Good time management might seem like one of those skills that constantly lie just out of reach, but the good news is it’s not. Time management is a skill you can pick up, and one that plenty of bright minds have researched to find what works.
Understanding the Importance of Time Management
Life is a complicated balancing act, regardless of how much you are balancing, whether it’s study, work, family, or whatever else is important to you. Time is a limited resource, but one that we get some say in.
Whether you’re balancing working full-time and raising a family or part-time work while completing your 2 year EdD programs, learning how to master time management can make your life a whole lot easier.
Effectively managing your time can make you more productive, freeing up time for other things. It can greatly reduce stress and improve your focus on the task at hand. Time management can even improve your decision-making abilities.
Prioritization Techniques
The real trick is knowing what to do when, which, according to time, managing ‘experts ‘, is strategic prioritization. Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, emphasizes, “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” His Eisenhower Matrix categorizes tasks by urgency and importance so you can focus on what is most important.
Another well-known timelord, David Allen, proposes a system called the Getting Things Done (GTD) approach, which suggests capturing everything as a task and breaking it down into tangible steps to remove the ‘overwhelming’ component. These strategies, grounded in clear goal-setting and mindful planning, allow you to successfully manage time and yield powerful results.
Psychology Behind Time Management
Systems like the Eisenhower Matrix and GTD can be successful, but rather than listening to engaging motivational speakers/salesmen, why not look at the underlying psychology that drives productive time management?
1. Task Completion Bias
We all know that feeling of having a half-written essay or almost finished report hanging over us. It’s generally not a good feeling–we are essentially wired to complete, because what use is a caveman who has built two-thirds of three huts a week before the rainy season? Having a to-do list with too many tasks often leads to multiple uncompleted tasks. Why not focus on finishing off those pressing unfinished jobs, ticking them off, before moving on to the next item? Research shows that the satisfaction of completion will trigger your reward circuit, giving you a little boost to use on the next task at hand.
2. Multitasking
Committing to too much and trying to do it all at once is a common side effect of productive people, but it doesn’t always work out. The most important sections of our work usually require sustained attention, which is often referred to as deep work. Stress from overloaded schedules lures us into multitasking. Research consistently shows it increases errors and stress, and hampers efficiency in the long run.
3. Planning Falicy
Most of us are optimistic planners, but is that optimism well-founded? Like every government ever, humans have a tendency to overpromise and underdeliver. So next time you schedule 7.5 hours of work for an 8-hour workday, remember to leave time for lunch, family phone calls, and any other distractions that come into play. A 100% focused work day makes for a good TikTok caption, but in reality, it’s hard for us mere mortals to achieve.
Balancing Work and Personal Life
Nailing the balance between work and personal life is crucial for keeping your sanity. Research shows that carving out time for family, hobbies, or just relaxing boosts mental health and even makes you sharper at work. Set hard boundaries, like shutting off work emails after 6 PM, to avoid burning out.
The same studies suggest scheduling downtime—think workouts or family dinners—right alongside work tasks to keep life from turning into a one-dimensional grind. Tools like Google Calendar can map out your week so personal time doesn’t get steamrolled. For some people, “micro-breaks” are a great way to recharge without derailing your flow. By deliberately planning for both work and play, you build a rhythm that cuts stress and keeps life rich, even when random chaos like a flat tire tries to mess it up.
Avoiding Time Stress
At the end of the day, time management is a misnomer: You’re not Doctor Who, you can’t change time, and you can only adapt the adaptable events in your life to fit into a day, week, month, or year. But life is unpredictable, and not everything can be planned for. You will get sick, lose half a day when your car breaks down, or lose time to any other unexpected event. Learning to let go when the schedule turns to rubbish and focus on getting back on track rather than wallowing in stress is a genuinely tough life skill, but one anyone can practise.