10 Time Management Tips to Help You Make the Most of Your Time

If you’ve ever wished that you had more time to get things done, you’re not alone. Many people find themselves frustrated by an inability to manage their time effectively – especially at work. On the other hand, many of the most productive people in the world have a repertoire of key time management tips that help them get the most out of each hour of the day.

In this article, we’ll explain why time management is so important and examine 10 effective time management tips for busy adults that can help you get on the path to greater productivity and workplace success.

What is time management and why is it so important at work?

Time management actually has nothing to do with managing time. Instead, it’s all about managing your use of time to ensure that you’re as efficient and productive as possible. To manage time, you need to be able to coordinate your activities, prioritize important tasks, and exercise self-control to avoid unnecessary distractions.

Effective time management is important in every aspect of life – but it is especially important in the workplace. Regardless of whether you own your own business or work for someone else, you need to learn how to make the most of every single moment if you want to experience true success. Great time management tips can help you:

• Become more efficient in your job

• Improve your self-management abilities

• Improve your productivity and work quality

• Reduce your workplace stress

• Help you achieve a greater life-work balance

• Help you become more proactive in your decision-making

• Boost your confidence

• Enhance your reputation as a reliable and valuable employee

• Provide the positive attention you need to enjoy promotions and other career opportunities

10 tips for time management

To help you begin to learn to manage your time, we’ve compiled a list of ten of the most effective tips for effective time management.

1.    Set goals

Get into the habit of setting realistic goals so that you always have a roadmap to guide you in your efforts. One of the best methods for goal setting is the SMART goal technique. 

SMART stands for:

• SPECIFIC – There's a saying that if you don't know what you want, it's usually harder to get it. That's why your goals should be as specific as possible so there's no confusion about what you need to do. Specific goals can include things like adding next quarter's numbers to the budgeting spreadsheet, creating an outline for the marketing plan, or calling ten prospective leads.

• MEASURABLE – Make sure that you establish ways to measure your progress so that you can track your results. Did you get all the numbers onto the spreadsheet? Is the outline complete? Were all ten leads contacted?

• ATTAINABLE – Can you actually reach the goal, or have you set the bar too high? Is your workload so high that you can only contact five leads? If so, change the goal. It's better to set a reasonable goal and reach it than to miss the mark altogether.

• RELEVANT – Are these the goals you should be focusing on right now or are others more important for your success and that of your team and organization?

• TIMELY – It's good to work ahead, but if the budgeting spreadsheet isn't due for a month, consider focusing on a goal that has a higher priority or a closer due date.

2.      Create a running to-do list

It may be simple to retain a certain number of tasks in your head. At some point, however, it becomes too difficult. As the list of required tasks grows, you’re eventually going to lose track of what needs to be done and when. That’s where a to-do list comes into play.

Many people resist creating a to-do list, but it's actually one of the simplest and most effective time management tools you can use to organize your activities. You just need to discover how to use it in a way that works best for you.

It may take some time to learn how to create your initial list, of course. However, once you’ve created that first list, it's just a matter of adding new items and removing completed tasks. A good rule of thumb is to review the list at the end of each day, re-prioritizing tasks as needed. You can simply cross off tasks as they are completed – and enjoy that consistent feeling of accomplishment!

Whether you use paper or a computer, tracking these tasks will free up your brain so that you can focus attention on getting things done in an efficient and productive way.

3.      Prioritize tasks

This can and should be done daily, but it's also helpful to do it weekly, monthly, quarterly, and even annually if it makes sense for your position and your company's goals. One great way to prioritize tasks is to think about them in terms of importance and urgency: 

• If something is both urgent and important, do it immediately. 

• If it's important but not urgent, you have some bandwidth to decide when to do the task. Just make sure you’re careful that it doesn't get overlooked in the future when it might become more pressing. 

• Urgent but not important tasks can often be delegated to a team member or support staff to keep you available for more critical work.

• Something that is neither urgent nor important can be moved down your list to attack later. Again, be alert for a status change in any of these items.

The key is to accurately assess the priority of each task. Talk to your supervisor if you're unsure about how to prioritize a given task.

4.      Add time estimates to your tasks

For each task on your to-do list include either the amount of time you can allot for it or an estimate of how much time you think it will take. This can help with prioritizing since you can better understand how much time a task requires versus how much time you have available to focus on it.

Keeping a time diary can help in this process. Track everything you do and how long it takes you to do it. This includes bathroom breaks and chatting with co-workers as well as meetings and phone calls. It can be eye-opening to see how you spend your time at work each day. That understanding can help you make more conscious decisions about how to use your time effectively.

5.      Divide your workday into set time blocks

You can also divide your workday into separate blocks of time to greatly improve efficiency. If you’re like most people, one of the best times for effective time management includes using 20-minute blocks of time to help focus on specific tasks. 

Here’s how that process works:

• When you begin a task, set a timer for 20 minutes and give your full concentration to the job, avoiding distractions if possible. When the timer goes off, stop and decide whether you want to finish that task or move on to something else.

• If you choose to continue working, take a quick break, reset the timer for another twenty minutes, and begin again. Keep repeating this procedure until either the task is done, or you decide you need to stop.

• Over time, this 20-minute process will become second nature for improved time management.

6.      Set up boundaries (and stick to them)

It’s also important to establish clear boundaries at work to ensure that you’re not being pulled in a million different directions. The right boundaries will help you to avoid distractions so that you can focus on the task at hand. 

Below are some simple ideas that can help you begin to set those boundaries:

• Put a Do Not Disturb sign outside your day to let colleagues know that you’re not available during certain blocks of time,

• Don’t be afraid to say, “I'm sorry, I can't do that right now,” if someone asks you to interrupt your work to help them with one of their tasks.

• If a supervisor interrupts you with another task, work with them to determine which task needs to be completed first.

Setting boundaries makes you very good at time management by staying focused on your urgent and important tasks.

7.      Delegate

When you become a more efficient worker, you’ll have a better understanding of the fact that it's simply not possible to get everything done by yourself. Being able to delegate tasks to trusted colleagues or team members has benefits for everyone.

When you need to delegate, make sure you only hand off tasks the other person is capable of completing. That will free up your time and allow you to focus on tasks that are uniquely suited to your skills and competencies.

Delegation even has benefits for the person you assign to complete those tasks since it offers them the chance to demonstrate their own time management skills and gain invaluable experience.

8.      Take breaks

Some people assume that breaks are a waste of time that contribute to inefficiency, but the opposite is true. Working without a break can make it harder to stay focused and motivated and increase the odds that your work will be poorly done or late. Put simply, you need regular breaks to remain focused and efficient.

The key is to set a time limit for your break and stick to that schedule. During your break, do something that helps clear your head and refresh you so that you’re ready to return to your tasks. This can include taking a walk, meditating, chatting, or having a snack.

9.      Use Planning Tools

There are a wide variety of planning tools that can improve your time management abilities.

These include planners, pocket diaries, wall charts, index cards, and even a notebook. There are also many productivity apps available for your phone and computer that make it easy to get and stay organized.

Your calendar can also be a great time management tool. You’re less likely to miss a meeting or phone call scheduled on your calendar, so take advantage of that fact by adding tasks to your calendar as well. 

Try different options to find the tool that works best for you. That way you'll use it consistently with great results.

10.              Avoid time-wasting distractions

The following time management tips can help you to eliminate many of the most common time-wasting factors so that you can focus on your work priorities:

• Schedule time to deal with texts, emails, and other electronic communications, and stick to that schedule. That will keep you from being constantly distracted by computer and mobile device notifications.

• Make sure unscheduled visits and meetings have time limits.

• Create an agenda for any scheduled meeting or call and focus on ending those events on time.

• Avoid any meetings that lack a defined agenda.

• Don’t try to multitask. Instead, focus on one task at a time to ensure that you produce the most consistent and high-quality results.

• Stay organized so you always know what you need to do at any given time.

Additional benefits of good time management skills

Once you learn to implement these time management tips, you’ll discover there are benefits that extend well beyond increased productivity.

One of the best rewards is reduced stress. When you're getting things done and know how you'll handle new tasks, you’ll enjoy a greater sense of self-control. You’ll also experience less worry and anxiety in your work life, which can help you in your efforts to remain physically and mentally healthy.

Another benefit is the satisfaction of consistently achieving your goals and the recognition you’ll receive for that success. If upper management views you as efficient and quality-focused, you’ll be more likely to receive rewards and opportunities like a salary increase or a promotion.

You might also be able to take on a new challenge or get some training to enhance your skill set.

Finally, there's the gift of simply having more time in both your work and personal life. You’ll find yourself leaving at the end of your scheduled day to enjoy hobbies or family time instead of working late into the evening to finish a task. 

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Noting time management on your resume

Employers want to hire people who can schedule and prioritize their work to meet deadlines and produce quality results.

Including this skill on your resume will help you stand out from other candidates, especially if you can show how your time management skills have produced specific positive results for previous employers. 

For example, your work experience section could include an achievement like:

• Leveraged effective time management skills to increase customer service responses by 20% in a six-month period.

In an interview, be prepared to give examples of how your time management abilities benefited you, your team, or your organization. Use quantifiable results and real numbers to help the employer understand the type of value that you can bring to their organization.

Employ these time management tips to boost your productivity

Your ability to manage each moment of the workday will play a huge role in your workplace and career success. The time management tips we’ve outlined in this guide can help you develop the skills you need to make the most of each day. As you build those critical time management skills, you’ll eventually learn to master time rather than letting it master you!

Is your resume adequately conveying your time management skills to employers? Get your free resume review from our team of experts to get the help you need for job search success.

This article was originally written by Lisa Tynan and has been updated by Ken Chase.