12 Time Management Strategies for Managers
Are you a manager who feels like there just aren't enough hours in the day to keep up with everything?
Are you struggling to stay on top of your ever-growing to-do list?
Don't worry, you're not alone.
As managers you are stuck juggling a million responsibilities. But what if I told you there are a lot of simple, yet powerful tools that you can use to reclaim your time and become a productivity machine?
Hey everyone. I'm Doug Howard. I'm a leadership coach and consultant for engineering companies and leaders, but I use this YouTube channel to teach leaders in any industry, how to unlock the full potential of your people. Each episode focuses on the human side of management by exploring topics like emotional intelligence, influence, and motivation. If these topics sound interesting and valuable to you, make sure to hit that subscribe button.
Transform Your Time
A common challenge for many leaders right now is feeling like you're constantly playing catch up with your schedule. Don't worry, we've all been there. But the good news is that with the right strategies, you can transform how you manage your time and become a master of efficiency.
In this episode, you're going to discover 12 time management hacks specifically designed for busy leaders like you. Remember, you don't need to use all these tools at once. Think of this like a toolbox filled with solutions for different situations. As we go through each one of these tools together, consider which tools would be the most valuable for your unique role and responsibilities. One more tip, make sure you watch the entire video because I share examples for how to combine a few of these strategies together towards the end.
Time Management Strategy #1 - The Eisenhower Matrix
The first time management strategy is the Eisenhower matrix. This framework helps you identify your tasks and categorize them into four quadrants based on urgency and importance. The quadrants are formed by an x axis and a y axis, where the x axis measures if the task is urgent vs. non urgent, and the y axis measures if the task is important vs. non important.
This forms four quadrants where quadrant one is urgent and important. These tasks require immediate action and often have deadlines as well as consequences if you don't get them done on time.
Quadrant two is important and not urgent. These tasks help you achieve long term goals but may not have an actual deadline so you should intentionally procrastinate these and schedule them for later on.
Quadrant three is urgent, but not important. These tasks are often busy work and should be delegated to someone else if possible. Or you should knock them out in batches, which I'll cover in other time management strategies later in this video.
Quadrant four is not urgent and not important. In other words, don't do these tasks. This quadrant is meant to help you sort out things that you should not be doing at all. These are those unimportant tasks that just filter to you and they end up piling up. But in reality, you forget that these tasks aren't important. You just do them like a mindless zombie. So by classifying them this way, you can recognize that these tasks can be eliminated altogether.
Breaking out your tasks like this into these four quadrants provides a clear roadmap for what needs your immediate attention and what can wait. The Eisenhower matrix also offers a structured approach for prioritizing, which ensures you're focusing on what truly matters the most.
If you try this technique out, make sure you review your matrix regularly. In fact, probably multiple times a day and make sure you adjust it as your priorities shift.
Time Management Strategy #2 - Pomodoro Technique
The second time management strategy is called the Pomodoro Technique. This method involves working in focused, 25 minute long intervals followed by a short break in between.
Now here's how you use this technique effectively. You set a timer for 25 minutes and then dedicate that time to a single task. Once the timer goes off, you want to take a short break, ideally about five minutes, before starting another 25 minute work session.
The reason I like this technique is that the Pomodoro technique combats fatigue and it promotes sustained focus, which allows you to achieve more in shorter bursts. This technique is so effective is because it's leveraging a psychological phenomena called habituation, which basically means that the longer you experience repeated stimuli, like working on the same task for an extended period of time, the longer you do this, your brain gets bored with it. So you subconsciously begin disengaging and you subconsciously begin losing focus and motivation towards completing that task. But by taking a short break, it resets the habituation clock and it resets your focus.
I explained this a lot deeper in my episode called The Science Behind Motivating People In The Workplace. I'll include a link to that episode in the description below.
If you try out the Pomodoro technique, make sure to experiment with different work and break intervals to find what works best for you. For example, I use 50 minutes of working followed by a 10 minute break.
Time Management Strategy #3 - Time Blocking
Number three is time blocking. You've probably heard of this strategy before, but just to make sure we're all on the same page. This strategy involves scheduling specific blocks of time in your calendar for dedicated tasks. The way to do this effectively is by allocating time slots for specific things like replying to emails or sending emails, deep work sessions, keeping spots open for meetings, or keeping spots dedicated for administrative tasks.
There's a million ways to do this, but the idea is locking time on your calendar each day, week, month, quarter, year for specific things that you want to get done. That way it makes sure that these things do get done versus letting other people dictate your time. I would use this, when I worked at companies before, I would literally, put these things as events on my calendar so that nobody else could schedule over them.
The reason I like time blocking so much is because it helps you visualize your day and it helps you prevent procrastination by predetermining when you're going to tackle specific tasks.
One quick pro tip on this technique. You want to make sure you're leaving buffer time in your schedule to accommodate unexpected things that come up. I would usually leave, an extra hour or so in my day or a couple hours in my week collectively to jump on urgent things that come up that aren't going to be on my radar at the beginning of the week. This way, when something does happen, it doesn't, create a domino effect in the rest of your time blocks.
Time Management Strategy #4 - Two Minute Rule
Time management strategy number four is the two minute rule. Now, I love this one, and I like to call this technique, Just Do It, because the logic behind this approach is really simple. Any task that can be completed in two minutes or less should just be done immediately. In other words, just do it.
To do this effectively, you want to identify small tasks on your to do list and then tackle them right away. This prevents them from piling up and creating a sense of overwhelm as you have a million of these just do it tasks on your to do list. The reason I like the two minute rule so much is because it keeps your momentum going and it eliminates the decision fatigue associated with smaller tasks.
If you try out the two minute rule technique, make sure you use your best judgment. If a seemingly two minute long task might actually take you longer, schedule it for one of your dedicated time blocks instead of getting sucked into a black hole that eats up your whole day.
Time Management Strategy #5 - Kanban boards
Number five is Kanban boards. These are visual project management tools like Asana, Notion, Monday. com and they help you track tasks through visually tracking different stages of completion for the task. To do this effectively, you want to create a simple Kanban board with columns like To Do, In Progress, Done, or Complete and you want to move the tasks through the columns as the actual project progresses through different stages.
I use Asana to update my Eisenhower matrix and my time batching to do lists every day. But the reason I like this method of using Kanban boards of any kind, is because it provides a clear visual representation of your workload, and it helps you feel that sense of accomplishment when you're getting things done or when you're moving longer projects through different stages, because it's easy to get tunnel vision and feel like you're not making any progress.
That's why I like using it for myself, but as a manager, when you're managing a team, I love it because you're sharing that workboard with the rest of your team, which is an easy way to promote transparency within your team too.
Time Management #6 - Conduct Time Audits
Number six is conduct time audits. A lot of leaders who are struggling with time management don't do this one and this one is so simple and it's so obvious that if you don't do this, how will you ever get better at managing your time?
What you want to do is you want to take a step back and track how you're actually spending your time for a specific period. It could be a day, it could be a week, a month, a quarter. But what you want to do is diligently track your time for a specific period, and then you want to look to identify areas for improvement.
The best way to do this is by using a time tracking app, or you can keep a journal and just document your activities throughout the day. Then you can measure, how productive was this on a scale of 1 to 3, or 1 to 10, whatever works for you. But what you want to do is first find a way to track the data, then you want to analyze the data to identify time wasters and areas where you can streamline your workflow.
That might sound more complicated than it needs to be. I do this every day, but I don't, use a time tracking app or anything like that. What I do is, at the end of each day, before I go to bed, I journal and I ask myself a few simple questions like, What did I accomplish today? What did I not get done today that I wanted to get done today? How could I have been more efficient today? What are things I could have done to be more productive?
I ask myself simple questions like that, and I usually know the answer right away. Oh, I shouldn't have, wasted time on social media, or I shouldn't waste the time responding to that email. I'm able to easily identify what I could have done better just by reflecting on my day at the end of the day. If you're a data metrics person and you do better at using a tool where you can track this thing, great. Or, if you make your own spreadsheet, great. If that seems overwhelming to you, don't let that stop you from doing this. Instead, you can just keep it really simple by journaling and reflecting on how you're spending your time at the end of the day.
Either way, I recommend doing this because conducting a time audit like this provides a lot of valuable insights into your actual work patterns, which is important because it helps you identify hidden time sucks.
One quick tip on this. If you do this, make sure you're being honest with your time tracking, review your findings and brainstorm strategies on how to optimize your time based on the insights you gain. Now, quick sidebar on this.
While all of these time management strategies that I'm giving you are a great way to optimize your time, we are all still limited to the same 24 hours in a day. But if you want to learn how to literally gain time back, you should watch my free mini masterclass called Multiply Your Time Through Delegation.
Delegation is literally the only way for you to create more time. In this free training, I teach you powerful mindset shifts for becoming comfortable with empowering your team to take on more workload and responsibilities. You also gain a downloadable tool that helps you identify which of your current tasks are actually delegatable. You learn a powerful framework for effectively transferring ownership from you to the other person.
Everyone who has taken this 60 minute free training has told me how it completely changed their perspective on how they view and approach delegation. It's because I've taken all the best delegation training tools, techniques, and strategies that I've been teaching to engineering managers, engineering teams, and engineering companies for the last few years. I've taken all of that and I've condensed it into this free 60 minute training for you. The best part is that you can take these tools and strategies and you can apply them right away to get real results.
This mini masterclass is called Multiply Your Time Through Delegation. It's 100 percent free and it's pre recorded so that you can watch it at your convenience.
Time Management Strategy #7 - Parkinson's Law
Time management strategy number seven is Parkinson's law. Have you ever noticed how you magically transform into a productivity master in the last minute right before a task is due? Maybe it's cramming for a test, or maybe it's getting a presentation together at the last minute, or maybe it's just simply getting a five hour task completed in three hours flat right before the deadline. It's amazing how you magically find a way to get things done right at the last minute.
Meanwhile, have you ever noticed that when you have a longer lead time on something, or more time than you need to complete a given task, it somehow takes you twice as long to get it done?
This phenomenon is explained by Parkinson's Law, which states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Parkinson's law promotes efficiency by creating a sense of urgency and encouraging you to do work smarter, not harder. You can leverage Parkinson's Law to your advantage by setting shorter deadlines for tasks to encourage focused work and to prevent procrastination.
For example, if something isn't due until next week Friday, you can either give yourself an internal deadline of this week Friday so that you don't let it drag on for two weeks, or you could estimate how long the task is going to take you, let's say about four hours to complete, and you can give yourself three hours to complete it on a day before it's due. Now, either route that you go, be very realistic when setting deadlines. The goal is to improve focus, not to create unnecessary stress.
Time Management Strategy #8 - Batch Processing
Number eight is batch processing. This means grouping similar tasks together and handling them in one clean sweep. To do this effectively, you want to schedule dedicated time blocks for tasks like email management, phone calls, or administrative tasks.
The reason I like this method is because batch processing reduces context switching, and it improves your focus, which is going to lead to overall greater efficiency. This technique works best for similar tasks that require the same mental state.
Back when I was an engineer, I would use this technique while working on projects. Whenever I randomly came across items that required me to do some digging into code books and design manuals, I would make a list of those topics while I was working. Then I would pick a designated period that day, or later that week, to go digging through all those code books. For me, this was way more efficient than stopping what I was doing to grab the code book each time I found something I needed to look up.
Time Management Strategy #9 - Eat the Frog
Time management strategy number nine is eat the frog. This means tackling your most important and your most challenging task first thing in the morning when you have the most energy and focus. To use this strategy effectively, you want to identify what your frog is or what your most important task is at the beginning of your day and then dedicate your prime productivity time to completing that task.
Now, the reason I like this tool is because you start the day by conquering your biggest task early on, and that's going to set the tone for a productive day and reduce the feeling of overwhelm for you throughout the rest of your day.
Now for my personal life, I apply the eat the frog technique by starting my day with exercise because if I don't exercise in the morning, there is a 99.99999 percent chance that I will not exercise that day. So for you, figure out what your frog is and consider beginning your day by crossing it off your list. If your frog is particularly daunting, break it down to the smaller, more manageable steps.
Time Management Strategy #10 - Pareto Principle
Number 10 is the 80 20 rule or the Pareto principle. This principle states that roughly 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of the effort you're putting in. So to use this technique effectively, you want to identify the 20 percent of your activities that contribute to the 80 percent of your results on a given basis. Then you want to prioritize those 20 percent of your time tasks accordingly.
For example, if you're an engineering manager, there's a good chance that your most important results are related to team productivity and output. In that case, you would want to take a look at which of your daily and weekly actions contribute the most to increasing productivity and output on your team, and then make sure those tasks and activities are your top priority each day and each week.
The reason I like the 80 20 rule is because it helps you focus on high impact activities, and it also helps you avoid getting bogged down in less important tasks. If you haven't noticed, there's a little theme here, all these things are designed to help you recognize the things that you're working on that don't really make an impact and that don't really matter to your overall productivity and your overall effectiveness in your role. Now, for each person, the specific 80 20 split might vary, but the core principle of focusing on high leverage activities remains the same.
Time Management Strategy #11 - Biological Prime Time
Number 11 is my favorite one. It's called biological prime time. This means scheduling your tasks based on your natural energy levels.
You want to track your natural rhythm each day with the goal of identifying three things about yourself. First, when are you most alert, focused, and motivated? Second, when are you most creative, curious, and exploratory? Third, when do you prefer mindless, repetitive tasks where you can zone out?
Everyone's natural rhythm is completely different. But for me, I'm most creative, curious, and exploratory early in the morning from about 9 am to noon. After that, then my brain needs a little bit of break from all that brainstorming and creativity and research. So I shift to mindless repetitive tasks from about noon to 1:30. Then after doing this mindless work for a while, it actually recharges my battery so that I'm alert and I'm focused and I'm motivated for the rest of the day. Knowing this about myself helps me prioritize my daily work in a way that optimizes my productivity versus me spending all day fighting against my natural energy and my natural preferences.
For example, because I'm naturally feeling creative and curious in the morning, I prioritize tasks that are related to research, learning, brainstorming, and creating content every morning. I defer anything that doesn't fall into these categories until later in the day or later in the week. Then I run through my mindless tasks or my just do it tasks. These are the routine tasks that don't require much focus or creativity, but they still need to get done. These can be tasks like clearing out your email inbox, organizing files and documents, or data entry tasks. From there, I use the rest of my afternoon for all the deep focus work that requires critical thinking. For me, that's taking content ideas that I've created in the morning, and ideas that I've researched in the morning, and all the things that I've gathered during the creative stages, it usually involves me putting that into action, and using that to actually create new content.
But for you as a manager, this could mean project work, this could mean creating or reviewing design calculations. It could mean proofreading contracts and documents.
The reason I like this technique is because you're working in sync with your natural energy rhythm, which allows you to optimize your output and reduce mental fatigue. If you try this technique out, you want to experiment for a bit. Be patient with this. Don't get too frustrated if you're not figuring out how to optimize this right away, because it does take some time. You want to experiment to discover your personal energy patterns. So be flexible and adjust your schedule based on your own needs.
Time Management Strategy #12 - Three Most Important Tasks
The 12th and final strategy is called three most important tasks. This means starting your day by identifying the three most critical tasks that you absolutely must accomplish today. Write down your three most important tasks at the beginning of your work day and then focus on completing these tasks before moving on to anything else.
The reason I like this method is because identifying your most important tasks provides clarity and direction for your day. It ensures that you're going to focus on the tasks that matter the most. If you try this technique, be realistic about what you can achieve in a day. You want to choose achievable, most important tasks to avoid feeling overwhelmed and to avoid feeling like you failed.
Remember, there's no one size fits all approach to time management. You want to experiment with these tools and discover what works best for you. Try combining different techniques to create a system that empowers you to conquer your day and helps you achieve your leadership goals.
But what if you're already feeling the burn from leadership? Management is a very demanding position, and if you're already feeling stressed and overwhelmed or on the verge of burnout, I've got you covered. Check out my episode called Seven Steps To Recover From Burnout. I share practical strategies to help you bounce back and reclaim your energy and your passion for leading your team. See the link in the description below. Thanks for watching.
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