Importance of time management
Time management is the process of organising and planning how to divide your time between specific activities. Good time management enables you to work smarter – not harder – so that you get more done in less time, even when time is tight, and pressures are high.
Benefits of time management
Greater productivity and efficiency
Better professional reputation
Less stress
Greater opportunities to achieve important life and career goals
More time for non-basketball activities, socialisation, professional advancement, education, etc.
Downsides of not managing your time effectively
Missed deadlines
Inefficient workflow
Poor work quality
A poor professional reputation
Wasted time
Higher stress levels and fatigue
Stop wasting your time
We all get the same 24 hours per day. Since time is a limited resource you cannot afford to waste it. The following framework will help you identify your timewasters:
Step 1 – Understand when you are wasting your time Analyze your days and find patterns when you are wasting your time. Th
is can take different forms and it will depend on each player. These could be moments when you scroll through social media or when you watch YouTube videos or TV without paying attention. These might be important things for you to keep. The important part is to understand when you are doing them in a passive way without gaining anything in exchange.
Step 2– Understand where you are wasting your time
Analyse your days and find situations where you are wasting your time. It can be while travelling with your team (at the airport, train, or bus), in the doctor’s waiting room, etc.
Step 3 – Think about what things you could be doing instead of being wasting your time
Analyse each situation and think of things that you could be doing that would be more productive. Sometimes this takes the form of short actions that would free you from doing them at a different moment. For example, you could use the time in the plane to study, to read the news, or to use your social media. This will free your time at home to do other things.
Step 4 – Set implementation intentions
Implementation intentions is a very effective technique to stop wasting time. It links a specific situation with a goal-directed action. It takes the form of “If situation X happens, then I will perform behaviour Y.” When event X happens, it will trigger a mental alert that you can easily identify to apply changes.
Here are some examples:
If I find myself scrolling down Instagram, then I will stop and read a book.
If I am in a 2h flight, then I will study my degree.
If I am waiting for my appointment at the doctor, then I will call my mother.
Step 5 – Evaluate your progress
Recording your patterns and analyzing the evolution of your behaviour will be critical. Also consider the effectiveness of your implementation intentions. Update them if they are not specific enough or if they were not successful for any reason. Think about new situations where and when you are wasting time and create new implementation intentions.
It will be very important for you to schedule times to reflect. Reflection is concerned with consciously looking at and thinking about our experiences, actions, feelings, and responses, and then interpreting or analysing them in order to learn from them. We use this moment to consider deeply something that we might not otherwise have given much thought to.
There are many ways of reflection. It can be quietly before going to bed, or through a reflective journal where you would write and monitor your thoughts and actions. Try to find the way that fits you best and schedule reflection time into your week. Through reflection, you will not only identify your timewasters, you will also become more aware of your emotional responses (self-awareness). It can be seen as a waste of time at the beginning. However, the more you practice it, the more it will pay off and help you monitoring and evaluating your progress.
Set your priorities
There are different tools to help you prioritize your tasks. In this section we present you the Urgent-Important Matrix. This matrix is a simple but effective tool for prioritizing your tasks based on the level of urgency and importance of each task. It gives you a rapid view of what activities you should focus on and of what activities you should ignore. Developing this matrix doesn’t require special training, just time to think and plan.
The template is very simple – 4 quadrants reflecting the degree of urgency and importance of individual tasks
Q1 - URGENT / IMPORTANT Do it right away Emergencies that you couldn’t predict or those that you’ve left until the last minute Items from Q2 that weren’t dealt with on time By developing systems and plans, you can make many of these tasks more efficient or even eliminate them outright Examples: items from Q2, deadlines, firefighting, etc. | Q2 - NOT URGENT / IMPORTANT Schedule it Activities that help you achieve your long and mid-term goals and objectives Because they aren’t pressing, we put them on hold They can become Q1 and become Urgent You should invest more time in this quadrant to help prevent and eliminate many of the urgent activities of Q1 Examples: work that contributes towards goals, relationships, education, training, creating budgets and saving plans, etc. |
Q3 - URGENT / NOT IMPORTANT Delegate it Activities that drain your time and energy without contributing to longer term benefits You should renegotiate deadlines and delegate where possible Examples: requests that don’t really contribute to your objectives, ineffective tasks, regular meetings and reports, phone calls, most emails, etc. | Q4 - NOT URGENT / NOT IMPORTANT Don’t waste your time Activities that distract you from doing things that matter Reduce or completely avoid spending time, effort, and resources Ideally: delete them Examples: personal phone calls, social media usage, anything making you procrastinate Q2 |
Understanding the difference between urgent and important is crucial:
Urgent
They require immediate attention
Consequences of not doing them: immediate negative consequences
Important
They contribute to our long-term objective
Consequences of not doing them: they accumulate over a longer period and can then become a crisis
Create your plan
Not having a plan forces you to decide what to work on in the moment. This might work for some time. However, when you get tired, it is harder to make good decisions and to force yourself to do important things that may not be pleasant.
A good time management plan helps you maximize your time and resources:
Step 1– List all your tasks, assignments, and goals
Writing down all your tasks and assignments will help you understand what needs to be done and to make sure that you do not forget anything. Including your goals may reveal some tasks that you did not consider but that are needed to achieve those goals.
Step 2 – Prioritise the tasks
Use the Urgent-Important Matrix to identify the most important tasks and those that need your urgent attention.
Step 3 – Estimate how much time you will need to do them
Use your common sense and experience to allocate time to each task. For more complex and longer activities, you could use the PERT technique. This approach uses the weighted average of 3 numbers to define a final estimate: the most optimistic (O), the most pessimistic (P), and the most likely (M). Then you just need to apply this formula: [O + P + (4 × M)] / 6.
Step 4 – Create a schedule
Now that you have listed, prioritized, and estimated the time for each task, you are ready to start creating your schedule
Schedule mandatory time
There are some things that you cannot change and that you cannot skip (8h sleeping time, your lunch breaks, or your training sessions). Start allocating those in your calendar to make sure that you have time for your basic needs.
Schedule your tasks
Now it is time to allocate your tasks according to your Urgent-Important Matrix. Don’t try to do too much from day 1. If you are not used to follow a schedule, it is better to start with just 2-3 tasks to make sure that you complete them. Overcharging your schedule might be overwhelming and decrease your motivation.
Schedule contingency time
You need some white space in your schedule. Don’t schedule one task after the other. Try to keep break times between tasks that would allow you to disconnect and recharge your batteries.
These white spots can be also used for contingencies or emergencies. The more unpredictable the project, the more contingency time you may need.
Schedule discretionary time This is your time for you, for your family and friends, for reading a book, or just for doing nothing and relax. We all need these moments and you must make sure that your schedule has them planned.
Use time blocking
There are many applications. However, you can also use your mobile phone calendar and add reminders for when to start and stop your tasks. Your willpower will be critical to follow those reminders!
Step 5 – Revise your schedule
It is likely that your schedule will not be perfect on your first attempt. You will probably use longer times for some tasks, others you will completely miss because you are tired, and others will be stopped because of other urgent matters.
What it is very important at this stage is that you keep some time at the end of the week to reflect on it. Analyse what went as planned, and what didn’t. Understand the reasons behind it. Consider new options and what things could have been done to improve your planning.
Remember that each week is (and should) be different. You cannot just copy/paste your previous schedule. So, at the end of each week, take some time to reflect on your past week and to plan the following one.
Tips for effective time management
Work out where you are wasting time
Tracking your activities so you can form an accurate picture of how you spend your time is an important first step in effective time management. Mobile phones can now track how long you use certain applications. Pay special attention to your use of social media platforms and mobile phone games. Do not let distractions eat up your time: cut them off from your schedule or set limits.
Set SMART time management goals
Once your SMART goals are established, set additional time management goals that change your behavior. A good place to start is eliminating your personal timewasters such as unproductive social media use.
Prioritize wisely and remove non-essentials tasks/activities
Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. Removing non-essential tasks/activities frees up more of your time to be spent on genuinely important things.
Set a time limit to complete a task
It will help you be more focused and efficient when completing tasks, such as studying. Putting limits to the use of timewasters is also a way to reduce their use progressively. Consider also setting limits on the time you spend focusing on basketball.
Take a break between tasks
Allow some downtime between tasks to clear your head and refresh yourself. Consider scheduling a brief nap, going for a short walk, or meditating.
Organise yourself
Using your mobile phone calendar is the easiest way to manage your time effectively. It will also improve your long-term time management.
Plan ahead
Make sure that you start your day with a clear plan of what needs to be done that day. Make it a habit to, at the end of each day, update your calendar with your planning for the next day.
Use time management tools
Whether it’s a physical agenda or digital application, a key step to managing your time is knowing where you currently spend your time and planning how you are going to spend time in the future.
Establish routines and stick to them as much as possible
While crises will arise, you will be much more productive if you can follow routines most of the time. Try to wake-up and go to bed at the same time; or try to schedule your education hour at the same time every day.
Don’t waste time waiting
From travels to medical appointments, it is impossible to avoid waiting for someone or something. Always take something to do with you so you can make the most of your waiting time. Nowadays, technology allow you to study anywhere!
Don’t multitask
Multitasking may seem like a good way of getting extra work done, but in reality, it decreases your productivity. The best way to manage your time is to focus on a single task at a time and give it your full attention while you’re working on it, to avoid mistakes.
Reward yourself for your successes, but don’t punish yourself for failure
Rewards can be a great motivator. Give yourself a small reward for every task that you accomplish in the day. This can be in the form of a short walk, or an extra use of social media if that is what you like. On the other hand, punishing yourself for not sticking to the plan will decrease your motivation and increase frustration.
Follow a time management course
This is just a small guide. There are organizations that are experts in providing this training and they could give you further advices that could be tailored to you. Time management skills don’t come naturally. Investing in improving them is not a waste of time; it will pay off sooner or later.