Time is the one resource you truly cannot get back. No matter how skilled, how motivated, or how equipped you are, everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. Some professionals manage to achieve remarkable accomplishments; however, others feel as though they are on a hamster wheel, going in circles, getting nowhere. The secret sauce to all of it is… purposeful and skilled time management.
The best part is that it is 100% possible to learn time mastery. Behavior management combined with the right productivity software, like Controlio, allows you to shift your day from a series of tasks thrown at you to a series of goals that you deep focus on to accomplish. No matter if you are a remote worker, a manager of a team, or a contractor with multiple clients, the tips outlined in the following sections are designed to help in your time management hacks and accomplish more with less stress.
Why Time Management is Important
In the digital age of employee engagement, your focus is constantly being interrupted. Constant messaging, ongoing video calls, software updates, and the endless scroll of social media are all vying for your attention.
Knowledge workers regularly spend parts of their day tackling meaningless tasks, not because of a lack of ambition, but because of not having systems in place to manage their time effectively.
Poor time management leads to more than just decreased productivity; it leads to burnout, poor work-life balance, deteriorated work quality, and more. The answer is not to work more hours but to work more efficiently in the time you already have.
10 Time Management Hacks to Help Productivity
1. Conduct a Weekly Time Audit
If you want to refine a process, you must measure it and do so repeatedly. Do not change anything until you have completed a full week’s time log. Document every hour of the workday as a half-hour block and write what you did, the level of focus you maintained, and what distractions popped up. After the week is over, analyze what you have recorded. The results will yield time-wasting tasks you did not consider, periods of focus that were extended, and distractions you forgot to account for. This clock log will translate and spice up the mundane feelings of busyness into specific tasks.
2. Each day, plan for the next day before you sign off.
Every day before you log off, put a plan in place for the next one. This will be the difference you need to avoid wasting time. It is like driving in an unfamiliar area with a navigation system that guides you to your destination.
Each evening, take the time to plan out tomorrow’s objectives. Write down your three most important tasks, then estimate how much time each task will take. This encourages clarity in your morning routine, helping you jump right into your most important work when your energy is highest.
3. Time-Blocking
This method involves dedicating certain time slots to certain types of work and then sticking to those time slots. Treat every task as if it’s a meeting. Group your tasks. For example, set aside a time to respond to emails, then do all of your creative writing in a different time slot. This will reduce the amount of switching you have to do, as every time you switch tasks, you lose focus. The Pomodoro Technique is a great example of how to use time blocking. Work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. This method works especially well when you have to concentrate for long periods of time.
4. Prioritize Using the 80/20 Rule
Some tasks are more important than others. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your productive outcomes will come from 20% of your work. Identify which of your tasks are in that impactful 20% and make it a point to focus on them.
This requires honest self-reflection: Which meetings could be emails? Which reports are actually read by anyone? Which recurring tasks can be delegated or done away with altogether? Effective prioritization isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing the right things.
5. Relentless Automation and Delegation
If a job doesn’t call for your signature expertise and discretion, you can automate it or pass it on to somebody else. Software or a more junior team member can help handle things like sales email templates, meeting scheduling, posting on social media, and invoicing reminders. For example, it’s more common than you think for managers to do tasks themselves because ‘it’s faster to do it myself,’ but it’s a massive obstacle to productivity. Ask yourself the question: ‘Does this job really need to be done by me?’ If the answer’s no, then you know what to do.
6. Recognize and Address Your Personal Procrastination Triggers
Procrastination is often attributed to laziness, and that’s inaccurate. It’s usually a result of feeling a task is too large and is likely to create feelings that may not be pleasant. The solution is to make the initial task as easy as possible. Split large tasks into the smallest possible units, and focus on completing the task that’ll only take a small amount of time. This is commonly referred to as the 10-minute rule. Then take stock of the distractions that result in procrastination, as these distractions will vary for each person. Once you identify the problems, take steps to manage them, whether through website blockers, time management apps, or focus mode on your phone.
7. Use Digital Tools with a Purpose
Digital tools that help you optimize your workflows are only effective if you use them with purpose. Use a small number of apps that help you manage your tasks and optimize your workflows, as opposed to making your workflow more complicated. Forest will help you focus, and Asana will help you manage your tasks. The time management tool will help you manage your tasks and will help you improve your productivity. It’s essential that you constantly look for and identify the tools that will best help you improve your productivity.
8. Make Sure to Take Breaks and Make Sure They are real.
Taking regular breaks may seem counterintuitive, but it has been shown through research and evidence that mental performance does deteriorate without regular breaks. Taking your focus off your tasks for a few minutes helps restore your focus and improves your mental capacities. What many people do is take breaks and then scroll on their phones. This does not provide mental recovery. Taking a few minutes to do some physical activity to go along with your breaks is beneficial. Short physical activity breaks can be done every 50 to 90 minutes.
9. Guilt-Free No’s
Accepting a request can be seen as a “no” to a task that may be more important and align with your professional goals. It has been shown that people who have trouble with time management do not have the ability to decline requests from colleagues, bosses, or clients. It is not wrong to say no. It is no more wrong than offering an explanation to a person about your workload and the tasks that you have on your agenda. It must be stated that your explanation must be honest and clear. No one will enjoy the situation more than the individual who agreed to your no, and then did not meet the goal that he had in mind.
10. Systematize Your Workspace And Digital Space
Both your physical and your digital disorganization are productivity traps. The brain is good at filtering stimuli, but a disorganized space is a mental burden. Similarly, a chaotic digital workspace can set you back by many minutes. If you design your workspace, digital space, and email with clean and logical systems, you will save time on excavations in the future.
Q: What is the likely timeframe for me to see results from time management training?
People report almost immediate results with the time management trainings. Meaningful results from planning your day in advance become visible in the first one to two weeks of training. The results incrementally create positive momentum, and so training to overcome chronic procrastination can take four to eight weeks.
Q: Is multitasking ever a good idea?
Most knowledge workers cannot call genuine multitasking, aka simultaneous performance of two cognitively demanding tasks, “multitasking.” What most of us think is multitasking is actually rapid task switching, and every switch comes at a “switching cost”—a small but real delay as your brain reorients. Low-risk and repetitive tasks like folding laundry and listening to a podcast may allow for multitasking; however, when concentrating, analyzing, or exercising creativity, single-tasking results in greater and faster work of more quality.
Q: What’s the single most impactful time management habit a professional can build?
If we could choose one, it would definitely be planning. The habit of taking about 10 to 15 minutes at the end of the workday to review what was or was not done and planning or detailing what your priorities are for the following day helps a great deal with maintaining one’s focus, being able to follow through, and exercising control over your time and schedules. There’s practically no cost, and you’ll see results starting day one.
Final Note: Time Is a Strategy, Not Just a Schedule
Managing your time is not about cramming as many tasks as you can in the time you’ve got. It’s about understanding how to make purposeful and consolidated effort in a shorter time.
The most effective time managers are not always those who put in the most hours. Some are able to implement firm boundaries, create systems to optimize efficiency, and are disciplined to only spend time on things that are high impact.
Give yourself the chance to see the power of these hacks in action. Choose two, maybe three, and commit yourself to seeing them through for the next couple of weeks. You will most likely see an improvement in your time management, and with that will come the ability to enjoy a whole new level of productivity.
The best time management strategy is to start now.