Time management, or how to win the battle with time

How to get work done on time and above all well? Many of us ask ourselves that question. Above all recently, when the main emphasis is on performance, a great many people find themselves under time pressure. In the following article we will look at some techniques and apps that could help you manage your time.

What time management is

Time management is essentially about planning and prioritising the tasks we have to handle within a certain time. We cannot control the passing of time, but we can influence how we handle it.

Books about time management

Plenty of books have been written about time management. Take inspiration from our list:

Getting Things Done

An excellent book by David Allen that became a worldwide bestseller. The GTD (Getting Things Done) method has helped hundreds of thousands of people plan their time. 

Deep Work

In his book, Cal Newport presents a way of grasping complex tasks faster and producing quality output more effectively, and so in less time. 

Eat That Frog

Brian Tracy brings 21 rules of successful people in his book. It is a "classic" of time management. 

Essentialism

Prioritising tasks is key. Greg McKeown's book will help you do more in less time. The key is doing only the right things.

The 4-Hour Workweek

Being rich and having enough time for everything you enjoy — why not? Read Timothy Ferriss's book. 

The 80/20 Principle

Another classic, by Richard Koch, brings a new interpretation of the Pareto rule you can apply in your life. 

The Power of Habit

The author Charles Duhigg will tell you how to understand and change your habits. To save time, do not be afraid to reach for audio versions of books either. Pleasant listening on longer journeys.

Time management techniques

We will introduce proven time management techniques that will help you improve your daily routines and raise productivity.

The Eisenhower matrix (Eisenhower Box)

The Eisenhower matrix is a time management tool that helps managers set priorities and the order of work. The author of the technique is the 34th president of the USA, Dwight Eisenhower, who said in a speech in 1954:

"I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent."

According to the Eisenhower matrix it matters to divide tasks into 4 groups:

• quadrant 1: urgent and important (tasks that need doing at once),
• quadrant 2: less urgent and important (tasks you plan for later),
• quadrant 3: urgent but less important (tasks you can delegate to someone else),
• quadrant 4: less urgent and less important (tasks you can remove).

Examples of tasks for the individual quadrants:

Quadrant 1: "Do it now"

Urgent tasks demand immediate attention. That means when something is urgent it has to be done at once. Not finishing the task has consequences. These are tasks you cannot avoid, and the longer you put them off, the more stress you will likely experience.

Examples of tasks in the first quadrant may include:

• Finishing a project at the last minute
• Handling an urgent client request
• Fixing a burst pipe in your flat

Quadrant 2: "Schedule it"

This represents important tasks that do not demand immediate attention but matter. These tasks need to be planned thoroughly.

Examples of tasks in the second quadrant may include:

• Planning a long-term project
• Professional networking to build a client base
• Regular work and maintenance projects

Note: you can only start dividing tasks once you can tell tasks in the first and second quadrant apart!

Quadrant 3: "Delegate"

These are tasks that have to be finished now but can be delegated to other members of your team. Delegating tasks is one of the most effective ways of reducing your workload while giving your team members a chance to improve.

Quadrant 4:  "Eliminate it"

When you go through your task list and add tasks to the first three quadrants, you will notice a few tasks are left. The remaining tasks are those that were neither urgent nor important. These unimportant tasks simply keep you from reaching your goals. Get rid of them quickly!

Did this technique interest you? Install it on your phone -  Matrix Eisenhower App. 

A TIP TO FINISH: colour coding will help you greatly. Assign each quadrant a colour. Then mark every task with the colour of its quadrant. That way creating the matrix will not be necessary.

The 2-minute rule

It often happens that the tasks we put off actually take only a few minutes to finish. Even so we put them off and rather devote ourselves to other activities. 

The 2-minute rule is a technique used for handling tasks within a time limit. The essence of this rule is that if you have a task that takes 2 minutes or less, you should do it at once instead of putting it off for later. 

The second part of the rule says that taking on this new habit should not take longer than 2 minutes. Of course you cannot reach every goal in under 2 minutes, but you can start gradually. In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear says you can improve by 1% every day regardless of your goals. An app that will help you master this technique is Todoist.

The Pomodoro technique

The Pomodoro technique is a method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The approach is based on a series of principles built on self-observation and awareness. Thanks to this technique you can use time to become more productive.

1. Prepare a task list and a timer.
2. Set the timer for 25 minutes and focus on one task until the timer rings.
3. When the task is over, mark one pomodoro and record what you finished.
4. Then take a 5-minute break. 

Your work cycle will look like this:

25 minutes of work, 5 minutes of break. Each 25-minute stretch of work is called a "pomodoro", and after 4 "pomodoros" you should take a 15-20 minute break (that is, after 100 minutes of work and 15 minutes of breaks).

Pomodoro also includes 3 rules for getting the most out of every interval:

1. Break complex projects into smaller tasks: if a task takes more than four pomodoros, it needs breaking into smaller steps. Keeping to this rule will help you make sure your projects progress clearly.

2. Combine small tasks: any tasks that take less than one pomodoro should be combined with other simple tasks. For instance "write the rent cheque", "book an appointment with the vet" and "read the pomodoro article" can go together in one session.

3. Once a pomodoro is set, it must ring: a pomodoro is an indivisible unit of time and cannot be broken, above all not for checking incoming email, team chats or text messages. Any ideas, tasks or requests that come up should be recorded so you can return to them later. 

The first results should show within 1-2 days. Fully taking on the technique takes between 7 and 20 days. The simple web timer Pomofocus or Toggl Track will help you with this technique.

Time management apps

In today's digital age there are plenty of apps and productivity tools that can help you improve your time management. Nor must we forget artificial intelligence tools. To choose the right app, look at compatibility with other platforms, tracking activity on your device, analytics, adding notes, daily planning and integration options.

Todoist

Todoist is a simple but effective tool that lets you set recurring events and tick them off when finished. At the start of each day you get a task schedule (unless you decide otherwise) so that you can set your work up according to your schedule and preferences. 

Todoist is suitable for individuals, the self-employed or small working teams.

• Price - free version, 5-8 dollars a month
• Alternative: Remember the Milk

Toggl Track

Toggl Track takes a simplified approach to time management with reminders, tracking and idle detection. This tool supports various platforms, letting users set up time tracking in their desktop browser and later sync it with their smartphone. The app is supported only by Chrome and Firefox. 

• Price - free version, 9-18 dollars a month

Alternative: Serene

Timecamp

Timecamp has plenty of easy-to-use features such as billable time tracking, sending invoices based on time spent, attendance tracking and team time tracking. 

Automatic time tracking is also available, which can be used to monitor employees' internet use. You can integrate the app with more than 50 productivity tools such as Airtable, Asana and Monday.com. At the same time you can integrate communication and video conferencing platforms such as Teams and Slack, accounting software such as Xero and so on.

• Price - 2.99 - 11.99 dollars a month

Rescue Time

If you want to make the most of your time, Rescue Time can save you some of it. It gives an accurate picture of how you spend your time and how to set it up so as to become more productive.

• Price - free version, or from 9 dollars a month

Forest

Forest is an excellent app for raising productivity. Do try it if you need visual stimulation to raise your work output. 

• Price - free version

Nifty

Nifty is an all-in-one task and time management app. It does not matter whether you use a desktop browser or a mobile. 

• Price - free version, or a paid version from 5 dollars a month

Recommendations

The term procrastination is connected with time management. 

Procrastination (from the Latin pro crastinus/belonging to tomorrow) is an individual's tendency to put things off for later, or put simply and wittily: "What you cannot do today, do not do tomorrow either, and you have two days off." Plenty of people often mistakenly confuse procrastination with laziness. The basic difference, though, is in the guilt. A procrastinator feels guilty about unfinished tasks, a lazy person does not. 

Simple recommendations anyone can manage:

Prioritise - deal with the most important tasks first,

Create a task list - it will help you not to forget anything,

Work in intervals - split your work into smaller, manageable tasks with short breaks, 

Minimise distractions - switch off email and social media notifications, or eliminate outside noise.

To manage your working time properly you first of all have to know yourself, because something different works for each of us.