Time Management
By Sophie Lua
Ah yes, time management: the elusive self-improvement concept that spans peoples, cultures, and careers. Every individual who has strived towards something — anything — has applied time management principles in one way or another, whether they knew it or not. The question is, “Why care?” Because time is a privilege worth protecting. For this reason, I’ve been pondering about how we can ensure that what limited time we have is spent well, and in doing so, highlighted six of the most useful pieces of advice I’ve either come across or came to realize. Here they are, in summary:
- If it’s not a “hell yeah,” then it’s a “no.”
- Every day, fully commit to finishing your “one thing.”
- Multitasking doesn’t exist, but single-tasking does.
- If you’re going to time-block, block off your leisurely pursuits first.
- “I have to do this.” versus “I get to do this.”
- Manage your emotions.
If it’s not a “hell yeah,” then it’s a “no.”
We are all familiar with the beauty of spontaneously saying yes to everything that comes our way; novelty is inspiring. Still, responsibilities pile up over time, and all potential ventures realistically become a choice at some point. When this happens, it’s wise to adopt this rule of thumb: “If the opportunity in front of you doesn’t elicit a mental ‘hell yeah,’ then, by default, it should be a ‘no.’” This forced binary makes decision-making easier while also allowing you to pursue projects that mean the most to you. Once you have a robust collection of hell yeahs on your plate, you know you’ve said yes to the right things and can defend your reasons for taking them on, especially when times get tough. Contrary to the mindset that hustle culture so annoyingly perpetuates, it’s okay to say no to things you either don’t enjoy or are not freed up enough to do. By giving up certain positions or tasks, you pass on the responsibility to somebody more capacitated to honor the role completely. On the other hand, by settling for your “maybe,” you might be giving up what little bandwidth you have to a potential “hell yeah” that is just around the corner. Wait for that instead.
Every day, fully commit to finishing your “one thing.”
In the book The ONE Thing, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan talk about the most important question that everyone should be asking themselves at the start of the day:
“What’s the One Thing you can do, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
So often, we craft elaborate to-do lists that are cluttered with tasks of all sorts — crucial, habitual, energizing, draining — and we follow the trajectory of these to-do lists like a blessed roadmap. However, not all to-do lists are created equal. The best ones spring forth from one important task. Just one. What’s the logic behind this? When we focus on the sole task that can make everything easier or unnecessary, the rest of the day flows more intuitively. This means whittling down the overwhelm you feel on a day-to-day basis and simplifying that — making sure you’re not just doing tasks, but that you’re doing the right ones. It’s not a matter of task complexity either; sometimes, your one thing is the most efficient and straightforward thing on your agenda. To provide some clarity, here are examples of “one-thing-worthy” tasks:
- Taking time to fix your schedule so that the rest of the week flows seamlessly
- Fostering growth amongst your team members so they can handle more implementation work while you focus on strategic planning and top-level tasks
- Completing a backlogged deliverable that has been on your to-do list for months and is constantly at the back of your mind
- Creating a crystal-clear execution plan for your new project, so there’s a clear timeline and path to completion
- Consulting with your professor (if you’re a student) or boss (if you’re part of a team) about unclear guidelines so you can proceed with less ambiguity
Multitasking does not exist, but single-tasking does.
Now, if there is One Thing I want you to remember from this article, it’s this: multitasking does not exist. You might think you do it well or that you should be doing it, but really, it’s a no-go. Let me tell you why.
According to psychologist Gerald Weinberg, each extra task or ‘context’ you switch between eats up 20–80% of your overall productivity. This concept is called context switching:
- When you focus on one task at a time, you spend 100% of your productive time on that one task.
- When you’re task switching between two tasks, 40% of your productive time is spent on each, while 20% is lost to context switching.
- When you’re task switching between three tasks, 20% of your productive time is spent on each, while 40% is lost to context switching.
I do not wish a time-confetti-laden workflow upon anybody, but all of us have been there at some point. The good news is that this scattered way of being isn’t all there is. So here are some ways to stop multitasking and start single-tasking instead:
- Scheduling large chunks of focused “flow” time for more demanding projects
- Setting aside realistic time frames for emails, meetings, and administrative duties
- ‘Theming’ your days or batching similar tasks together to reduce the need to recalibrate between different tasks
- Delegating busy work so you can prioritize meaningful work
- Giving yourself time to transition between tasks to avoid attention residue
If you’re going to time block, block off your leisurely pursuits first.
In a TED talk given by Douglas Barton, he shared that most year 11 students in the UK dropped the habit of time-blocking within a week of implementing the practice. Even then, there appeared to be a smaller group of students who persisted in this habit. When Barton and his team studied both groups, they learned that it was not so much an issue of discipline as it was an issue of how they blocked off their time that made all the difference. It’s all about which facet of their schedules they chose to block off first.
Students who successfully maintained the habit of time-blocking would schedule their non-study activities first. They would then fill in the gaps with their designated study periods, consequently painting a picture of how a realistic, well-balanced day looks like. Why doesn’t the other option work? When we go down the gung-ho route and fill every hour of every day with tasks and responsibilities, we fail to account for mandatory rest periods essential for proper human functioning. We then think to ourselves, “I hadn’t got anything done today,” when in reality, the way you had structured the day was not conducive to success anyway. That being said, fulfillment stems from a send of balance that can only be brought forth by the interaction between productive and energizing tasks.
Manage your emotions.
Emotions spill into every single facet of our lives. Here are examples of how negative emotions influence our work:
- When we’re distracted, we lead a meeting in a scattered manner.
- When we’re exhausted, we contribute fewer quality ideas to a brainstorming session.
- When we’re restless, we quit on complex tasks relatively early.
In the same manner, positive emotions also affect our work, albeit in the inverse direction.
- When we’re elated, we lead a meeting with more enthusiasm.
- When we’re inspired, we come up with more ideas for a brainstorming session.
- When we’re determined, we sit with the complexity of a task for a little bit longer.
It is better to allocate a reasonable amount of time managing emotions instead of spending an unreasonable amount of time doing damage control. The answer isn’t willpower; think about it. When we’re at our most focused, we are in a state of effortless flow rather than strenuous work. The heart of attention, then, is not born out of the will but rather from easy receptivity or openness to the task at hand. Therefore, it is vital to create space for all sorts of positive emotions to enter this vessel — a.k.a. quality rest periods. As Brian Sutton-Smith once said, “The opposite of play isn’t work; it’s depression.”
“I have to do this” versus “I get to do this.”
Contrary to how it might feel, you do own your time. Though to-do lists, meetings, and deliverables are pretty much bottomless pits, they’re your bottomless pits — this endless striving towards your ideals is productive in and of itself. Your talents and skills have gotten you this far, and that in itself is something to celebrate. So prop open your laptop and, for once, don’t look ahead; look back. Look back at the digital jungle of meetings past. Look back at every item crossed out. Look back at every meeting agenda tucked away in your archive. Look back at every homework turned in. Look back at half-heartedly scribbled reminders. Look back at your calendar a year ago and see how different your life is now. You’ll find something to be proud of amidst all the noise. Take it all in. You did that, and you’ll continue to do that. You get to do that.
The way we spend our time is a reflection of our pursuits, desires, and plans. It is impossible to remove the personal nature of time management, so maybe we shouldn’t. We are products of what we choose every day, and that shouldn’t be taken for granted. However, I also think we should tread gracefully and gratefully and acknowledge our humanity — that chances are, we won’t finish everything we’d like to complete every single day, but that this elusiveness makes life more noteworthy. We have tomorrows and somedays, and rather than being terrifying, these ambiguities are worth tripping over our to-do lists to feel joyful over. There is so much to look forward to — even in time that is frivolously spent. There is so much to look forward to — even in the mess of it all.
About the Author
Sophie Lua is a Design & Content Mission Specialist at KadaKareer who loves three things and three things only: Taylor Swift, freshly baked bread, and the Kada Community. She currently majors in Psychology at Ateneo de Manila de University, and spends most of her spare time dabbling in UX. Well, that or she’s probably listening to folklore from start to finish while eating bread.
