Laying The Foundation: Time Management 1

‘At every moment in time, you are doing what you most want to do.’

A bold statement is it not? Yet, if you think about it, it is true (albeit within the limits of our opportunities). Ali Abdaal recently introduced me to this quote. Whilst I’ve heard many that get at the same thing, something in its phrasing particularly stuck with me. Perhaps it incites a negative emotion in you, but for me, it ignites a feeling of freedom. Freedom of choice, of time, of action. 

In spite of this ‘truth’, we often feel we do not spend our time in alignment with our goals. The question of how to get a grip on the passing time before us, is ever prevalent.  

I imagine time management as a prisoner’s dilemma. In this matrix that is our life, it would be optimal to spend our life in accordance with our long term desires, yet, short time desires take over and again we return to a suboptimal equilibrium. What can you do to get out of a prisoner’s dilemma? Build trust, and draw up agreements. 

This is exactly what we need to implement: Start keeping the promises you are making to yourself. Build confidence in following through on your own plans, even when no one’s watching. 

In my opinion, this is the core of effective time management. Beyond this, there are a plethora of tools and ‘hacks’ to manage your time (your life) effectively — all with their own merits and shortcomings. I’m a fan of a good bunch, and I’ll share my favorites below. But in its core, all good time management comes down to, is a good plan and the self respect to follow through. 

Useful Tools

Set intentions through journalling

Each morning I journal about the previous day, something I’m grateful for, and, more importantly, I set my intentions for the day ahead. In a section titled ‘Current Goals’ I write down how I want my day to go, what tasks I’m going to complete and in what order, and why I want to achieve these things. This helps create mental clarity and doubles as a clearly structured to-do list. Below this section, I create a bulleted list out of this plan. Every morning, I go back to the previous day to check off what I achieved. 

Time blocking

A very popular tool, and for good reason. ‘Time blocking’ your tasks allows you to create a realistic to-do list. This is quite similar to the journaling habit, but the perk of time blocking in your calendar is that it gives a visual overview of your day or week. If you want to go a step further: count how many hours you have to ‘spend’ in a week. Then, distribute these over the areas you want to spend them in (e.g. 15% to working out, 20% to your social life, 45% towards work, etc.). Based on this, create your schedule.

Setting your top 3 priorities for the day

To use this tool, you need to ask yourself: Which three things would I need to complete, to make today a success. Time block at least these tasks. By consciously setting these goals, you create focus. Moreover, it alleviates some of the stress a long to-do list can induce. 

To Be Continued…

Want to read more on this topic? I’ll be sharing a practical companion to this post, so stay tuned!

This blog was inspired by a blogpost titled ‘10 Time Management Tips To Up Your Productivity Game’ by Ali Abdaal (https://aliabdaal.com/productivity/10-time-management-tips-to-up-your-productivity-game/).