Are you looking for how to do it all? Trying to get more done every day? Looking for a time management system that really works for you? Then I have you covered with these 9 time management systems that will help you do it all. There are different time management strategies that work in different scenarios which is why we are going to talk about the best 9 time management systems. So you can find the right time management strategy for you and your life and you can better your time efficiency.
Let’s start talking about time efficiency and these idea but first I want to go over some of the reasons time management is so important.
Reasons Time Management Is Important:
- Better time management is one of the main things you can do to boost productivity.
- It can decrease the stress you feel in your life.
- Having better time management skills can help you have more time for the things you love!
- Helps you make sure you hit deadlines and goals in time.
- Improved time management skills go hand in hand with improved self discipline.
- Lastly, it helps you have better quality of work!
I have even more reasons that time management is important in my video here!
Now let’s jump into the post so you can learn all about time efficiency and the helpful time management systems.
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9 Time Management Systems That Will Help You Do It All
Time management strategies to improve your life and your time efficiency:
System 1: Time logging
This is the first time management strategy I want to discuss because it is the one I use the most.
Time logging is very simple. It just means at the end of every half hour or hour you log what you completed in that time frame. Generally I find that hourly works the best. Also because then you can use an hourly planner (like this one) for doing the time log.
I find it to be so helpful to do a time log for two reasons:
Reason 1: it gives you an idea of where your time is going. If you feel like your days are flying by and you aren’t accomplishing enough it can be incredibly helpful to do a time log every day for a week.
Reason 2: it keeps you on track and holds you accountable. When you are aware of what you are completing it can make sure that you know what you have finished so you can plan to get everything you need to get done actually done that day.
System 2: 50 on / 10 off
This is a very systematic time management strategy but it works well for a lot of people.
Especially if you are someone who really finds themselves re-energized by breaks. Read a bit more about the importance of breaks here!
This system is pretty self explanatory though which makes it a very good time management system if you are new to this. It’s just that you set a timer for 50 minutes and you work non stop for 50 minutes. Then when the timer goes off you give yourself a 10 minute break. And in that 10 minute break you can do whatever you want.
System 3: Time blocks
Time blocks are a very common strategy that works fantastic especially if you are working or trying to accomplish a range of different tasks.
Time blocking is when you group together all of an identical task for the day.
Some examples of tasks you would block into assigned times are: sending emails, responding to voicemails, doing paperwork, writing proposals, etc. Anything that is the same general task repeated over and over.
This can help you streamline each type of task rather than jumping between different tasks throughout your day. It generally can result in saved time overall!
System 4: The 1-3-5 rule
This system works off of a tree or pyramid style.
You start with the largest task and then add 3 mid sized tasks under it and then 5 small tasks below those.
A pyramid type time management system works really well if your job involves a lot of correlated tasks but with notably varying importance. And you can always change the size of the pyramid as well. You could do 2-4-6 or 1-2-3. There is a lot go ways you can better your time efficiency with this system.
This system will probably involve you playing around with it for a few weeks to determine which specific structure works the best for your days.
System 5: Motivation based
Motivation based time management is exactly how it sounds. It means completing the tasks that you are the most drawn to and motivated to complete.
It sound obvious but really it can help you knock out a lot of tasks at the beginning of the day that you actually want to accomplish. Ultimately leaving more time to complete your less liked tasks.
I find this system to work the best if you generally “like” your work and have motivation to complete most tasks on your own. A lot of small business owners find themselves doing this strategy without even realizing they are!
This is also oftentimes called the autofocus system.
System 6: Start to finish priorities
If you have been around here for awhile you may also know that this is another favorite time management system of mine!
This system is simple as well. You just make your to do list for the day including everything you need to accomplish and everything you want to accomplish that day.
Then you go back through and you number the list based on number 1 being the highest priority and going down the list. That way you are ensuring that you are completing the most important tasks in the most logical order.
Doing a prioritized list can feel really tedious when you first start doing it but give it a few weeks and it usually starts to get a lot easier. Often it will start to feel second nature!
It also helps to ensure that you don’t forget about important tasks so that you don’t end up rushing them at the end of the day.
System 7: Eat the frog
The name of this comes from a Mark Twain from about eating the frog right away in the morning.
And as weird as this system sounds it is one of the really simple time management strategies that is a lot of peoples favorite.
It means getting your least favorite task (and then tasks) done first.
If you are dreading certain tasks it can kill your time management and productivity if you don’t get them done. So this time management system works if you dread certain tasks but you can force yourself to get it done. This can really help if you struggle with time efficiency.
System 8: Task batching
Task batching is similar to time blocking but on a much larger scale.
This is a time management strategy that a lot of people in creative or marketing fields will really benefit from trying.
The idea of it is that you batch together a lot of things at once. For example, if you are a social media manager this would be batching a whole months worth of Instagram content photos in one day. And then the next day making all the captions. Then the next batching Instagram story graphics.
The reason this system works so well is you can really get into the grove of a certain task and often you save time by not having to set things up every day. Getting a whole bunch of a similar task done at once can also help give you some “emergency space” so if something comes up in two weeks you have already finished a lot of the more time consuming work. So an emergency doesn’t totally wreck your day!
System 9: Assembly line tasks
The final of the time management systems we are going to talk about today is assembly line tasks.
It’s really what it sounds like! Making an assembly line so to speak for your tasks.
An example of this is if you get a new client inquiry. Rather than doing a system like ones above where you batch together each step of the process for multiple clients you complete this inquiry from start to finish.
This is one of the time management systems that work the best if your work is hyper-personalized. If each day, task, client, etc is incredibly different than it is often best for your business to focus on one from start to finish.
I hope that one of these time management strategies can help you better your time efficiency and works for your life! Improving your time management can feel overwhelming but with the right system in place you can start accomplishing more every day.
Just remember to be patient with yourself as you implement a new time management system because it can take time for it to really become a habit and start helping. Be patient but also consistent with whichever of the time management systems you start to implement into your life.
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