Time Management

Learning outcomes:

• Compare at least three time management systems and describe which types of learners each works best for
• Apply a time management technique to a current workload and evaluate whether it improved productivity
• Identify personal roadblocks to productivity such as procrastination or difficulty focusing and describe strategies to address them

Key Takeaways:

• Time management is not about doing more; it's about making intentional choices about where your attention goes
• No single system works for everyone; the goal is to find what actually works for how you think and live, then stick with it
• External tools like calendars, reminders, and accountability check-ins are not cheating; they are the same tools professionals use
• Protecting focused time for deep work and saving easier tasks for low-energy periods prevents the last-minute crunch
• Starting a time management system before you're overwhelmed is much easier than trying to fix a crisis already in progress

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• Why time management matters
• It is important to optimize your efforts
• We all have busy lives with things we need to do and things we want to do, and it's unlikely you have time to get everything you need and want to do done
• Prioritization can help make sure you're getting the things you need to done instead of wasting time
• Managing your time well can help with stress and anxiety because you are making strides toward doing what you need to do and not just thinking about everything in a stress spiral of doom
• If you organize your time well it can help your work/life balance because you aren't wasting as much time worrying about your to-do lis
• The importance of time management
• How to select something that works for you
• You need to try anything that seems reasonable for time management suggestions or systems
• There isn't a way to figure out if it works for you without trying, make sure you give the trial long enough that it gets past any initial excitement
• However, make sure you have a reasonable trial period, (1 day to 1 week) and have something measurable to decide if it works
• Try adding a check-in to your calendar to remind you that it's time to figure out if the method you selected is actually working
• Think about the pros and cons while having an honest introspective look at yourself. If you know you are really bad at something don't pick a system that relies on that thing
• You are trying to reduce friction and get more done better, not be a different person
• Don't just say "I'll try harder" that doesn't help anyone, try something different
• 9 Proven Time Management Techniques and Tools | USAHS
• 8 Time Management Tips for students from Harvard
• Getting things done (GTD)
• A way to get things from your head to a list, so you don't waste brain power trying to remember everything
• This system has 5 steps in the framework, Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect, Engage
• Pros: Structured approach, good for not worrying about remembering everything since the to-do list is not an internal mental one
• Cons: Large initial implementation time commitment, needs constant maintenance
• WARNING: If you are a procrastinator, you can spend more time organizing than doing so this might not be a good system for you
• Pomodoro technique
• Breaks everything down into timed intervals with short breaks
• Timer is usually 25min of work, 5 min break, after every 4 intervals of work take a longer break
• Designed to help focus on a task without interruptions taking advantage of attention spans
• Pros: Focus and productivity is easier with a time limit, good for procrastinators, can help with burn out since there are regular breaks
• Cons: Tough for teams or situations where interruptions are frequent, can interrupt a deep concentration, needs some discipline to stick to your timers
• WARNING: If you tend to fall into focus for long periods of time to get your best work done, this will annoy the heck out of you
• Bullet journal (BuJo)
• This can be a physical or digital journal, this is a very flexible system
• Some people like making them pretty, some don't care, do what works for you
• The more official rules include things like an index, future log, monthly log and daily logs, but this can be done however you want
• Pros: VERY customizable, allows creativity and the ability to make it work for you however you want
• Cons: It can be easy to ignore your tasks, it's easy to all into the trap of making it so pretty you do that instead of work
• WARNING: if you like stationary this can be an expensive habit. Ask me how I know
• Most Important Thing (MIT)
• Looks at the 1-3 most important tasks for the day
• Pros: Doing the important or high impact stuff first can encourage you to do more, this can show clear progress, very specific high value stuff gets done
• Cons: Prioritization shifts are an issue, your most important task might be too large to get done in the time you have, you may be in an environment where only getting 1-3 things done isn't enough
• WARNING: Easy to do one thing, pat yourself on the back for job well done and then go back to your enjoyable thing of choice like video games instead of getting everything you need to done
• Consider adapting this to work with other methods by using this to help prioritization in another time management technique
• Calendars
• You can use a calendar to block out due dates
• You can use them to block out study time
• One good use of a calendar is to plan out your day/week so you can see exactly what's going on with your time, if you feel like you have no time for anything you can record what you're doing to see where it's going
• Make sure to include incidentals, so if you add in a work day, don't forget to include transit time
• Taking care of yourself including hygiene, sleep and food are good to include on your plan, as well as some relaxation time
• Make sure to give yourself some extra padding time if possible, such as over estimating how long work will take so you aren't stuck at the last minute
• Calendar Management: Aligning Energy And Productivity
• Software suggestions
• For some people having an app or software to implement your time management strategy can be helpful
• Kanban style boards
• It's like a visual to-do list using cards for items, usually broken down into three categories, to do, in progress and done
• Trello, Notion, and other kanban style applications
• Calendar tools
• Google, Samsung, Apple, or any other digital calendar
• Any timer or clock, but separate apps can include reminders for breaks at appropriate intervals
• You can also use software to help track what you're actually doing vs what you think you are doing to help you guess how long things take
• Procrastination
• Lie to yourself about deadlines
• Set all due dates several hours/days in advance
• Tell yourself there is no flexibility and everything is a firm deadline
• Be careful you don't start thinking of all due dates as flexible, or get inured to them and miss something
• Consider bribery
• Reasonable small treats for completing things such as 10min of video games for every 30min of work done
• Try setting up an easy thing to do before stopping for the day so you can jump right into something not difficult to help with the mental block of not knowing what to do
• Be careful you don't fall down the rabbit hole of prioritizing organization over doing the actual thing you need to do
• Overcoming Procrastination suggestions by Johns Hopkins University
• Procrastination suggestions and learning modules by Centre for Clinical Interventions Australia
• Why We Procrastinate: The Psychology of Putting Things Off by McLean Hospital
• Other road blocks
• How to help if you struggle with executive function 15 Tips to Improve Executive Function
• Suggestions if you have difficulty focusing 10 Practical Ways To Improve Your Focus At Work
• Check-ins with someone to hold yourself accountable and get your work done on time
• No is a whole sentence. Think about your personal priorities and what is reasonable to say no to
• Review your days/weeks so you can figure out if you're wasting time on unexpected things or spending more time on something than you think
• Body Doubling, Consider music or audio books in the background (not new ones) things you're familiar with as a way to mimic body doubling

Suggested Activities and Discussion Topics:

• Activity: Listen to This Podcast That was created using AI from these materials. Transcript for the Podcast What are your thoughts? Did the AI do a good job representing the materials? Did you find any mistakes? What about the transcript in Spanish, was this a good translation? This should take about 20–25 minutes.
• Activity: Go through This AI generated study guide, what do you think? Did it capture the week materials well? How did you do on the self quiz? Do you know all the vocab used?
• Activity: Go through this AI-generated key terms list for this module. How many of the terms did you already know? Were there any definitions you would update or expand based on the lecture notes? Did the AI miss any important terms? This should take about 10–15 minutes.
• Activity: Try a short trial session of the Pomodoro Technique. Set a timer for 25 minutes of focused work on a current assignment, followed by a 5-minute required break. Did this help? What did you think? Did you get anything done? What worked and what didn't? This should take about 30–35 minutes.
• Activity: Using a calendar tool (Any calendar tool), build a personalized schedule for your upcoming week. Make sure you explicitly allocate time for incidentals such as transit time, prep time, and necessary self-care activities (sleep, hygiene, food, and relaxation) to ensure balance. Don't forget to also incorporate buffer time in your plan. Include any due dates or other important things for the semester. How long did this take to set up? What reminders did you include and why? This should take about 30–45 minutes.
• Activity: Try a free tool like Trello, Notion, or even just draw it, to create a personal Kanban board (a visual to-do list). You are required to use at least three columns (e.g., "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done") and move task through the stages to visualize your workflow and track progress. Try setting this up for assignments in your current classes, or a project at work. How long did it take you to set up? Don't forget to break down the project into manageable pieces. Would you try this again? This should take about 30–45 minutes.
• Activity: Try a structured, short-duration (e.g., 20 or 30 minutes) "body doubling" session, either in-person or virtually. During the session, work silently on separate tasks in the presence of a supportive partner to enhance focus and motivation. If a partner is unavailable, you can attempt to mimic the effect by listening to familiar music or audiobooks in the background. After ask yourself (and your partner if you have one) about their thoughts. Did this help? Were you more productive? Did you stay on task? Would you try this again? This should take about 20–30 minutes.
• Activity: Choose an AI tool of your choice such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. Describe your current week to the AI, including how many classes you have, any part-time job or other commitments, and any upcoming deadlines, and ask it to create a sample weekly schedule using one of the time management methods covered in this module. Read through the schedule it produces and evaluate it honestly: Is it realistic for your actual life? Did it account for things like commute time, sleep, or meals? What did it get right and what would need to change before you could actually use it? This should take about 5–10 minutes.
• Activity: Conduct a time audit for one full day. Before the day starts, write down what you plan to do and estimate how long each thing will take. At the end of the day, record what you actually did and how long it actually took. Compare the two lists: Where were your estimates accurate? Where were they off, and in which direction: did things take longer or shorter than expected? What does this tell you about how you plan your time, and what would you adjust in your next schedule? This should take about 15–20 minutes to set up; allow one full day to complete.
• Activity: Identify one recurring task in your life that you regularly put off or lose time to, such as responding to emails, starting assignments, household tasks, or anything else you frequently avoid. Using strategies from this module, design a specific system for handling it: When will you do it? How long will you block for it? What accountability or reminder will you use? Try the system for one week, then evaluate: Did it help? Did you actually follow it? What would you adjust? This should take about 20–30 minutes to set up; allow one week to evaluate.
• Discussion: Think about the time management strategies covered in this module. Have you tried any of them before, or something similar? What worked, and what didn't? What do you think is the biggest barrier to actually sticking with a time management system over weeks or months, rather than just the first few days after you start? What would it take for a method to actually become a habit?
• Discussion: Most time management advice assumes people have roughly similar control over their schedules and energy. But many students work multiple jobs, care for family members, or manage health conditions that affect their focus and availability in unpredictable ways. How should time management strategies adapt to those realities? What does "realistic" time management actually look like for someone whose schedule is largely outside their own control? What advice from this module still applies, and what doesn't?

Related modules you might find useful:

• How to Solve Large Problems
• How to Study
• How to Collaborate as a Team

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