Time management
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Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount
of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or
productivity. It is a juggling act of various demands of study, social life, employment, family,
and personal interests and commitments with the finiteness of time. Using time effectively gives
the person "choice" on spending/ managing activities at their own time and expediency.[1]
It is a meta-activity with the goal to maximize the overall benefit of a set of other activities
within the boundary condition of a limited amount of time, as time itself cannot be managed
because it is fixed. Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques
used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects, and goals complying with a
due date. Initially, time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually
the term broadened to include personal activities as well. A time management system is a
designed combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. Time management is usually
a necessity in any project development as it determines the project completion time and scope.
The major themes arising from the literature on time management include the following:
Creating an environment conducive to effectiveness
Setting of priorities
Carrying out activity around prioritization.
The related process of reduction of time spent on non-priorities
Incentives to modify behavior to ensure compliance with time-related deadlines.
Time management is related to different concepts such as:
Project management: Time management can be considered to be a project management
subset and is more commonly known as project planning and project scheduling. Time
management has also been identified as one of the core functions identified in project
management.[2]
Attention management relates to the management of cognitive resources, and in particular
the time that humans allocate their mind (and organize the minds of their employees) to
conduct some activities.
Organizational time management is the science of identifying, valuing and reducing time cost
wastage within organizations. It identifies, reports and financially values sustainable time,
wasted time and effective time within an organization and develops the business case to convert
wasted time into productive time through the funding of products, services, projects or initiatives
at a positive return on investment.
Creating an effective environment[edit]
Some[which?] time-management literature stresses tasks related to the creation of an environment
conducive to "real" effectiveness. These strategies include principles such as:
"get organized" - the triage of paperwork and of tasks
"protecting one's time" by insulation, isolation and delegation
"achievement through goal-management and through goal-focus" - motivational emphasis
"recovering from bad time-habits" - recovery from underlying psychological problems, e.g.
procrastination
Writers[who?] on creating an environment for effectiveness refer to such matters as having a tidy
office or home for unleashing creativity, and the need to protect "prime time". Literature [which?] also
focuses on overcoming chronic psychological issues such as procrastination.
Excessive and chronic inability to manage time effectively may result from Attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or attention deficit disorder (ADD).[3][citation needed] Diagnostic criteria
include a sense of underachievement, difficulty getting organized, trouble getting started, trouble
managing many simultaneous projects, and trouble with follow-through.[4][page needed] Some
authors[which?] focus on the prefrontal cortex which is the most recently evolved part of the brain. It
controls the functions of attention span, impulse control, organization, learning from experience
and self-monitoring, among others. Some authors[quantify] argue that changing the way the prefrontal
cortex works is possible and offer a solution.[5]
Setting priorities and goals[edit]
"Task list" and "To do list" redirect here. For the application in Windows XP, see Windows Task Manager.
For the 2013 American film, see The To Do List.
Time management strategies are often associated with the recommendation to set personal goals.
The literature stresses themes such as:
"Work in Priority Order" - set goals and prioritize
"Set gravitational goals" - that attract actions automatically
These goals are recorded and may be broken down into a project, an action plan, or a simple task
list. For individual tasks or for goals, an importance rating may be established, deadlines may be
set, and priorities assigned. This process results in a plan with a task list or a schedule or calendar
of activities. Authors may recommend a daily, weekly, monthly or other planning periods
associated with different scope of planning or review. This is done in various ways, as follows.
