We all have the same amount of time. How the time gets used varies from person to person. If you feel overwhelmed with all you have to do, or are struggling to find a system that works for you, one of the time management methods below may help.
Making time to schedule out your tasks and appointments will always save time later. It’s important to have a system you will use and that works with your needs. And one rule of thumb - if you don’t schedule time for something - it won’t get done - and this includes fun!
The method you try depends on what you need.
Do you have trouble prioritizing what needs to get done first?
Do you spend a lot of time figuring out what to do next?
Do you need to get a task done, but don’t think you have the time, or get distracted?
3 Popular methods are:
The Eisenhower Matrix
Time Blocking
Pomodoro Technique
Making time to schedule out your tasks and appointments will always save time later. It’s important to have a system you will use and that works with your needs. And one rule of thumb - if you don’t schedule time for something - it won’t get done - and this includes fun!
The method you try depends on what you need.
Do you have trouble prioritizing what needs to get done first?
Do you spend a lot of time figuring out what to do next?
Do you need to get a task done, but don’t think you have the time, or get distracted?
3 Popular methods are:
The Eisenhower Matrix
Time Blocking
Pomodoro Technique
The Eisenhower Matrix
This is great for people who need help prioritizing. When you have lots to do, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. The method will help. Every task or activity gets put into a grid with 4 quadrants.
Urgent means the task needs your immediate attention - these tend to generate stress
Important means the task is important to your long term goals.
Quadrant 1: Get it Done - for things that are Important and Urgent
These are things that need to be done right away, in the form of a crisis or deadline.
Quadrant 2: Schedule - for things that are Important but NOT Urgent
These are tasks or activities that are important to your goals, but can be scheduled into your day or week. They are things like exercise, calling a friend, posting to a blog
Quadrant 3: Delegate/Avoid - for things that are NOT Important, but Urgent
Think interruptions from others, phone calls, texts - things that require our attentions, but in no way help us with our goals. Learn to say no, these can be huge time sucks.
Quadrant 4: Do later / Delete - is for things that are NOT Important and NOT Urgent
These are the kind of things that can derail large chunks of time. You don’t need to cross them off the list but they happen only after Q1 and Q2 are done - think checking social media or web surfing.
Once your grid is filled out, all the thing you need to do first are in Quadrant 1 and everything in Quadrant to can be put into your schedule for a later time.
This is great for people who need help prioritizing. When you have lots to do, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start. The method will help. Every task or activity gets put into a grid with 4 quadrants.
Urgent means the task needs your immediate attention - these tend to generate stress
Important means the task is important to your long term goals.
Quadrant 1: Get it Done - for things that are Important and Urgent
These are things that need to be done right away, in the form of a crisis or deadline.
Quadrant 2: Schedule - for things that are Important but NOT Urgent
These are tasks or activities that are important to your goals, but can be scheduled into your day or week. They are things like exercise, calling a friend, posting to a blog
Quadrant 3: Delegate/Avoid - for things that are NOT Important, but Urgent
Think interruptions from others, phone calls, texts - things that require our attentions, but in no way help us with our goals. Learn to say no, these can be huge time sucks.
Quadrant 4: Do later / Delete - is for things that are NOT Important and NOT Urgent
These are the kind of things that can derail large chunks of time. You don’t need to cross them off the list but they happen only after Q1 and Q2 are done - think checking social media or web surfing.
Once your grid is filled out, all the thing you need to do first are in Quadrant 1 and everything in Quadrant to can be put into your schedule for a later time.
Time Blocking
This method helps you be more productive by blocking out chunks of time each day for a specific activity or project. It takes all your to-do’s and breaks them down into manageable tasks that get scheduled into your week. This allows you to focus on what you are doing and then move to the next task without having to expend energy figuring out what to do.
With this approach, you schedule blocks of time through your entire day, so there will be blocks of time set aside for exercise, meals, breaks etc. Take all your lists and spend some time planning out your week, allotting time for each item. You are now set up to be productive!
An example of one weekday:
6am-7am Wake up, have coffee, journal
7am-9am Shower, dress, check email, drive to work
9am-11am Work on “X” project
11am-12pm Check in with team
12pm-1pm Lunch
1pm-2:30pm Work on “K” project
2:30pm-2:45pm Break - walk around
2:45pm-3:45pm Make and return phone calls
3:45pm-4:30pm Meeting with design team
4:30pm-5:30pm Update project schedule, prep for tomorrows staff mtg
5:30pm-6pm Leave work and head home
6pm-7pm Exercise
7pm-7:30pm Dinner
7:30pm-9pm Clean up kitchen, watch TV or read, shower and bed
This method helps you be more productive by blocking out chunks of time each day for a specific activity or project. It takes all your to-do’s and breaks them down into manageable tasks that get scheduled into your week. This allows you to focus on what you are doing and then move to the next task without having to expend energy figuring out what to do.
With this approach, you schedule blocks of time through your entire day, so there will be blocks of time set aside for exercise, meals, breaks etc. Take all your lists and spend some time planning out your week, allotting time for each item. You are now set up to be productive!
An example of one weekday:
6am-7am Wake up, have coffee, journal
7am-9am Shower, dress, check email, drive to work
9am-11am Work on “X” project
11am-12pm Check in with team
12pm-1pm Lunch
1pm-2:30pm Work on “K” project
2:30pm-2:45pm Break - walk around
2:45pm-3:45pm Make and return phone calls
3:45pm-4:30pm Meeting with design team
4:30pm-5:30pm Update project schedule, prep for tomorrows staff mtg
5:30pm-6pm Leave work and head home
6pm-7pm Exercise
7pm-7:30pm Dinner
7:30pm-9pm Clean up kitchen, watch TV or read, shower and bed
Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is geared to help get tasks done by working in set increments of time. If you need to write an article or study for an exam, you set a timer for 25 minutes, shutting out all distractions and focus on the task until the timer goes off. When it does, you can take a 2-3 minute break to get up and walk around. Then, reset the timer and get back to work. You can do this as often as you like, extending the break between work sessions.
Having the timer helps you because it puts an end to the task as opposed to open-ended time where you may choose to distract yourself with emails or become over focused, spending too much time on something and leaving something else undone. You are only committing to a small chunk of time. We often miscalculate how long a task will take to do. An advantage of this method is that is it will tell you how much you can do in 25 minutes, so the next time you need to do a similar task, you will have a better estimate for how long it will take to complete.
The suggestion is to start with 25 minutes, but you can set the timer for less or more time, depending on how it works for you. This is great for co-working sessions because everyone is working on their project during the 25 minutes, then you have people to connect with during the breaks.
The method you use depends on the types of activities that need to be done and your personal style. I like that there are so many tools to help get things done. With all of life’s distractions, having a system can make a big difference in what you accomplish and likely leave you more time to play:)
The Pomodoro Technique is geared to help get tasks done by working in set increments of time. If you need to write an article or study for an exam, you set a timer for 25 minutes, shutting out all distractions and focus on the task until the timer goes off. When it does, you can take a 2-3 minute break to get up and walk around. Then, reset the timer and get back to work. You can do this as often as you like, extending the break between work sessions.
Having the timer helps you because it puts an end to the task as opposed to open-ended time where you may choose to distract yourself with emails or become over focused, spending too much time on something and leaving something else undone. You are only committing to a small chunk of time. We often miscalculate how long a task will take to do. An advantage of this method is that is it will tell you how much you can do in 25 minutes, so the next time you need to do a similar task, you will have a better estimate for how long it will take to complete.
The suggestion is to start with 25 minutes, but you can set the timer for less or more time, depending on how it works for you. This is great for co-working sessions because everyone is working on their project during the 25 minutes, then you have people to connect with during the breaks.
The method you use depends on the types of activities that need to be done and your personal style. I like that there are so many tools to help get things done. With all of life’s distractions, having a system can make a big difference in what you accomplish and likely leave you more time to play:)
