workplace conditions in most contemporary workplaces.
We worked with a significant marketing company where staff were constantly reporting problems about being “struggling to manage their responsibilities properly.” Leadership had invested massive sums on priority management training for every staff.
Their training included all the standard techniques: priority grids, task categorization approaches, schedule blocking methods, and sophisticated work organization systems.
But productivity remained to drop, employee frustration rates got higher, and client delivery schedules got longer, not improved.
When I analyzed what was really happening, I discovered the underlying cause: the organization as a whole had zero stable direction.
Let me share what the typical experience looked like for staff:
Each week: Executive management would communicate that Client A was the “highest objective” and each employee needed to work on it right away
The next day: A another senior manager would send an “urgent” communication insisting that Client B was now the “highest important” objective
48 hours later: Yet another division leader would organize an “emergency” session to declare that Project C was a “critical” deliverable that had to be completed by Friday
The following day: The initial senior manager would show disappointment that Project A hadn’t advanced sufficiently and require to know why people had not been “prioritizing” it as instructed
Friday: All three projects would be incomplete, several commitments would be missed, and workers would be criticized for “ineffective time organization abilities”
That scenario was happening week after week, systematically after month. No amount of “task management” training was able to help staff navigate this management insanity.
Their fundamental issue wasn’t that workers did not understand how to manage tasks – it was that the company as a whole was entirely failing of maintaining clear strategic focus for more than 24 hours at a time.
The team persuaded leadership to scrap their concentration on “employee time management” training and alternatively establish what I call “Strategic Direction Systems.”
Rather than attempting to teach workers to organize within a dysfunctional system, we worked on building real organizational direction:
Created a central senior decision-making team with defined power for determining and preserving strategic priorities
Implemented a structured priority evaluation system that happened monthly rather than daily
Established clear criteria for when projects could be adjusted and what degree of approval was necessary for such adjustments
Established mandatory notification procedures to guarantee that all project adjustments were communicated explicitly and uniformly across every levels
Implemented buffer periods where zero focus changes were allowed without extraordinary circumstances
Their change was immediate and dramatic:
Employee overwhelm instances decreased significantly as employees for the first time understood what they were required to be focusing on
Productivity rose by nearly half within a month and a half as workers could genuinely focus on delivering tasks rather than constantly redirecting between multiple priorities
Client quality times decreased substantially as teams could plan and execute work without daily changes and re-prioritization
External relationships improved substantially as deliverables were actually finished as promised and to requirements
That reality: before you train staff to organize, guarantee your leadership actually has stable direction that are deserving of focusing on.
Let me share another way that priority planning training doesn’t work in poorly-run organizations: by believing that workers have actual authority over their schedule and priorities.
The team worked with a government department where staff were repeatedly receiving criticized for “inadequate task management” and required to “time management” training workshops.
This reality was that these workers had essentially zero authority over their daily activities. This is what their average day seemed like:
Approximately the majority of their schedule was occupied by mandatory conferences that they couldn’t avoid, irrespective of whether these conferences were relevant to their actual job
A further significant portion of their time was assigned to completing mandatory forms and administrative obligations that contributed absolutely no benefit to their actual responsibilities or to the clients they were supposed to assist
The remaining small portion of their workday was meant to be used for their core job – the work they were employed to do and that genuinely mattered to the agency
Additionally even this limited portion of time was regularly disrupted by “emergency” demands, unexpected calls, and administrative requirements that were not allowed to be delayed
Under these circumstances, absolutely no amount of “task organization” training was able to enable these workers become more effective. This issue wasn’t their individual task organization techniques – it was an systemic framework that rendered productive work almost unattainable.
The team helped them create organizational improvements to resolve the underlying impediments to effectiveness:
Eliminated redundant meetings and created specific standards for when conferences were genuinely required
Reduced paperwork requirements and removed duplicate documentation processes
Established dedicated blocks for core job responsibilities that would not be disrupted by administrative tasks
Developed clear systems for evaluating what constituted a genuine “emergency” versus standard demands that could wait for appropriate slots
Created delegation processes to ensure that work was distributed appropriately and that not any individual was overburdened with unrealistic responsibilities
Staff productivity rose dramatically, job happiness increased substantially, and the agency genuinely started offering improved outcomes to the public they were intended to serve.
That key lesson: companies can’t fix productivity challenges by training individuals to work more efficiently within broken organizations. Organizations need to improve the structures initially.
Currently let’s address probably the most absurd aspect of time management training in chaotic workplaces: the idea that employees can magically prioritize tasks when the management as a whole changes its direction numerous times per day.
We worked with a technology company where the executive leadership was well-known for having “game-changing” revelations several times per day and requiring the entire team to immediately shift to pursue each new direction.
Workers would come at the office on Monday with a defined awareness of their objectives for the day, only to find that the CEO had concluded suddenly that all work they had been working on was not important and that they must to immediately start concentrating on a project entirely different.
That pattern would repeat numerous times per week. Work that had been stated as “highest priority” would be abandoned mid-stream, teams would be continuously re-assigned to alternative initiatives, and significant quantities of effort and work would be lost on initiatives that were ultimately not finished.
Their organization had spent heavily in “adaptive work organization” training and sophisticated task tracking software to enable staff “respond rapidly” to changing directions.
However zero level of education or software could address the basic issue: people can’t successfully organize constantly shifting directions. Constant modification is the antithesis of good prioritization.
I worked with them implement what I call “Strategic Priority Management”:
Implemented regular priority review sessions where major priority changes could be discussed and implemented
Developed strict standards for what represented a genuine justification for adjusting set priorities apart from the scheduled assessment sessions
Created a “priority protection” phase where no changes to established directions were acceptable without extraordinary circumstances
Established specific notification procedures for when direction adjustments were absolutely essential, featuring thorough cost analyses of what initiatives would be abandoned
Required formal approval from senior decision-makers before all major priority shifts could be implemented
The change was remarkable. After three months, actual initiative completion percentages improved by over three times. Staff stress levels fell substantially as staff could actually focus on completing tasks rather than continuously initiating new ones.
Creativity actually increased because groups had adequate resources to completely implement and test their solutions rather than repeatedly switching to new projects before any project could be adequately finished.
That reality: successful planning needs directions that keep stable long enough for people to genuinely concentrate on them and complete substantial progress.
Here’s what I’ve concluded after decades in this industry: task organization training is exclusively useful in companies that currently have their leadership systems working properly.
Once your organization has clear business direction, reasonable demands, competent leadership, and processes that enable rather than obstruct efficient work, then task planning training can be helpful.
Yet if your workplace is defined by constant dysfunction, conflicting priorities, poor organization, impossible expectations, and crisis-driven management cultures, then time planning training is worse than useless – it’s systematically destructive because it blames personal choices for systemic failures.
Quit throwing away money on task management training until you’ve fixed your organizational dysfunction first.
Focus on establishing workplaces with stable organizational direction, competent decision-making, and structures that really enable meaningful work.
The staff can organize just fine once you provide them something deserving of focusing on and an workplace that actually enables them in doing their responsibilities. overburdened with unsustainable workloads
Worker productivity increased dramatically, professional satisfaction increased notably, and their agency actually commenced providing improved results to the citizens they were meant to support.
That crucial lesson: companies cannot address efficiency problems by teaching employees to operate more effectively successfully within broken systems. Organizations must repair the systems first.
Now let’s discuss perhaps the most absurd aspect of task organization training in dysfunctional companies: the idea that employees can somehow organize tasks when the organization itself changes its direction several times per day.
I consulted with a software startup where the executive leadership was notorious for going through “brilliant” revelations numerous times per day and requiring the complete team to instantly redirect to accommodate each new direction.
Workers would come at work on Monday with a specific awareness of their objectives for the period, only to learn that the leadership had determined suddenly that all work they had been focusing on was no longer important and that they should to right away commence working on an initiative completely unrelated.
Such pattern would happen numerous times per period. Initiatives that had been declared as “critical” would be abandoned halfway through, departments would be repeatedly re-assigned to new initiatives, and significant quantities of effort and investment would be wasted on initiatives that were ultimately not delivered.
The company had spent heavily in “flexible project management” training and sophisticated project management tools to assist staff “respond efficiently” to shifting directions.
But zero level of training or software could overcome the basic problem: you won’t be able to successfully manage continuously evolving objectives. Continuous shifting is the opposite of effective organization.
I helped them establish what I call “Focused Direction Consistency”:
Implemented regular priority review periods where significant strategy modifications could be discussed and approved
Developed strict requirements for what qualified as a legitimate basis for modifying established priorities apart from the regular planning periods
Implemented a “direction protection” time where zero adjustments to set directions were acceptable without emergency circumstances
Implemented clear notification protocols for when priority adjustments were genuinely necessary, featuring full consequence assessments of what work would be interrupted
Established formal approval from multiple decision-makers before each substantial priority changes could be implemented
This improvement was outstanding. After three months, real work completion rates rose by nearly dramatically. Worker stress rates dropped substantially as staff could at last work on completing tasks rather than continuously initiating new ones.
Creativity remarkably increased because groups had sufficient time to thoroughly explore and refine their solutions rather than repeatedly changing to new initiatives before anything could be adequately finished.
This reality: effective organization demands priorities that keep consistent long enough for teams to really work on them and accomplish meaningful progress.
Let me share what I’ve learned after decades in this industry: priority planning training is only useful in workplaces that currently have their strategic priorities functioning.
If your workplace has consistent business direction, achievable expectations, competent management, and structures that facilitate rather than obstruct efficient performance, then time planning training can be beneficial.
Yet if your organization is defined by perpetual chaos, conflicting messages, inadequate coordination, impossible demands, and emergency management styles, then time management training is more harmful than ineffective – it’s systematically damaging because it blames employee performance for systemic dysfunction.
End squandering money on time management training until you’ve addressed your systemic dysfunction initially.
Start creating organizations with stable business focus, functional decision-making, and systems that actually facilitate efficient accomplishment.
Your staff would prioritize perfectly fine once you give them something suitable for prioritizing and an organization that really enables them in doing their jobs.
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