Time Management Definition

“Time management” is the process of organizing and planning

how to divide your time between specific activities. Good time
management enables you to work smarter – not harder – so that
you get more done in less time, even when time is tight and
pressures are high. Failing to manage your time damages your
effectiveness and causes stress.
It seems that there is never enough time in the day. But, since we all get the same 24
hours, why is it that some people achieve so much more with their time than others?
The answer lies in good time management.

The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well. By using the
time-management techniques in this section, you can improve your ability to
function more effectively – even when time is tight and pressures are high.

Good time management requires an important shift in focus from activities to

results: being busy isn’t the same as being effective. (Ironically, the opposite is
often closer to the truth.)
Spending your day in a frenzy of activity often achieves less, because you’re
dividing your attention between so many different tasks. Good time
management lets you work smarter – not harder – so you get more done in
less time.

What Is Time Management?

“Time management” refers to the way that you organize and plan how long
you spend on specific activities.
Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific
activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves a juggling act of
various demands upon a person relating to work, social life, family, hobbies, personal interests and
commitments with the finiteness of time. Using time effectively gives the person "choice" on
spending/managing activities at their own time and expediency.[1]
It is a meta-activity with the goal to maximize the overall benefit of a set of other activities within the
boundary condition of a limited amount of time, as time itself cannot be managed because it is fixed. Time
management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when
accomplishing specific tasks, projects, and goals complying with a due date. Initially, time management
referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal
activities as well.

Time Management Importance

Time Management includes:

i. Effective Planning
ii. Setting goals and objectives
iii. Setting deadlines
iv. Delegation of responsibilities
v. Prioritizing activities as per their importance
vi. Spending the right time on the right activity

 Effective Planning

Plan your day well in advance. Prepare a To Do List or a “TASK PLAN”. Jot down the
important activities that need to be done in a single day against the time that should be
allocated to each activity. High Priority work should come on top followed by those which
do not need much of your importance at the moment. Complete pending tasks one by
one. Do not begin fresh work unless you have finished your previous task. Tick the ones
you have already completed. Ensure you finish the tasks within the stipulated time
frame.

S etting Goals and Objectives

Working without goals and targets in an organization would be similar to a situation
where the captain of the ship loses his way in the sea. Yes, you would be lost. Set
targets for yourself and make sure they are realistic ones and achievable.
 Setting Deadlines

Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete tasks ahead of the deadlines. Do
not wait for your superiors to ask you everytime. Learn to take ownership of work. One
person who can best set the deadlines is you yourself. Ask yourself how much time
needs to be devoted to a particular task and for how many days. Use a planner to mark
the important dates against the set deadlines.
 Delegation of Responsibilities

Learn to say “NO” at workplace. Don’t do everything on your own. There are other
people as well. One should not accept something which he knows is difficult for him. The
roles and responsibilities must be delegated as per interest and specialization of
employees for them to finish tasks within deadlines. A person who does not have
knowledge about something needs more time than someone who knows the work well.
  Prioritizing Tasks

Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference between
important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within a day, which all
should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most important should be
done earlier.
 Spending the right time on right activity

Develop the habit of doing the right thing at the right time. Work done at the wrong time
is not of much use. Don’t waste a complete day on something which can be done in an
hour or so. Also keep some time separate for your personal calls or checking updates on
Facebook or Twitter. After all human being is not a machine.
For Effective Time Management one needs to be:
Organized - Avoid keeping stacks of file and hea ps of paper at your workstation. Throw what
all you don’t need. Put important documents in folders. Keep the files in their respective drawers
with labels on top of each file. It saves time which goes on unnecessary searching.
Don’t misuse time - Do not kill time by loitering or gossiping around. Concentrate on your work and finish assignments on time.
Remember your organization is not paying you for playing games on computer or peeping into other’s cubicles. First complete your
work and then do whatever you feel like doing. Don’t wait till the last moment.

Be Focussed - One needs to be focused for effective time management.

Develop the habit of using planners, organizers, table top calendars for better time management. Set reminders on phones or your
personal computers.

benefits
 Time Management makes an individual punctual and disciplined. One learns to
work when it is actually required as a result of effective time management. To make the
judicious use of time, individuals should prepare a “TASK PLAN“ or a “TO DO“ List at the
start of the day to jot down activities which need to be done in a particular day as per
their importance and urgency against the specific time slots assigned to each activity. A
Task Plan gives individuals a sense of direction at the workplace. An individual knows
how his day looks like and eventually works accordingly leading to an increased output.

 One becomes more organized as a result of effective Time Management. Keeping

the things at their proper places minimizes the time which goes on unnecessary
searching of documents, important files, folders, stationery items and so on. For better
time management, individuals keep their workstations, study zones, cubicles, meeting
areas clean and organized. People learn to manage things well as a result of Time
Management.
  Effective Time Management boosts an individual’s morale and makes him
confident. As a result of Time Management, individuals accomplish tasks within the
stipulated time frame, making them popular in their organization as well as amongst their
peers. People who understand the value of time are the ones who manage to stand
apart from the crowd. Individuals who finish off work on time are looked up to by others
and are always the centre of attention everywhere.

 Individuals who stick to a time plan are the ones who realize their goals and
objectives within the shortest possible time span. Managing time effectively helps
employees to meet targets way ahead of deadlines and finish off task just when it is
required.

 Effective Time Management helps an employee to reach the pinnacle of success quickly
and stay firm at the top for a longer duration. An employee who works just for the sake of
working fails to create an impression and is never taken seriously at work. Effective time
management plays a pivotal role in increasing an individual’s productivity. Output
increases substantially when people manage their time well.
 Better Time Management helps in better planning and eventually better
forecasting. Individuals learn to plan things well and know where exactly they stand five
years from now.
 Research says that individuals who accomplish tasks on time are less prone to
stress and anxiety. Remember there is no point in wasting time and cribbing later.
Finish off pending work on time and then you would have ample time for your friends,
relatives and family members.
 Time Management enables an individual to prioritize tasks and activities at
workplace. It is foolish to stay overburdened. Do not accept anything and everything
that comes your way.
 Time Management helps an individual to adopt a planned approach in life.

Time waster:
an activity that takes a lot of time and does not achieve anything important.
 Facebook
 Photo taking, organizing, uploading, and posting —
 Momento-gathering
 Personal Grooming
 Playing Games ( PUBG)
 TV
 Watching movies
 YouTube (or other online streaming video
  Going for a Coffee
 Reading junky books
 Shopping
 Organizing/Moving files on your computer
 Cleaning House
 Obsessions
 unorganized and cluttered work space
 hanging out with friends
 sickness
 cell phones-texting

time management strategies:

1. Eisenhower Matrix
Before Dwight D. Eisenhower became the 34th President, he served as a
general in the United States Army as the Allied Forces Supreme
Commander during World War II. Dwight’s position required him to
make tough decisions regularly about what he should focus on each day.

This then led him to invent the famous Eisenhower Matrix—also known
as the urgent-important matrix—that helps decide on and prioritize tasks
by urgency and importance.

To make high-stake decisions fast, categorizes your to-dos into four

quadrants based on their urgency and importance. The x-axis would
have “urgent” and “not urgent,” followed by “important” and “not
important” on the y-axis. Then, add your priorities, habits, and tasks into
one of these four quadrants according to their characteristics.

After you have your habits and to-dos categorized into these four
different quadrants, you get a clearer picture of whether you should or
shouldn’t do them.
 Urgent and important: things to do now.
 Urgent but not important: things to do now but you should try your best to delegate or
eliminate this.
  Not urgent but important: things to focus on. When you do this, you will have less urgent
tasks.
 Not urgent and not important: things to ignore or eliminate.

The Eisenhower Matrix not only helps you manage the time spent on
each task you have at hand, it also provides you with an extra layer of
awareness and clarity for what you should and shouldn’t be doing.

2. Pareto Analysis
Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political
scientist, and philosopher. He made numerous important contributions
to economics.

One of the famous observations he popularized is that power and wealth

weren’t distributed in a linear pattern, instead, it’s a reversed hockey-
stick where a small percentage of the population own a majority of the
wealth.

Furthermore, he saw the same pattern everywhere in every area.

 In Pareto’s finding, 20 percent of the population owns 80 percent of the wealth.
 In software, 80 percent of errors and crashes could be eliminated by fixing 20 percent of
the bugs.
 In business, 20 percent of the products or customers bring in 80 percent of the revenue.

And the same 80/20 principle holds true for our productivity: 20 percent
of your routines lead to 80 percent of your outcomes, at the same time,
80 percent of failures or inefficiencies are caused by 20 percent of the
triggers or bad habits.

To increase the value and impact of your time spent, use the Pareto’s
Principle to analyze every impact your routines create and optimize them
so they generate the best and largest possible output. Here is the two-
step process (based on Warren Buffet’s 25/5 Rule) you could follow:
1. Make two lists. The first list would be the 20 percent of routines that produced 80
percent of the results. Then, make another list of the 20 percent of routines that led to 80
percent of the undesired outcome or inefficiencies.
2. Focus on the first list and eliminate the second. Try to eliminate or at least,
minimize the destructive routines and focus your time and energy on the top 20 percent
habits that lead to good progress.
It’s worth mentioning that you shouldn’t just analyze your routines and
habits based on the efficiency from a time management standpoint.
Instead, think about how these habits affect your emotions and behavior
too because they play a critical role in improving your productivity.

3. Parkinson’s Law
In 1955, a British historian and author, Cyril Northcote Parkinson made
an interesting statement. He observed that work expands to fill the time
available for its completion. This observation was first published in The
Economist in 1955 and since republished online. He called it the
Parkinson’s Law.

To Parkinson, the Parkinson’s Law boils down to is the essence of what

takes a lady of leisure an entire day to write and dispatch a postcard
while it takes a busy man three minutes.

The total effort of the task is identical but the time spent on finding a
postcard, writing it, searching for the address, etc. is the difference
between a person who has time and another who doesn’t.

The idea of Parkinson’s Law is about giving yourself time constraints on

everything you do—even if you don’t need to. This self-imposed deadline
will act as a cue to focus on your work instead of procrastinating.
 If you have eight weeks to complete a project, try to force yourself to finish it in six weeks
so you can start early and have more time for a review.
 If you think you need nine hours to write an article, try giving yourself six hours instead.
 If you usually take two hours to go through your email, try finishing it in an hour.

A self-imposed, tight deadline not only forces you out of procrastination

and into actually doing the work, it also forces you to look at your task
creatively. By having a shorter time to complete your task, you’re more
likely to come up with a better system and workflow that make you more
effective and efficient.

4. Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method invented by an
engineer Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This technique uses a timer
to break work down into intervals that encourage regular breaks and
reduce the impact of both internal and external interruptions.

The Pomodoro Technique is a simple, useful concept:

 Before you start working on anything, decide on the task you want to get done.
 Then, for every 25 minutes you work with total focus, take a five-minute break to remove
yourself from the work. This is counted as one set.
 After the five-minute break, get back to the task and give it your full attention for another
25 minutes.
 Repeat these sets until the task is done.
 You can also take a longer break—15 to 25 minutes—after three to four sets of work and
repeat the routine again.

This technique works because it fits with how our energy and attention
work. Instead of working around the clock like a machine, our energy
rises and falls many times throughout the day. Taking regular breaksin
between intervals of work is like pressing the reset button, helping us
refocus on our task (in the next interval) instead of giving in to
distractions.

There are many software programs created with the integration of the
Pomodoro technique. However, Cirillo encourages a low-tech method
such as using a mechanical timer, pencil,and paper. The physical act of
setting the timer and tracking it on a piece of paper could be an excellent
stimulus that triggering focus and flow.

5. The 2-Minute Rule

By using the rigid time management approach, most people are trying to
boost their productivity with external motivations, cruel punishments,
and sheer willpower. The problem is, our brain is wired to crave for
instant gratification and perfection instead of getting important things
started and done.

Trying to force yourself into a task only adds more stress and resistance
to it that makes you procrastinate even longer. The next time you feel an
immense resistance to a certain task, try implementing the 2-minute
rule.
The 2-minute rule works on three simple rules:
 When something takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately.
 When something takes more than two minutes to complete, start on the first two
minutes of the task and focus only on that.
 When you’re distracted, stop and spend two minutes to think before you give in to the
triggers that distracted you.

The 2-minute rule isn’t magic. To make ourselves start doing something,
we need activation energy that is bigger than the resistance to the task.

The 2-minute rule lowers the resistance because now, instead of thinking
about the big to-do you need to get done, you’re focusing only on the first
2 minutes of it. When you complete the first two minutes, the
momentum will carry you forward to finish the entire task.

OTHER TECHNIQUES:

 1. Know How You Spend Your Time

 2. Set Priorities
 3. Use a Planning Tool
 4. Get Organized
 5. Schedule Your Time Appropriately

 6. Delegate: Get Help from Others
 7. Stop Procrastinating
 8. Manage External Time Wasters
 9. Avoid Multi-tasking
 10. Stay Healthy

time management matrix

The time management matrix will help you identify what you really spend your time on. It's a particularly
useful tool if you want to know how to prioritize work, personal roles, goals and commitments.

Made popular by the late Stephen R. Covey, it's based on the the idea that all your time is spent in a four
quadrant matrix.
You can't change the size of this matrix -- that's the time that you have. You can significantly alter the size
of the four quadrants within the time matrix.

The matrix is split into the following four quadrants:

15Save

Quadrant 1 - Urgent and Important

The Quadrant of Necessities - reactive tasks that need to be done, often at the last minute. Crises, 'fire-
fighting' and looming deadlines are typical examples.

Time spent in this quadrant can't be avoided, but it can be significantly reduced if you're prepared to
spend more time in...

Quadrant 2 - Important but not Urgent

The Quadrant of Quality - proactive tasks, often habitual, that maintain or improve the quality of your work
and life. This is the one to aim to spend more time in.

The more you expand this quadrant, the more you reduce the other three, particularly 'pseudo-
emergencies' that should never have been allowed to become so.

One useful way to evaluate what matters is explained in the Pickle Jar theory.

Examples include maintaining and building relationships, regular exercise, healthy eating or learning new
skills..

Quadrant 3 - Urgent but not Important

The Quadrant of Deception - plenty of people have gone home in the evening wondering where all the
time went. Well, it was here! It's so easy to get sucked into doing things that are the wrong side of the 80-
20 rule.

Many meetings, popular activities and easy tasks are probably a waste of your time.

Some of the worst culprits? Other people! What are you like at managing interruptions?

So, how do you deal with time wasting activities?

1. Learn how to be assertive and say 'No'.

2. Delegate work.

Quadrant 4 - Neither Urgent or Important

The Quadrant of Waste - you know what it is and you know when you've been in it. The trick is to know
when you're in it. Often, it starts out as restful time (which is Quadrant 2).

The tipping point comes when you spend too long doing mindless things.
Wasting time online, TV and excessively long conversations are classic examples.

Wasting time is inevitable, but there are strategies for changing bad habits that will help you waste less.
You can even learn how to waste time well.