Let’s define productivity. Productivity is a measure of efficiency of a person completing a task. We often assume that productivity means getting more things done each day. Wrong. Productivity is getting important things done consistently. And no matter what you are working on, there are only a few things that are truly important.
Being productive is about maintaining a steady, average speed on a few things, not maximum speed on everything
Most productivity strategies focus on short-term efficiency: how to manage your to-do list effectively, how to get more done each morning, how to shorten your weekly meetings, and so on. These are all reasonable ideas.
We often fail to realize, however, that there are certain strategic choices we need to make if we want to maximize our productivity for the long-term. In these articles below, I break down some ideas about long-term productivity.
What Is Time Management?
Before we talk about time management skills and tips, let’s make sure that we’re all on the same page regarding what time management is.
Simply put, time management is the process of performing activities within specific time restraints.
The common misconception is that time management is about managing time. It’s not. It’s about managing activity. Time itself can’t be managed. We have no control over time. It progresses whether we like it or not. What we do have control over is the activities we perform within the constraints of time.
For example, say that you have a project that is due in one week. If you want to meet that deadline, you need to arrange your schedule so that you have sufficient time to work on the project. The deadline will come regardless of what you do. You are in control of the actions you take leading up to the deadline.
Time Management Skills and Tips
Now that we’re on the same page regarding the exact nature of time management, let’s talk about the skills you need to manage time more effectively.
The benefits of time management
Good time management strategies can help you organize and prioritize tasks so you can:
- Feel like you have more time in your day. When you’re intentional about where your time is going, you may find that you reduce unnecessary tasks, de-prioritize work that doesn’t need to get done today, and accomplish things in less time. You won’t literally have more time in your day, but you may find that you accomplish more in the same amount of time.
- Establish boundaries between work and personal time. Improving your time management isn’t about squeezing out every second of productivity you have at work. Rather, these strategies can help you get your most important work done—and identify what work can wait until tomorrow. By prioritizing the work that needs to get done today and clarifying what work you can defer to a later date, you’re also establishing boundaries between your work time and your personal time.
- Reduce stress. Without effective time management, it can feel like you never have enough time at work. You might feel like you’re running around and putting out fires—which can lead to increased stress and, ultimately, burnout. In fact, according to the Anatomy of Work Index, 71% of knowledge workers reported feeling burnout at least once in 2020.
- Improve productivity. There are various time management tips to help reduce procrastination and increase productivity. By identifying your main priorities for the day, you won’t just be more productive—you can also feel confident that you’re working on the right things each day.
- Break bad habits. No one wants to procrastinate. But over time, bad habits can pile up and get in the way of high-impact work. (Trust us, we’ve been there too.) Time management strategies can help you identify and break out of bad habits.
Why is time management important?
Effective time management is essential for ensuring progress, and meeting milestones and deadlines. Effectively managing time has a myriad of benefits, including the following:
- Increased productivity: With effective time management, project managers can focus on high-value activities, significantly improving overall productivity and output.
- Reduced stress: Effective time management plans provide project managers with a clear roadmap that fosters a sense of control and reduces stress.
- Goal achievement: With a structured approach, project managers can consistently work toward achieving goals and objectives for individual projects and overarching team initiatives.
- Improved work-life balance: Effective time management enables project managers to optimize work hours, ensuring they dedicate sufficient time to both professional and personal endeavors, fostering a healthy work-life balance and reducing the risk of burnout.
- Enhanced decision-making: By applying time management strategies, project managers can prioritize tasks and make informed choices about resource allocation, task delegation, and risk mitigation.
Turn better time management into a daily habit
Start with one or two of these time management tips rather than trying to implement them all at once. Choose strategies that address your biggest challenges, whether that’s getting distracted, underestimating how long tasks take, or losing track of priorities. Practice those techniques consistently for a few weeks, then add others as needed.
Keep in mind that the goal isn’t perfection. Some days will go according to plan, and others won’t. What matters is building systems that help you recover quickly when you get off track.
The right tools can make those systems easier to stick with. helps teams plan, track, and prioritize work with boards, timelines, and automated workflows — so it’s clear what to focus on and when. gives teams a connected workspace to document decisions, organize priorities, and keep knowledge easy to find. Together, they keep planning and execution in sync — less time coordinating, more time doing the work that matters.
Know How You Spend Your Time
A time log is a helpful way to determine how you use your time. Record what you are doing in 15-minute intervals for a week or two. Evaluate the results:
- Did everything you needed to do get done?
- Which tasks require the most time?
- What time of day when you are most productive?
- Where is most of your time is devoted (i.e. job, family, personal, recreation)?
Identifying your most time-consuming tasks and determining whether you are investing your time in the most important activities can help you to determine a course of action. Having a good sense of the time required for routine tasks can help you be more realistic in planning and estimating how much time is available for other activities. Many apps exist to help you keep track of your time.
My Top Productivity Strategies
- This simple decision matrix will help you take action, organize tasks, and get more done. The great thing about this matrix is that it can be used for broad productivity plans (“How should I spend my time each week?”) and for smaller, daily plans (“What should I do today?”).
- This method comes from the famous investor Warren Buffett and uses a simple 3-step productivity strategy to help you determine your priorities and actions. You may find this method useful for making decisions and getting yourself to commit to doing one thing right away.
- This productivity strategy is straightforward: Do the most important thing first each day. The Ivy Lee Method is a dead simple way to implement this strategy.
- There is one common problem with the approach of ranking your priorities and doing the most important thing first, though. After ranking your priorities for the day, if the number one task is a really big project then it can leave you feeling frustrated because it takes a long time to finish. Writer Anthony Trollope, however, developed a solution to this common problem.
Take control of your time
Ultimately, time management is more of a state of mind than anything else. To effectively manage your time, prioritize your work so you know what to work on each day. Instead of letting your to-do list dictate your priorities, focus your attention on your intention to really drive impact