Time Management

You can't manage time, it just is. So "time management" is a mislabeled problem, which has little chance of being an effective approach. What you really manage is your activity during time, and defining outcomes and physical actions required is the core process required to manage what you do.

• First generation: reminders (based on Clocks and Watches , but with computer implementation possible) can be used to alert of the time when a task is to be done.

• Second generation: planning and preparation (based on calendar and Appointment Records ) includes setting goals.

• Third generation: planning, prioritizing, controlling (using a Personal Organizer , other paper-based objects, or Computer - or PDA -based systems) activities on a daily basis. This approach implies spending some time in clarifying values and priorities.

• Fourth generation: being efficient and proactive (using any tools above) places goals and roles as the controlling element of the system and favors importance over urgency.

• "Get Organized" - paperwork and task Triage


• "Protect Your Time" - insolate, isolate, delegate


• "Achieve through Goal Focus " - Motivation al emphasis


• "Work in Priority Order" - Set Goals and prioritize


• "Use Magical Tools to Get More Out of Your Time" - depends on when written


• "Master the Skills of Time Management"


• "Go with the Flow" - natural rhythms, Eastern philosophy


• "Recover from Bad Time Habits" - Recovery from psychological problems underlying, e.g. Procrastination

• An early advocate of "ABC" prioritization was Alan Lakein (See Books below.). In his system "A" items were the most important ("A-1" the most important within that group), "B" next most important, "C" least important.

• A particular method of applying the ''ABC method''¹ — ABC lists and tips for Dyslexic students on how to manage to-do lists assigns "A" to tasks to be done within a Day , "B" a Week , and "C" a Month .

• To prioritize a daily task list, one either records the tasks in the order of highest Priority , or assigns them a Number after they are listed ("1" for highest priority, "2" for second highest priority, etc.) which indicates in which order to execute the tasks. The latter method is generally faster, allowing the tasks to be recorded more quickly.

• Fear of Change : Change can be daunting and one may be afraid to change what's proven to work in the past.

• Uncertainty : Even with the change being inevitable, one may be hesitant as being not sure where to start. Uncertainty about when or how to begin making a change can be significant.

• Lack of time: To save time, one has to invest time, and this time investment may be a cause of concern. Fearing that changing may involve more work at the start is a common resistor.

• Lack of Will Power : Why change if one really not need to? The greatest problem is a lack of will.

• Increased effectiveness: One may feel the need to make more time so as to be more effective in performing the job and carrying out responsibilities.

• Performance improvement: Time management is an issue that often arises during Performance Appraisal s or review meetings.

• and at Home .

• Increased responsibilities: A change in time-management approach may become necessary as a result of a Promotion or additional responsibilities. Since there is more work to do, and still the same amount of time to do it in, the approach must change.

• According to Sandberg² — a report on to-do lists and the people who make them and use them, task lists "aren't the key to productivity they're cracked up to be". He reports an estimated "30% of listers spend more time managing their lists than [they do completing what's on them".

• This could be caused by . As with any activity, there's a point of diminishing returns. For a task system to be efficient and effective, the user must recognize this, conquer his or her procrastination, and focus on completing the tasks.

• Hendrickson asserts³ — an anecdotal discussion of how to-do lists can be tyrannical that rigid adherence to task lists can create a "tyranny of the to-do list" that forces one to "waste time on unimportant activities".

• Again, the point of Diminishing Returns applies here too, but toward the size of the task. Some level of detail must be taken for granted for a task system to work. Rather than put "clean the kitchen", "clean the bedroom", and "clean the bathroom", it is more efficient to put "housekeeping" and save time spent writing and reduce the system's administrative load (each task entered into the system generates a cost in time and effort to manage it, aside from the execution of the task). The risk of consolidating tasks, however, is that "housekeeping" in this example may prove overwhelming or nebulously defined, which will either increase the risk of procrastination, or a mismanaged project.

• Listing routine tasks wastes time. If you are in the habit of brushing your teeth every day, then there is no reason to put it down on the task list. The same goes for getting out of bed, fixing meals, etc. If you need to track routine tasks, then a standard list or chart may be useful, to avoid the procedure of manually listing these items over and over.

• To remain flexible, a task system must allow adaptation, in the form of rescheduling in the face of unexpected problems and opportunities, to save time spent on irrelevant or less than optimal tasks.

• To avoid getting stuck in a wasteful pattern, the task system should also include regular (monthly, semi-annual, and annual) planning and system-evaluation sessions, to weed out inefficiencies and ensure the user is headed in the direction he or she truly desires.

• If some time is not regularly spent on achieving long-range goals, the individual may get stuck in a perpetual holding pattern on short-term plans, like staying at a particular job much longer than originally planned.