Time management is something that billionaire entrepreneurs will never invest in. They understand that their time is limited and they need to use it wisely. Instead, they delegate tasks and focus on the most important things. That’s why they’re successful. It is more about managing task, not time.
Smarter not harder.
Task management is not about working harder, it’s about working smarter. And that’s something that billionaires understand. So if you’re looking to get ahead in life, don’t bother with time management, focus on Task Management. Focus on the things that matter, that we can control and delegate the rest. That’s the secret to success.
Over the past 30+ years of my leadership development and coaching, I have really come to understand that there is no such thing really called “time management”, instead, it is really “task Management”. No one has really managed time, time happens second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour. We do and should manage then task that take place within this time of ours. That we can manage.
Where did the whole Get better at Time management even come from?
It is a byproduct of the industrialization of our world. Time became money. Time was allocated and thought to be managed so that organizations could be more productive, make more money and Time management became an important function within these organizations. We then took this thinking outside of the workplace into our personal lives in order to “get more done”, have a “better work/life balance”, and be more “productive”. Time management thinking and tools became popularized in the 80s and 90s with books like Time Power by Brian Tracy and books on Time Management from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
The problem is that Time cannot be managed, but Tasks can.
Let me explain with an example:
You have a meeting at 10 am that is going to last 1 hour, in your Time Management system, you block out this time in your calendar as “In Meeting” from 10-11 am. The problem is that during this time, other things come up, either things that you forgot about or things that just pop up. You may start thinking about an upcoming project, or you remember that you need to call your Mom. These are all tasks that need to be done, but cannot be done during this meeting. So, in your Time Management system, you now have a bunch of little tasks floating around that are taking up your mental energy, but you can’t do anything about them because you are “In a Meeting”. Has your Time Management system really helped you?
Free Yourself Up with better Task Management.
A better way would be to have a Task Management system in place where you capture these tasks as they come up, in a central location, so that you can forget about them until the meeting is over. Then, when the meeting is over, you can look at your Task Management system and decide what the next best task is to do. This take the mental burden off of you during the meeting, so that you can focus on the meeting, and it allows you to make a more informed decision on what the next best task is to do when the meeting is over. Time Management systems try to make us more productive by managing our time, but they actually have the opposite effect because they take up our mental energy and cause us stress.
Task Management systems make us more productive by allowing us to offload the mental burden of remembering everything that we need to do, so that we can focus on the task at hand and make more informed decisions on what the next best task is to do.
If you want to be more productive, ditch the Time Management system and invest in a good Task Management system. Your mind will thank you for it.
What are some great Task Management Systems?
I’m a big fan of the Getting Things Done (GTD) system from David Allen. It is a simple, but effective system that can be adapted to fit anyone’s workflow.
Another great option is Asana, which is a task management tool that is designed for teams. It is great for tracking tasks and keeping everyone on the same page.
One of my preferred task management systems that is effective, easy, and can be used my many teams and team members is Trello. It’s a simple, effective way to track tasks and manage projects.
So, if you’re looking to get ahead in life, focus on investing in a good task management system. It will save you time, energy, and stress in the long run.
How to really determine the task that you should focus on to be effective.
The Eisenhower Matrix is a popular tool for helping people to prioritize their tasks. It was created by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and it is based on the following premise:
There are two types of tasks: those that are important and those that are urgent. Important tasks are those that contribute to our long-term goals, while urgent tasks are those that are time-sensitive and require immediate attention.
The Eisenhower Matrix helps us to prioritize our tasks by classifying them into 4 quadrants:
Quadrant 1: Urgent and Important
These are the tasks that we need to focus on because they are both urgent and important. These are the tasks that contribute to our long-term goals and need to be done ASAP.
Quadrant 2: Important, but Not Urgent
These are the tasks that contribute to our long-term goals, but they are not time-sensitive. We need to focus on these tasks, but we don’t need to do them right away.
Quadrant 3: Urgent, but Not Important
These are the tasks that are time-sensitive, but they don’t contribute to our long-term goals. We need to do these tasks, but we shouldn’t spend too much time on them.
Quadrant 4: Not Urgent and Not Important
These are the tasks that are neither urgent nor important. We don’t need to focus on these tasks and we can delegate them or eliminate them altogether.
The Eisenhower Matrix is a great tool for helping us to prioritize our tasks so that we can focus on the things that are truly important.
Investing in a Time Management system is a waste of time, focus on a Task Management system instead to be productive. Time management systems take up our mental energy and cause us stress, while task management systems make us more productive by allowing us to offload the mental burden of remembering everything that we need to do. If you want to be more productive, invest in a good task management system.
Please leave what system you currently use or are looking at to use in nthe comments section of this post.
Some potential task management apps to look at would be:
-Trello
-Asana
-Eisenhower
-Wunderlist
-Google Keep
-Any.do
-Todoist
-Habitica
-Workflowy
-Remember the milk
These should be a good start for you. Enjoy.
In conclusion,
if you want to be more productive, focus on investing in a good task management system. Time management systems are a waste of time and energy, while task management systems make us more productive by allowing us to offload the mental burden of remembering everything that we need to do. If you want to be more productive, invest in a good task management system.
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