Time management is a game of choices : projects to pursue, tasks to complete, routines to follow.“Time management is not a peripheral activity or skill. It is the core skill upon which everything else in life depends.” — Brian Tracy

Time Management tips

Want to get more done and boost your productivity? Here are the 13 best time management techniques to achieve that.

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Adopting good time management techniques in your life isn’t about squeezing as many tasks as you can into your day.

It’s about <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/simplify-life/">simplifying how you work </a>, getting things done faster, and doing things better. By doing so, you’ll have more time to play, rest, and do<a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/the-joy-of-what-you-love/">the things you love </a>.

It’s about <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/how-to-be-productive">working smarter </a>, not harder.

We all have 24 hours in a day. It’s how we use those hours that define our work.

You can’t store time, borrow it, or save for later use. You can only decide how to better spend it, on activities of higher rather than low value.

Time management is a game of choices : projects to pursue, tasks to complete, routines to follow.

“Time management is not a peripheral activity or skill. It is the core skill upon which everything else in life depends.” — Brian Tracy

Below, you’ll find a list of my favorite time management techniques.

Want to focus on things that matter, get more done, and boost your productivity?

Apply this set of principles, rules, and skills as they will change the way you deal with time.

Do you know how much time you spend on each task? Most of us can guess, but our estimates are usually way off.

Time tracking is a time management technique used to keep records of work hours. It helps measure working time and gives information about how much time we spend on each specific task.

To do it manually, use a spreadsheet. Every 30 min, write down what you worked on.

Or you can use a time tracking app. Time-tracking apps can help you provide real data on your productivity.

<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.rescuetime.com/">RescueTime </a>is a free app that tracks exactly how you spend time on the computer. At the end of the week, you get a report revealing how you spend your time. You can also check other metrics, such as time spent on each specific task.

After a couple of weeks, you’ll start noticing patterns and knowing where and how your time is leaking.

By being aware of how you are using your time, you can devise a plan to attack your leaks and get rid of them.

Time tracking is a powerful time management technique. By having real data on your work, you will uncover insights on how you can improve your productivity.

Sometimes it feels like your schedule controls you. There’s so much to do and so little time.

Making lists of things to do and desperately trying to finish them isn’t enough. It doesn’t give your days structure or routine.

You need to bring in an important element: time .

To do so, start associating tasks with time. Determine when a task will get done and how long it’s going to take.

If it sounds simple, it’s because it is.

<a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/time-blocking/">Time blocking </a>is a method in which you combine task management and your calendar . You create ‘blocks’ of time in your days and assign them tasks to focus on.

Every task fits into its time block. No interruptions.

With time blocking, your schedule is completely filled. Work tasks, social events, and rest. Everything is planned and prioritized.

The great thing about this time management technique is that it forces you to figure out how to spend your time.

This is more powerful and way more productive than endless to-do lists.

From “<a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/eat-that-frog/">Eat That Frog </a>”, by Brian Tracy:

“You cannot eat every tadpole and frog in the pond. But you can eat the biggest and ugliest one, and that will be enough, at least for the time being.”

Each day, identify your most important task . This is your frog. It’s the task that creates the most impact on your work.

Begin your day by tackling this frog. Discipline yourself to start on your most important task and work without interruptions.

Because this simple time management technique brings a win early in the day. And this builds momentum and a sense of accomplishment . That’s how you achieve big goals: small continuous effort, every day.

Resist the temptation of tackling the easiest tasks first. Always begin your day with your frog.

But what happens when you have many frogs?

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

Eat your frog first thing in the morning.

And when you have more than one frog, eat the biggest first.

The brain can only focus on one thing at a time. Switching between tasks has damaging costs to your work and productivity.

The <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/pomodoro-productivity/">Pomodoro Technique </a>is a simple time management system that forces you to single-task .

It is one of the simplest, yet most effective, time management techniques.

Turn off all the distractions and set a timer for 25 minutes. During that time, you can only work on a single task.

25 minutes doesn‘t sound like a lot. But that’s 25 minutes of completely uninterrupted <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/deep-work/">Deep Work </a> .

Do it every day from now onwards so you can <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/develop-habit-30-days-less/">develop the habit </a>of working with the Pomodoro Productivity.

How does the Pomodoro technique save time?

It’s simple. The idea behind it is to create a sense of urgency.

Instead of feeling as if you have all day long to complete your tasks, you know you have only 25 minutes to make as much progress as you can.

Also, it forces you to take breaks. This is important to keep you fresh throughout your workday. It’s impossible to spend hours in front of your computer without feeling tired.

Knowing <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/how-to-set-priorities/">how to prioritize your work </a>is an essential time management technique.  When everything is a priority, nothing is.

Not all tasks are equal. The Eisenhower Matrix (aka Urgent –Important Matrix) helps you discover your most important tasks.

<ol><li>Urgent and Important </li><li>Not-Urgent and Important </li><li>Urgent and Not-Important </li><li>Not-Urgent and Not-Important </li> </ol>

<ol><li>Write down all your tasks. Don’t worry about the order (for now) </li><li>Now, identify what’s urgent and important. Mark urgent tasks with an “U” and important with an “I”.  Tasks can have one, both, or none </li><li>Insert each task into a quadrant and do the corresponding action. Work on Q1 tasks right away; schedule Q2 tasks; for Q3, delegate; delete Q4 to-dos. </li> </ol>

To be more productive, spend more time on Q2 activities . These are tasks that are meaningful to you and your work but not urgent.

In the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower:

“What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.”

Use the Eisenhower Matrix every morning. It is an effective time management tool that will help you rank your tasks.

Energy levels affect productivity. So you should schedule critical work for peak productivity times.

Find your most productive hours and schedule <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/deep-work">Deep Work </a>for those periods.

When your energy is low, work on low-value and low-energy tasks (known as “shallow work” ).

If you’re most productive in the morning, do the most critical work during that period.

After lunch, your energy levels might crash. This is a great time to clean your desk, check emails, or update spreadsheets.

To find when you have the most energy, rate your energy from 1-10 every 30 min on a spreadsheet for a couple of weeks. Eventually, you’ll be able to identify patterns.

Energy levels also vary by day of the week. Tuesday seems to be the most productive day for <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2014/02/04/tuesdays_best_for_workplace_productivity.html">most people. </a>Find your patterns.

Here’s how you could organize your week around your energy level:

<ul><li>Monday: Energy ramps out of the weekend. Schedule low-demand tasks like setting goals, organizing, and planning </li><li>Tuesday, Wednesday: Peak of energy. Tackle your most difficult tasks. You can write, brainstorm, schedule your Make Time </li><li>Thursday: Energy begins to ebb. Schedule meetings, especially when you need consensus. </li><li>Friday: Lowest energy level. Do open-ended work, long-term planning, and relationship building. </li> </ul>

Distractions hurt your productivity and focus.

It takes around 23 minutes to refocus after an interruption (<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08-mark.pdf">study </a>).

In “<a dir="ltr" href="https://geni.us/mWXL">The ONE Thing </a>”, Gary Keller illustrated what happens when you get interrupted:

Half an hour full-on focus is more productive than 2 hours switching between tasks. Remove distractions from your work to avoid task-switching costs.

<ul><li>Turn off all notifications on your phone and computer </li><li>Leave your phone away from your workspace </li><li>Use noise-canceling headphones. Co-workers are less likely to interrupt you if you look plugged in and on-task </li><li>Save articles to <a dir="ltr" href="http://getpocket.com/a/queue/">Pocket </a>or <a dir="ltr" href="http://www.instapaper.com/">Instapaper </a>and read them later </li><li>Turn off Wi-Fi if it’s not needed for a task </li><li>Don’t use social media at work. Can’t resist? Schedule “distraction time” throughout the day </li><li>Put your phone and apps (such as Slack, Hangouts, and Messenger) on “Do Not Disturb” </li><li>Change your inbox to a <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/gtd-gmail/">GTD Gmail </a>to become productive in email. You can also use <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.otherinbox.com/inbox-pause/">Inbox Pause </a>to stop getting flooded with new emails </li><li>If you have an office, shut the door </li> </ul>

The <a dir="ltr" href="https://dansilvestre.com/80-20-rule/">80/20 rule </a>states that “80% of the output or results will come from 20% of the input or action” .

It’s the little things that account for the majority of the results.

13 Time Management Techniques of Insanely Productive People

Time Management tips

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