What Is Time Management and Why It's Important?

In school, work, and daily life, we may encounter people who seem to have it all together. They are productive, stress-free, high achievers. But chances are, they were not born that way. Managing, organizing, and distributing time are skills that we can learn. Doing so can help you control your time and promote overall satisfaction.

Explore some tips and methods that can help you harness your time for better well-being.

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What is time management?

Time management is the process of consciously planning and controlling time spent on specific tasks to increase how efficient you are. You may be familiar with setting deadlines, writing to-do lists, and giving yourself small rewards for accomplishing certain activities.

Motivating ourselves is a core part of time management—and it takes a bit of effort not only to motivate yourself but to cultivate good habits to work and live more efficiently.

To develop good routines and habits, you can start by knowing what strategies and best practices are out there. You can experiment with them in your own life to see what works for you.

Why is time management important?

Good time management can lead to a healthy, balanced lifestyle that may manifest as:

• Reducing stress

• Increasing energy

• Achieving goals more efficiently

• Prioritizing what's important

• Accomplishing more in less time

• Reducing procrastination

• Boosting confidence

• Getting further in your career or education

Awareness, arrangement, adaptation

At the core of time management methods are the basic skills of awareness, arrangement, and adaptation. This means being mindful of your time, structuring it, and adjusting it as you go is the secret to effective time management. Executives now point to behavioral skills as the most important for the modern workforce, with “time management skills and the ability to prioritize” ranking second in IBM’s skills gap survey [2].

Use apps to block out distractions.

Sometimes, rewards and good intentions are not enough to keep us focused. An app or browser extension can help you minimize distractions by blocking you from using social media or touching your phone. Some apps and extensions you can try include:

• Forest is an app that helps you stay focused and off your phone. The company partners with an organization called Trees for the Future to plant trees when you spend virtual coins earned in Forest.

• StayFocused is a browser extension that prevents you from using time-wasting websites like Reddit, Twitter, Wikipedia, Instagram, and more. It’s highly configurable, so you can customize it to your specific distractions.

• Freedom is a tool that can block websites and apps on all of your devices simultaneously. Take advantage of its free trial to see if it’s right for you.

Try an app to help you focus

Download Pomodor on your desktop or the Focus Keeper app for your phone.

How to create a time management strategy

Now that you know more about time management, it’s time to create a strategy. You might experiment with several techniques before establishing the most effective long-term habits and routines. 

Establish goals and priorities.

Consider your lifestyle, whether you are a student or a working professional (or both), whether you have a family or aspire to become a digital nomad (or both!). Think of your long- and short-term goals for your career and personal development. Make sure the goals are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. What will it take to achieve them? How can you manage your time to maximize your productivity?

Once you have established your goals, prioritize them in order of importance. Visualizing them using Post-its or pen and paper may be helpful.

Choose the best method for you.

Using the list of tips above, decide upon a method or two to implement. Based on what has worked for you in the past, you can mix and match different time management skills. If you are unsure which ones will work for you, pick one randomly and try it.

Plan and implement.

Apply your chosen method over a period of time. A month is typically enough time to evaluate whether a strategy is working. Over 30 days, monitor your progress. Take notes on how you feel after one or two weeks. Was one method more effective than the other? 

Take action today

Use a physical planner, Google calendar, or a simple notebook to set your monthly and weekly goals. For daily tasks, write a to-do list every morning with achievable (Swiss Cheese) goals. Feel free to buffer your days for flexibility and sprinkle in plenty of little rewards.

Reassess.

After one month of your new time management methods, it’s time to reassess. What’s working? What’s not working? Adjust your strategy and plan to be more effective. Continue to practice these habits each month, adapting them as your priorities change. What works for you when you are a student may not be the same as when you start a new job.

Remember, practicing time management is an ongoing process, and life happens. It’s about progress, not perfection.

Learn time management skills on Coursera.

With Coursera Plus, you can learn and earn credentials at your own pace from over 170 leading companies and universities. You’ll gain access to over 10,000 programs with a monthly or annual subscription. Check the course page to confirm your selection is included.  

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