Time Management Mastery: Reduce, Prioritize, Plan, Execute

Reflect on and define what time management means to you, referencing the Oxford Dictionary definition.

“Time management is the ability to use one's time effectively or productively.”

List activities that consume your time without significant value.

“In order to do what's most important to you, you have to avoid wasting your time on what's not important.”

Challenge perfectionist tendencies and accept 'good enough' to save time.

“You don't actually have to do a hundred percent of all available tasks at 100 perfection in order to reach the goal that you desire”

Analyze tasks and identify points of diminishing returns to optimize effort allocation.

“You can keep investing more and more time and energy and other resources into a project but that doesn't necessarily mean that your output will continue increasing in proportion with the amount of resources you pour in”

Categorize tasks using the Difficulty/Urgency Eisenhower Matrix.

“Prioritize doing the harder tasks first before you run out of brain power because the easier things can be done a little more sloppily with your tired brain”

Establish interim deadlines for long-term projects to maintain urgency.

“Make sure to set interim deadlines for any long-term projects”

Schedule tasks with specific start and end times.

“Estimate how long each task is going to take and the third and last step is to schedule each of them in as if they're an appointment with a set start and end time”

Group similar small tasks into a single time block.

“Batch together small tasks into one like big block”

Focus on execution over perfect planning.

“Having an 80 percent good enough method for planning and managing your time and then actually executing tasks is far superior to trying to find a 100 perfect method and then never getting anything done because you're spending all of your time working on planning”

Work in a public space to enhance focus.

“Sitting in a coffee shop to work just kind of makes me stay focused because I don't want people to see me slacking off”

Start tasks by committing to just two minutes of work.

“Tell yourself I'm just gonna do this homework assignment or paper or whatever task for only two minutes”

Schedule short breaks to maintain focus and prevent burnout.

“Trying to make yourself push through fatigue is not helpful because when your brain is tired it also becomes sloppy and less efficient and less effective so taking a break can make you more productive during the times you are working”

List activities that consumed your time without significant value this week.

“In order to do what's most important to you, you have to avoid wasting your time on what's not important.”

Analyze tasks and identify points of diminishing returns to optimize effort allocation this week.

“You can keep investing more and more time and energy and other resources into a project but that doesn't necessarily mean that your output will continue increasing in proportion with the amount of resources you pour in”