Effective Time Management In and Out of the Office

We’ve all been there; a deadline is approaching, and you start to feel the stress of the time slipping by. That stress can lead to mistakes or a suboptimal project. While some people believe that they work best when they are working under a tight deadline, common knowledge is that most people work best when they have adequate time to complete a task. Luckily, there are a few ways to approach managing your time so you do not find yourself working under the stress of a tight deadline.  

Before we dive into the most popular options of time management methods, keep in mind a few big take aways: 

-Not every method will work for everyone. 

-There are no “wrong” ways to manage your time. 

-Habits take time to form, and consistent practice makes time management easier. 

-Even the least effective time managers are making decision about managing their time. 

Time management is - and will always be - a useful skill to work into your professional and social life. As noted above, many people who think that they are not effective time managers, make decisions about managing their time all the time. Some simple examples of time management include setting up your GPS and looking at the “Estimated Time of Arrival” and planning when you need to leave to get to your destination on time, setting an alarm in the morning to get out of bed at a particular time, or getting nachos in the oven at a particular time so they are ready to devour right as the big game starts. Where people seem to think they cannot manage their time, is when they hit roadblocks and are unable to compensate for the pivot in the plan. While we cannot remove all the roadblocks, we will give you a few alternate routes to get you started on your time management journey.

Techniques

There are many different techniques that you can use to effectively manage your time and we are going to focus on three of them; The Eisenhower Matrix, Time Blocking, and The Pomodoro Technique.  

The Eisenhower Matrix 

Typically used for organization of tasks, the Eisenhower Matrix is a “graphical tool” that uses four different categories to sort through tasks on your plate to decide what order they should be completed (CFI, 2024). The categories are, Do, Delegate, Schedule, Delete. To use the matrix, take two minutes and write out every task you need to do, and determine if you need to “Do” it now, “Delegate” it to someone else, “Schedule” it to do later, or “Delete” the task because it is not necessary. The two questions you’ll put before each task are “Is this urgent?” and “Is this important?” If the task is urgent and important, it lands in the “Do” category. If the task is urgent and not important, it can be “Delegated” to someone else. If the task is not actually urgent but it is important, you can “Schedule” it for later. Finally, if the task is not urgent and not important, it gets to be “Deleted.” This technique can be beneficial if you find yourself with a “to do” list that seems impossible to get through before a deadline. In the office this may look like a multi-month project that has a series of domino-style tasks that require the completion of moving parts to successfully complete. Outside of the office, this can look like preparing the house for holiday season visitors and making sure that you don’t get sidetracked and find yourself cleaning the attic instead of the guest room. 

Time Blocking 

Time blocking is exactly what it sounds like; blocking time to get things done during those blocks. Most of the feedback I’ve received from this technique comes in the form of comments like “it worked until a task took longer than I scheduled it to.” While that does happen and can be very disheartening, we all know that roadblocks happen, and no plan is perfect. Here are some helpful tips to plan for roadblocks: 

-Block more time than you think the project will take. 

-Block out time where you can limit distractions like email and phone calls. 

-Follow your time blocking exactly how you originally blocked it and stop working on things if that time block has ended. 

-If something takes more or less time than you blocked off for it, note that for the next time you organize your tasks. 

The Pomodoro Technique 

This particular technique developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s can help you focus on the task in front of you (Cirillo, 2023). The general idea is to spend 25 minutes focused strictly on a particular task, then take a 5-minute break before jumping back into the focused work. This focused brain power time can help block out distractions knowing that your brain will get a break before in less than 30 minutes. I like to think of this method like running a race. If I know that I only need to run 100 meters, I’m going to give those 100 meters all I’ve got. If I do not know how long the race is before I start running, I’m going to pace myself to make sure I have enough energy to make it to the finish line. We know that hindsight is 20-20 and if at the end of the second race, they told me it was only 100 meters I could have given it my all, and I would have been done a lot faster because I paced out the race for a longer distance. Tying that back into our workday; if I know that I get a break after 25 minutes, I’m going to be able to work through distractions and then take 5 minutes to let my brain relax. If I look at my eight-hour workday and try to power through it without any brain breaks, I’m going to work slower to pace my brain and make sure I make it to five-o-clock. While this technique may feel like time blocking, it focuses on structuring effort instead of tasks or projects.

 Go For It!

As you begin or continue on with your time management journey, pick and choose parts of whatever technique you feel drawn to. If you are not sure where to start, begin the process by auditing your time. Take a week and write down what you do and when you do it. At the conclusion of that week, review what you did and how long it took you to do it. Note any delays or roadblocks in your day and use that information to create a plan moving forward. There are not any shortcuts to managing your time, but I do promise that creating a plan is worth the effort.  

Remember to celebrate your wins! Every task completed is a reason to celebrate because you did it. Regardless of how long it did or didn’t take, you still got it done. Sometimes our professional and personal lives can feel like a never-ending list of things we need to do and celebrating what you’ve accomplished can help you keep moving forward. Time management is a practice, and it takes time to get comfortable effectively managing your time, but you’ll get there!

© 2024