As a student, I learned that time management is the key to success. And as a professional, I’ve continued to apply these same principles in my business and personal life. So if you’re looking for ways to get more done without stressing about it, read on!
The Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is a simple time management method that can help you stay on task and get more done. It relies on a timer, but it’s more than just another way to keep track of your work hours–it’s designed to help you focus on what needs doing at the moment, instead of worrying about distractions or other tasks that come up later. The basic idea behind The Pomodoro Technique is simple: set a timer for 25 minutes (or whatever length of time works best for you), work on something for those 25 minutes straight without being distracted by anything else in your life except for eating meals (and maybe taking bathroom breaks). Then take a five minute break before starting another 25 minute period after which there should also be some kind of reward like going outside or watching an episode of TV show as long as it doesn’t involve social media!
The Eisenhower Matrix
The Eisenhower Matrix is a time management technique that helps you prioritize your tasks. It’s simple to use, but it can be difficult to master. If you’re trying to get things done in the most efficient way possible, then this is a great tool to keep at your disposal. Let’s take a look at how it works! The Eisenhower Matrix consists of four quadrants: important vs unimportant (urgent vs not urgent), and urgent vs non-urgent tasks. To determine which quadrant each task fits into, ask yourself whether or not it’s both important and urgent; if so, place it in Quadrant 1. If not both important and urgent but still requires immediate attention from you? Put it in Quadrant 2–the “do now” section! Finally, if neither important nor urgent but still needs attention sometime soon? Put those items on hold for later by placing them in Quadrant 3 or 4 respectively–the “someday/maybe” sections!
Getting Things Done (GTD)
Getting Things Done (GTD) is a method of task management that helps you get things done, and it works for everyone.
The GTD workflow consists of five steps:
- Capture – Collect everything that needs to be done into an inbox.
- Clarify – Decide which tasks are actionable, then break them down into actions and create next actions for those tasks.
- Organize – Put all the actions into projects based on context (e.g., time frame) and reference files related to each project in order to keep them organized so they’re easy to find later when needed again; also use this step as an opportunity for planning what needs done before starting on any given project’s tasks!
- Reflect – Reviewing this process periodically throughout any given day will help ensure that nothing slips through cracks due either lackadaisical thinking on someone else’s part or just plain forgetfulness over time spent away from remembering things like: “Oh yeah!”
Time Blocking
Time blocking is one of the most effective time management techniques. It involves scheduling your day in blocks of time, with each block dedicated to a specific task or goal. The best way to do this is by creating a list of tasks you need to accomplish and then blocking out chunks of time on your calendar for when they will be completed. For example:
- Block out two hours each weekday morning for work that’s important but not urgent (like editing a report).
- Block out an hour every evening after dinner for activities related to your business (such as responding to emails).
- Block off 30 minutes every Sunday night so that you can relax before heading into another busy week ahead.
Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle is a good rule of thumb, but it’s not always true. The 80/20 Rule is a better way to think about time management because it allows you to focus your efforts on the 20% of tasks that give you 80% of the results.
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your effort–and vice versa: 20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results. For example, if you’re writing an article and want it published quickly on a high-traffic website like Forbes or Huffington Post, then it makes sense to spend most or all of your time working on that one task alone because those two websites receive over 100 million unique visitors each month (in fact, both sites get more than 200 million visitors per month).
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
- Specific: The goal should be clear and specific, so that you know what it is you’re aiming for.
- Measurable: You need to be able to quantify the result of your efforts in order to measure whether or not they were successful.
- Attainable: Your goal should be realistic and achievable within the time frame you’ve allotted yourself (or at least with some effort). If it isn’t, then there’s no point setting it!
- Relevant: Your goal should relate directly back into your life as a whole; if not, then why bother?
2-Minute Rule
The 2-minute rule is a great way to get started on your most important tasks.
The 2-minute rule says that if it takes less than two minutes, do it now. If not, put it in your task manager and schedule time for it later. For example: if you see an email in your inbox that requires one sentence worth of response and can be answered within two minutes, answer the email right away instead of letting it sit there until later in the day or week when you have more time.*
- This works best when combined with another popular technique called “processing” (more on this later).
Eat The Frog
Eating the frog first is a great time management technique. It’s also a good idea to eat your frogs as soon as possible, but I’m getting ahead of myself here. The first step in eating a frog is identifying which one is your biggest problem or challenge and then making sure that you tackle it before you do anything else. This may sound obvious, but many people don’t actually do this when they’re feeling overwhelmed by their workloads–they just keep working until they run out of energy and then go home without accomplishing anything meaningful! The solution? Eat all those pesky little things first so that when 5pm rolls around (or whenever), there aren’t any big problems left over waiting for attention. For example: say there are three things on my plate right now: writing articles for this website; finishing up some freelance work; and making sure our bills get paid this month (which means paying them online). My biggest problem right now isn’t any one thing specifically; it’s just having too much on my plate at once! So instead of tackling each project separately from beginning to end (1) write article 2) finish freelance work 3) pay bills), I’ll eat my frog by taking care of number 3 first because it will free up some time later down the road when we’ll need extra cash flow
Time management is one of the most important skills you can have. It can help you get more done and feel more satisfied with your life. We hope that by reading this article, you’ve learned some new techniques that can help improve your productivity and make sure that all your priorities are being taken care of.
