Time Management — Decoded
Ways of getting more things done in less time
Three easy steps to get you started at being insanely productive
We all have 24-hours in a day. But, why does it seem that some people are able to get the most out of every minute of the day? Believe it or not, they don’t have the power to slow down time. They do, however, know how to properly manage their time.
Time management is personal. The way we manage our time and what works to do so, varies from person to person. However, one common thing that ties us all, is the understanding that time is precious, and valuable to be managed. Spending your time effectively isn’t just the key to a more productive life, it’s also the secret to a happier one. Usually, people who can manage their time better than others are easy to spot. They seem to be high achievers, who seem to be able to accomplish everything with ease. They seem to have enough time to develop their hobbies. Most importantly, they somehow seem to be able to juggle many moving pieces of their lives with absolute ease. They just get more things done at the end of the day. They seem to slow down time.
When I was recently appreciated by a co-worker on my time management skills at work, I was both surprised but also a tiny bit proud. As I clearly remember being very bad at managing my time. I used to look back at my week(s), full of guilt of not having accomplished anything substantial. How then, did I come to be not only quite satisfied with how I manage my time, but also good enough for it to be noticed?
The way it happened was through reflection. Over the period of time, I read many good articles and followed some productivity gurus. These articles and experts helped me build a strong foundation on ways in which I could make the most out of my time. However, the main benefits did not come from following what they said, but it came by assessing and reflecting on what worked for me and what didn’t. I surely would not have been able to assess unless I had that good foundation of knowledge on time-management. I aspire to do the same for whoever reads this article — to give you some basic but key foundational elements, which can help you become more efficient, more productive and hopefully allows you to manage your time like a pro!
These are three things that can help you get started to notice your time and to build your system based around these learnings in a very broad way. The idea is to rely on this knowledge, to build your own personal time management system.
1. Understand your Time and Energy Interaction
First and the biggest step you can take towards managing your time — is to understand how your energy flows and changes throughout the day.
Identifying my energy boosters and my energy snappers was the biggest game changer for me. I am a morning person, I love to read, meditate and get some stuff done with a clear head. I remember very clearly having spent one morning on a very mundane, and repetitive task at work. This act made me feel sulky for the rest of the day. I could not concentrate on tasks that required me to be more brainy. I somehow lost the will to do anything that required mental effort, nor could I pick myself up from that drained state. Comparing that day to the days when I did a short piece of analysis, the first thing in the morning — I realised the kind of tasks that set me up to have a super productive day ahead. Once I started matching the repetitive and “boring” tasks, with my low mental energy times, like after lunch, and matching my high energy tasks to my morning slots — I was able to feel better about my down-time and great about my high-time.
Using time blockers on my calendar, also helped me avoid any team mates arranging meetings during my high energy times. I started designating and arranging meetings depending on how much mental energy they required.
Once you understand how your energy flows, you will also be able to assess your energy boosters and your energy snappers. Both physically and mentally, there are always things you can do that gives you that extra jump in the step, and you always have to do stuff that can suck all the energy out of you. For instance, after my “down-time” after lunch, a short walk always helps me pick up my energy. Even a small chat with someone in the office, helps me rejuvenate my energy. Like time management, even energy drivers are personal. Some people might get the same jump from listening to their favourite playlist instead of interacting with someone — trick is to find what makes you tick.
2. Split your to-do list into Must-do’s, Good-to-do, and Love-to-do’
Everyone loves ticking off the boxes from their to-do lists. However not all tasks are created equal. Keeping the energy matrix in mind, you can split up your tasks in ascending order of energy they provide — Must-do’s, Good-to-do’s, Love-to-do’s.
A general rule of thumb from avoiding over-estimating your days and abilities is to target 5 total activities. Excluding tasks which are too small or too big to be on that list, 5 is a good rule of thumb for number of your getting done list. Try to get 1 of those activities to be a love-to-do. If you find that all your activities are in the love-to-do’s, never leave what you are doing. Writing this article today was on my love-to-do list (which is why I am still up finishing this at midnight). If you need Harvard Business review validate this, read here.
3. Have a vision — include tasks which cannot be done in a day
I find it to be a great practise, to always have goals with a bigger mission for your sense of accomplishment. Some of your goals or things to be done, should be free of the daily to-do pressure. After all, we are doing all this to effectively manage our time and not to pressurise ourselves into being more stressed. Therefore, always include a few things that you would like to do over a week or over a month. Just putting it down on the list, will help them be visible but also knowing that you don’t have to tick them off takes away the pressure. On the positive side, when you do the task, you feel amazing sense of accomplishment.
For instance, one of my “vision-tasks” is to learn German. Since the last few weeks, I was not able to practise it at all. However, this week when I listened to a podcast in the morning — I felt so good about having done my vision task that it gave me an extra boost on my other tasks as well!
In Conclusion:
- Start by assessing your energy throughout the day and then dig deeper into the specific tasks and actions that give you energy vs the tasks that sucks your energy. Try syncing activities to your energy levels throughout the day.
- Once you have got your energy flow aligned, go pro on your to-do lists. Try splitting them up in your must-do’s + good-to-do’s + love-to-do’s list.
- Always have a vision task, things that take longer than a day or a habit. Things that can help you feel a greater sense of accomplishment when you complete them at your will.
