These days, we’re constantly interrupted by tools, notifications, emails, social media—you name it. In our distraction-driven economy, chaos has become the norm.
People find it nearly impossible to focus on what truly matters or to know whether they’re prioritizing the right work at the right time. Faced with high-priority tasks, seemingly urgent messages, and never-ending alerts, the things you actually set out to accomplish often get pushed aside. In fact, 80% of knowledge workers say they keep their inbox or communication apps open while working—just to keep up. The result? Lower productivity and a higher chance of missing messages, actions, or deadlines.
Time management templates can help you take back control of your day and stay focused. Instead of letting your to-do list run your schedule, you can use time management strategies to intentionally prioritize your daily tasks and focus on the work that really matters.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to time management. In this article, we’ll cover 18 different tips, strategies, and quick hacks to help you regain control over your tasks and your time.
What Is Time Management?
Time management is the practical side of task management, designed to help you use your time as intentionally as possible. While it can boost productivity, the greatest benefit of effective time management is the ability to better prioritize your daily tasks—giving you more room for rest and self-care.
The Benefits of Time Management
Good time management strategies help you organize tasks and set priorities so you can:
Feel like you have more hours in the day.
When you’re intentional about how you spend your time, you’ll notice a reduction in unnecessary tasks. Non-urgent items won’t take top priority, and you’ll get things done more efficiently. The number of hours in a day doesn’t change—but you’ll find yourself accomplishing much more within the same time frame.
Create clear boundaries between work and personal time.
Improving time management isn’t about squeezing productivity out of every second. Instead, it helps you focus on what truly matters and identify what can wait until tomorrow. By prioritizing what needs to be done today and what can be delayed, you can draw a healthier line between your work hours and personal life.
Reduce stress.
Without effective time management, it can feel like there’s never enough time to finish your work. You may end up constantly rushing and putting out fires, leading to higher stress and eventually burnout. In fact, according to the Work Index, 71% of knowledge workers reported experiencing burnout at least once in 2020.
Boost productivity.
There are many time management techniques that help reduce procrastination and increase productivity. When you identify your top priorities for the day, you not only work more efficiently—you also ensure you’re consistently focusing on the right tasks.
Break bad habits.
No one wants to procrastinate—but bad habits can sneak in and pile up, getting in the way of high-impact work. (Trust us, we’ve been there too.) Time management strategies can help you recognize and replace those habits with better ones.
6 Time Management Strategies to Boost Productivity
One of the simplest ways to build time management skills is by incorporating tried-and-true strategies into your daily routine. These strategies can help you set time limits for your work, focus on one task at a time, and plan your day more intentionally.
1. Timeboxing
Timeboxing is a goal-oriented time management strategy where you allocate a fixed block of time—a “timebox”—to complete a task. This approach is especially useful when you’re unsure how long tasks might take but want to work through your to-do list more intentionally.
Timeboxing helps break large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks, each with a set time limit. Ideally, each task should have its own unique timebox, no longer than three hours. For example, if you’re writing a blog post, you might create a two-hour timebox to draft the outline. After a break, you could schedule a three-hour timebox to start writing the first draft. By dividing the work into smaller sessions, you can make steady progress toward your goal over the course of several days or weeks.
2. Time Blocking
Time blocking is similar to timeboxing, but instead of assigning a fixed time to each individual task, you allocate dedicated blocks of time on your calendar for related types of work. When you use time blocking to plan your schedule, you can effectively divide your workweek into distinct segments—for project work, team communication, breaks, or even workouts.
Time blocking helps you dedicate more time to flow and deep work by minimizing distractions and keeping your focus sharp.
To get started with time blocking, begin by identifying your daily or weekly priorities. Then, group similar tasks together so they can be handled within the same time block. Finally, practice scheduling focus blocks directly into your calendar—this will help you stick to your blocked-off time and stay on track.
3. Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is similar to timeboxing and time blocking—it helps you work in short, focused bursts followed by breaks. This method is especially effective because it actively encourages regular rest, which benefits both your motivation and brain function. In fact, research shows that taking breaks can boost creativity.
To use the Pomodoro Technique, you’ll need a timer, a prioritized to-do list, and the willpower to pause notifications. Start by setting your timer for 25 minutes and devote that time to one specific task—try your best to avoid checking messages or scrolling through social media. When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break.
Ideally, use this break to do something physical, like grabbing a snack or stretching. But if needed, you can also take a quick look at your devices or check for any important updates you might’ve missed while focusing.
Repeat this cycle—25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break—four times. After your fourth work session, take a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Eat the Frog
Mark Twain once said, “If your job is to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” The “Eat the Frog” time management strategy is inspired by this quote and encourages you to tackle your biggest or most complex task first—before moving on to less important or less urgent work. This strategy is especially helpful when you need to balance routine tasks, daily responsibilities, and high-priority projects.
By “eating the frog,” you ensure that the most important work gets done each day. To start using this strategy, be sure to track your tasks and priorities in a centralized tool. Find a way to align your daily tasks with broader company goals—this helps you identify which items truly deserve top priority. Once you’ve “eaten the frog” for the day, you can move on to the rest of your to-do list with less stress and more momentum.
5. Pareto Principle
If starting your morning by “eating the frog” sounds a bit unappetizing, you might prefer the Pareto time management strategy. Unlike the Eat the Frog method, this approach encourages you to begin your day with easier tasks—helping you build a sense of accomplishment and motivation early on.
The Pareto Principle, also known as the “80/20 Rule,” is based on the idea that 80% of results come from 20% of efforts. In time management, it suggests that you should spend 20% of your time completing 80% of your tasks. By efficiently working through that 80%—usually the quicker, simpler items—you can free up the rest of your day to focus on the remaining 20% of work that demands deeper effort and more time.
6. Getting Things Done (GTD)
Getting Things Done (GTD) was created by David Allen in the early 21st century. According to Allen’s theory, the first step in GTD is to write down everything you need to accomplish. By freeing your mind and using a task management tool, you can focus on taking action without having to remember all your tasks.
To apply GTD, gather all your upcoming tasks into one place. Once you’ve written down everything that needs to be done, you’ll likely find some tasks that no longer require action (which can be discarded), some that need to be done but not immediately (which can be placed in a “later” project or folder), and others that depend on other tasks. The tool should consolidate all the details in one place, and your job is to take action based on that organized list.
6 Time Management Tips to Get More Done
People have different preferences when it comes to organizing their work using established time management strategies. Not every strategy works for everyone, which is why so many approaches exist in the first place. With that in mind, try these six tips to develop your time management skills.
1. Link Daily Tasks to Goals
Time management isn’t just about getting everything done; it’s about identifying the most important work and prioritizing it accordingly. To do this, you need to connect your daily tasks to your team’s or company’s goals so you can pinpoint the most critical tasks to tackle each day. However, a recent survey of over 6,000 knowledge workers worldwide found that only 26% of employees feel very clear about how their individual work relates to company objectives.
The best way to align work and priorities across all levels of an organization is by using work management tools. These tools help link daily tasks and team projects to company goals, ensuring that team members always understand how their work impacts the company’s priorities.
To ensure we prioritize the right work, we use OKRs to set quarterly goals that contribute to achieving our two-year objectives. Within a weekly execution rhythm, our team leaders are responsible for making sure their teams’ work effectively advances these goals.
2. Organize Work and Prioritize
Whether you prefer the Eat the Frog method or Getting Things Done, understanding which tasks are important is crucial. You will inevitably face shifting priorities or deadlines that need to be moved forward or postponed. Without clarity on what matters most, you won’t be able to adapt to changes or prioritize the right work.
Why is prioritizing work so important? You’re probably familiar with burnout, which affects an increasing number of employees worldwide every year. What’s less well known is how unclear priorities contribute to burnout. According to the Work Index, among knowledge workers who report feeling burnt out, 29% cite unclear tasks and roles as a key factor leading to overwork. Knowing which tasks to prioritize helps reduce this feeling and boosts confidence that you’re tackling the right work each day.
3. Plan Ahead at the End of Each Day
Workdays often feel like a race you’re already behind at the start. If you find yourself trying to figure out your priorities each morning from your inbox, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there’s a better way.
Instead of waiting until the morning to decide what to do, spend five minutes at the end of each day preparing for the next. This boosts motivation because you’ll know exactly what to focus on before your workday begins. It’s also a valuable way to ensure you consistently tackle your most important tasks. Rather than responding to emails or requests at 4:30 PM, prioritize blocking out time for critical work in your calendar for the following day.
4. Say “No” or Delegate
One benefit of clear priorities is that you also know what isn’t a priority. Saying “no” at work isn’t always easy, but it helps if you can explain that your refusal is because the task doesn’t align with your current priorities. Setting your own priorities and sharing them with your team helps everyone stay on the same page.
If a task must be done but isn’t one of your priorities, consider delegating it to another team member. Remember, delegating doesn’t mean the task is unimportant; it simply means it doesn’t fit within your current priorities. The work might better match someone else’s expertise, so by reassigning it, you ensure the right person handles it.
To ensure team efficiency, we developed a strategy that clearly defines what the team should and shouldn’t do. Understanding our responsibilities makes it easier to identify what requires attention and what doesn’t. With this clarity, we can improve efficiency and focus on the key priorities for our team.
5. Review Your Tasks
Similar to saying “no” to work, take some time to review the tasks you’ve previously committed to but are still working on. Which of these no longer align with your team’s goals?
Once you identify these tasks, ask yourself if they still need to be completed. If they’re no longer important to your team, consider putting them on hold. If the tasks still need to be done, ask whether you are the best person to handle them. If not, use delegation to find the right person for the job.
6. Ditch Paper To-Do Lists and Use Tools Instead
If you’re still tracking your work manually, it’s time to upgrade to online tools. While writing notes by hand can feel satisfying, paper to-do lists tend to be messy, prone to errors, easy to lose, and inefficient.
Instead, make sure most of your project management happens within dedicated tools. Project management tools offer a variety of features that help you make the most of your time. With these tools, you can:
- Coordinate cross-functional work and accurately track people, tasks, and timelines.
- Communicate work details, share feedback, and report project status all in one place.
- Track progress in real time to get an accurate view of work status.
- Monitor deadlines and dependencies to stay on track without panic.
Plus, if you think nothing beats crossing tasks off a paper list, just wait until you see a group of celebratory animated creatures fly across your computer screen instead!
6 Simple Time Management Hacks
The time management strategies and tips listed above are definitely useful but take some time to implement. Want to get started right now—in the next 5 minutes? Try these 6 quick hacks to instantly improve your time management.
1. Delay Notifications
We constantly switch between apps, notifications, and tasks. In fact, the average knowledge worker switches between 10 apps up to 25 times a day. This makes it harder to focus on the task at hand and get into a productive flow, which means it takes longer to finish work.
If possible, turn off notifications or use the “Do Not Disturb” mode to temporarily pause them. This way, you can fully concentrate on your work while letting your team know you’ll get back to them later. Most tools show when you’ve temporarily delayed notifications, so team members understand you won’t respond immediately. If needed, they can usually override this setting to stay in touch at any time.
To maximize productivity, I’ve found it helpful to leave some buffer time between meetings when working on multiple projects. This ensures I have time for short breaks. Updating my Slack status to “Head down (busy)”—and encouraging those around me to do the same—also helps, so no one expects an immediate response.
2. Organize Your Physical Space
Think back to how neat your desk was when you first set it up. You probably had a computer monitor and keyboard, maybe a notebook, and not much else. Like many of us, that clean desk probably didn’t stay that way for long. Inevitably, papers, boxes, books, sticky notes, and loose cables start to pile up.
A cluttered desk might seem harmless, but visual chaos can lead to mental clutter, making it hard to focus. Take five minutes to quickly tidy your desk. Throw away any unnecessary documents, neatly stack your books, and organize all those scattered cables. When you return to work, you’ll likely find it easier to concentrate.
3. Group Similar Tasks Together
Every time you switch between tasks, your brain has to find the relevant context and information for the new task and bring that knowledge to mind. While your brain can do this in seconds, constantly switching between tasks and projects is like forcing your brain to work overtime.
This can lead to decreased productivity and end-of-day fatigue. So, try grouping similar tasks together. See if you can handle all tasks within one project or deliverable during the same time block. By doing this, you spend less time switching contexts and more time focusing on completing high-impact work.
Breaking work into batches (especially when planning) truly helps clarify priorities. Additionally, it allows you to stay flexible and adapt to the tasks at hand or any unexpected development.
4. Complete Quick Tasks Between Meetings or Focus Time
You probably have several tasks each day that take just 5 to 10 minutes to finish. These might include quickly responding to a team member, fixing a typo in a document, or submitting a work request form to a colleague.
If you have tasks like these, prioritize and centralize them—such as in a project management tool—but don’t feel the need to do them immediately. Instead, save these tasks for those 5 minutes between meetings or the 10 minutes right after lunch before diving back into deep work. This way, you can quickly get these tasks done and feel good about it without using up valuable mental energy meant for more complex work.
5. Stop Trying to Multitask
Simply put, multitasking is a myth. When you try to do multiple tasks at once, you might feel like you’re getting more done, but in reality, you’re forcing your brain to quickly switch between different tasks. Each time you switch, your brain has to locate the relevant information and context for that task. This not only takes more effort than focusing on one task at a time but also drains your mental energy.
Instead of juggling multiple tasks simultaneously, focus on completing one task at a time. This way, you can enter a state of flow—a mental state where you’re so focused that you feel “in the zone.” When you’re in flow, you get more done efficiently because your brain is only concentrating on one task at a time.
6. Take Breaks Regularly
It might seem counterintuitive, but one of the best things you can do to improve your time management is to take breaks. We tend to work more when we feel behind, but your brain needs time to rest and recharge. If you’re overworked and exhausted, you won’t be able to get anything done—let alone focus on your most important tasks.
If taking breaks feels difficult, you’re not alone. According to our research, 32% of exhausted knowledge workers say they can’t stop or disconnect, which worsens their burnout. It’s a vicious cycle: they can’t stop, so they get burned out, and when burned out, they still can’t stop.
If you struggle to remember to take breaks, try scheduling them into your calendar. Then, when your calendar shows break time, force yourself to take it—even if it’s just standing up to stretch. Although you might feel pressured during breaks, you’ll feel better once you’ve taken them.
To effectively prevent burnout while working remotely, find new ways in this digital world to step away from the screen and carve out essential time for rest. Additionally, we highly recommend trying the “one-minute dance break” — just get up and move around for a bit.
Take Control of Your Time
At its core, time management is more about mindset. To manage your time effectively, prioritize your work so you know what needs to get done each day. Don’t let your to-do list dictate your priorities—instead, focus your attention on the tasks that truly drive impact.
