Each year Be More Effective Ltd runs a significant number of time management training programmes across Europe, in doing so data is collected on the most commonly reported time management problems and then turned into a report on the "worse time management problems and what to do about them."

For 2010 the data has been collected through internet questionnaires, facilitated workshops and focus groups involving over 1000 people across the UK and Europe with some data also from Australia and the USA. Making it one of the most comprehensive surveys of it's kind in this field.

This years list of the top or "worst" ten most troublesome time management problems is as follows; (2009 position in brackets)

1. Attempting to do too much and setting unrealistic time deadlines (1)
2. Lack of objectives,priorities and planning (5)
3. Telephone Interruptions (3)
4. Crisis Management - Shifting Priorities (2)
5. Inability to Say "No" (4)
6. Emails (6)
7. Lack of Self discipline (New)
8. Personal Disorganisation (New)
9. Leaving tasks unfinished (9)
10. Procrastination (New)

The items on this list make up some 61% of the issues selected - not quite the "80/20 rule" just close...Interesting that the top 6 (43% of the issues selected) have only changed in terms of order not in terms of actual problems.

Those that dropped out of the top ten are

• Under staffed (was 7)
• Paperwork/red tape/reading (was 8)
• People not available for discussion (was 10)

Explaining the changes

• Under staffing may have come through in the 2008-2009 period due to the financial turmoil and may have stabilised somewhat in the group involved although with recent austerity budgets this may change again.
• Reading demand on all of us is now as much via the email channel as the paperwork channel.Overall reading demand continues to rise year on year.
• People not available has dropped out to 16th place which is close to where it was in 2006/7 (14th); this also may have been an issue which peaked during a period of organisational change which has to some extent settled down to previous levels

For the full report - which concentrates on the solutions to the above problems please call 0845 003 7282 or email using the form on the Contact Page