5 Time-Wasting Traps Every Project Manager Should Avoid

As a Project Manager, time is your most precious resource—right up there with coffee and a good Wi-Fi connection. We know you’re probably juggling multiple projects, meeting with several stakeholders at a time, and dealing with different personality types. The last thing you need is an activity that’s wasting your time.

Yet, even the most seasoned Project Managers fall into time-wasting traps that are costing them money and peace of mind. Here are 5 time-wasting traps you should avoid to keep your project management game strong and your sanity intact. 

1. Unnecessary Meetings and Calls

You’ve probably seen the meme, that meeting could have been an email. Guard your calendar at all costs! Ensure you are going into meetings that have a clear agenda. Without an agenda, meetings turn into a time-sucking vortex of small talk and “Can you see my screen?” questions.

Solution: We recommend using AgencyDots to ensure your projects are up to date and all stakeholders are aligned on the next steps. AgencyDots helps keep you and your client accountable to the process. In the long term, you will be able to complete projects on time and increase your client satisfaction.

Practical Tip: Join AgencyDots for free to start saving your time 

2. Constantly checking your Emails 

Yes, you should stay up to date with every project but compulsively checking your inbox is counterproductive. It’s like staring into the fridge every five minutes, nothing new is going to appear. On the other extreme, you could be receiving too many emails that get you into a time-wasting rabbit hole. What started as you checking on a project status ends up 15 min later on LinkedIn people stalking. 

Solution: Set designated times to check your emails. The snooze button is your friend, not everything urgent is important. Use filters and folders in your inbox to keep yourself organized on what you need to attend to later in the day. 

Practical Tip: Gmail clean-up tips you can start using to stay organized. 

3. Endless scrolling on social media 

Social media is a double-edged sword for project managers. On one hand, it allows you to grow your network, learn from peers, or even contribute meaningfully to conversations. On the other hand, it’s an endless abyss of cat videos and meme-filled rabbit holes. 

Solution: There should be time for you to get on social media. It’s equally important to determine beforehand what you’d like to achieve especially during working hours. For those looking to build their online brand, bulk planning your content is a huge time saver. 

Practical Tip: Tools you can consider, to reduce the time you spend on social media 

4. Multitasking

Multitasking is the holy grail of productivity in theory not in practice. Studies continue to show that when multitasking you’re more prone to make errors and are in general less productive.

Solution: Use AgencyDots to help you embrace single-tasking. With AgencyDots you can prioritize tasks that are important to the client and have visibility on any changes in real time. Other well-known techniques like time blocking are also useful in helping you stay focused. 

Practical Tip: Harvard Business Review journal on how and why you should reduce multitasking 

5. Unnecessary Perfectionism

Sure, delivering top-notch work is essential, but spending hours tweaking that logo pixel by pixel is not. Perfectionism causes you to overwork on minor details leaving you exhausted and your projects running late. Remember as a project manager, time is money so you need to choose your battles well. 

Solution: Perhaps you are a recovering perfectionist or a struggling one. The best way to navigate this is to allow yourself to obsess over what’s important to your client. Delivering the highest value to your clients while spending the least amount of time is your objective. 

By cutting out these five time-wasting activities, you’ll reclaim precious hours in your day, boost your productivity, and keep your career thriving. Remember, time management isn’t just about squeezing more work into your day; it’s about working smarter, not harder—and maybe even finding a little time to enjoy that coffee while it’s still hot.

You don’t need to continue wasting time on these traps, you can take control of your time and start making more money.