The way how people manage time is all about decision-making effectiveness. In other words, when there are a lot of tasks to do, we should decide which should be done first. Thus, good prioritization decisions are the bedrock of effective time management strategies that really work. For this purpose, you can use:

• Eisenhower matrix,
• Time blocking,
• Allen’s method of getting things done,
• Pomodoro strategy,
• Kanban,
• Pickle jar technique,
• Method based on the Pareto principle.

What Does Research Say about Time Management?

Obstacles to Good Time Management

The first and the most important thing to note is determining obstacles to effective time management. According to the study by Sainz et al. (2019), these are the following:

• Focus on short-term tasks to do only without long-term planning;
• The lack of prioritization skills;
• Procrastination due to poor self-organization.

Why Planning Is Important

First of all, it is necessary to note that Aeon et al. (2021) point to the term “time poverty” that calls for effective time management strategies. It means that most people chronically lack time for certain activities or fail to do them within the set schedule.

Such state of things explains why many articles online indicate time that can be spent on reading and why the popularity of short reads, bedtime books, or videos is growing. What is more, according to the research, the percentage of people that take a short break during work is decreasing (Aeon et al., 2021).

As a result, it calls for effective time decisions and planning. It can increase job and life satisfaction even more than improve performance and productivity.

Effective Time Management Strategies

1. Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower matrix is a powerful technique to prioritize tasks and make time decisions.

The important-urgent box stands for things to do or respond first. Not urgent but important tasks need setting time. Urgent but unimportant work should be delegated. Eliminate not urgent and not important activities.

2. Time Blocking

The technique requires dividing tasks into groups and setting time blocks or deadlines, like 30 minutes for checking and responding to emails, 1 hour for workout, or 30 minutes for organizing meetings, etc.

3. Allen’s Method of Getting Things Done

The getting things done (GTD) technique by David Allen is based on organizing actionable tasks. It is based on several steps of capturing and writing down things, then choosing actionable ones, and doing either immediately those that can take up to two minutes or later:

• Create a list of such actionable tasks.
• Group them into categories based on time they can take or context and project items.
• Reflect what action comes next.
• Engage in doing the task you can complete now.

4. The Pomodoro Strategy

This technique is based on the following steps:

• Setting a timer for each task (usually twenty-five minutes),
• Taking a short 5-minute break,
• Starting work on the next task,
• After 4 things done, a break can be longer, up to 20 minutes or half an hour,
• Then 4 tasks are done again with 5-minute breaks.

What is interesting, each set of 4 tasks with short breaks is called Pomodoro.

5. Kanban

The Kanban board reflects 3 stages of work, helping in visual time planning:

• Pin and group tasks in each column of the board (you can use sticky notes),
• Minimize tasks in progress,
• Move an item to the column in progress after one task has been done and pinned to the “Done” column.

6. The Pickle Jar Technique

The pickle jar technique is a simple method to filter unimportant tasks (sand) and focus on important and urgent (rocks) and then on those that can be delegated (pebbles).

7. The Method Based on the Pareto Principle

Based on this method, focus on important tasks that make 20% to achieve 80% of results. The technique is based on prioritizing work that can lead to solving a particular task or achieving a set goal. Do these tasks in the order of importance.

*Disclosure: The post has affiliate links, but reviews are based on the use of products.*

Key Points

• Effective time management depends on such steps as organizing, structuring, categorizing, prioritizing, adapting, and engaging.
• Categories of tasks can include important, urgent, not important, not urgent, things to do, in progress, done, or actionable and not actionble.
• It is important to set deadlines with breaks.

Things You’ll Need

Create your daily plan with with these tools.

How do you plan your time? Share in comments.

References

Aeon, B., Faber, A., & Panaccio, A. (2021). Does time management work: A meta-analysis. PLoS One, 16(1), e0245066. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245066

Sainz, M. A., Ferrero, A. M., & Ugidos, A. (2019). Time management: Skills to learn and put into practice. Education & Training, 61(5), 635-648. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1221891