20 Best Time-Management Lessons

Author: Étienne Garbugli, Montreal-based designer

1. There’s always time. Time is priorities

You never run out of time. If you didn’t finish something by the time it was due, it’s because you didn’t consider it urgent or enjoyable enough to prioritize ahead of whatever else you were doing.

2. Days always fill up faster than you’d expect

Build in some buffer time. As the founder of Ruby on Rails and Basecamp, David Heinemeier Hansson, said, “Only plan on four to five hours of real work per day.”

3. Work more when you’re in the zone. Relax when you’re not

Some days, you’ll be off your game, and other times, you’ll be able to maintain your focus for 12 hours straight. Take advantage of those days.

4. Stop multitasking. It kills your focus


5. We’re always more focused and productive with limited time






8. More work hours doesn’t mean more productivity. Use constraints as opportunities


9. Separate brainless and strategic tasks to become more productive



If you have an important meeting scheduled for 4 p.m., it’s easy for anxiety to set in and keep that meeting at the front of your mind. Try to get big meetings over with early so you can work without worrying about them.



12. Work around procrastination. Procrastinate between intense sprints of work

Try Francesco Cirillo’s Pomodoro Technique. Pomodoro is Italian for tomato, and the technique’s name refers to the tomato-shaped cooking timer Cirillo used to break his work into 25-minute increments with five-minute breaks in between. You can use the same idea with your own increments, as long as they inspire bursts of hard work.

13. Break down a massive task into manageable blocks

Alabama football coach Nick Saban follows a similar philosophy he calls the Process. Instead of having his players focus on winning the championship, he trains them to focus on only what is directly in front of them–each block, pass, and field goal.




To help prioritize, determine which task in front of you is most important, and focus your energy on getting that done as soon as possible.

16. Delegate, and learn to make use of other people

To be truly efficient, get over the fear of handing off work to someone else. “If something can be done 80 percent as well by someone else, delegate!” says John C. Maxwell, author of How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life.



18. Set deadlines for everything. Don’t let tasks go on indefinitely


19. Always take notes

Don’t assume you’ll remember every good idea that comes into your head during the day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a notebook, whiteboard, or an app like Evernote–just write stuff down.


You’ll get them out of the way without losing them.
Source:       inc.com

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