Time Management Apps and Techniques Getting the Most Out of Your Day with Tech Tools

What Is Time Management?

Overall, you start feeling more in control, with the confidence to choose how best to use your time.

And by feeling happier, more relaxed, and better able to think, you're in a great place to help others reach their targets, too.

How to Improve Your Time-Management Skills

Start by assessing your existing approach. How good are you at organizing your time so that you get the important things done well? Can you balance your time between different activities? And when you do make time to do something, are you able to focus and get it finished?

Our quiz, How Good Is Your Time Management, will show you what you're getting right, as well as highlight where and how you can improve.

Tip:

Good time management takes a shift in focus from activities to results. Being busy isn't the same as being effective. In fact, for many people, the busier they are, the less they actually achieve.

General Time-Management Tools

Mind Tools has a range of resources designed to improve your time management overall. These offer practical solutions to common time-management challenges, as well as ways to change key habits for the better.

How to Be More Organized explains why your environment needs to be as organized as your thinking! There are practical tips from highly organized people, plus ideas for using technology to take more control of your time.

And, since good time management relies on planning, recording and reflecting on your activities, we explain some of the best-known tools for doing this, including Activity Logs, To-Do Lists and Action Programs.

Prioritization

You can achieve more when you start dedicating time to the right things. But how do you know what those things are?

Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle is a way to distinguish between demands, so that you prioritize them wisely.

The Action Priority Matrix includes a downloadable worksheet for exploring how much time to give to different activities (if you should be doing them at all!).

And our article, Managing Conflicting Priorities, explains what to do if priorities clash.

Scheduling

You may know what you need to do but when should you do it? Timing is everything.

It pays to get tough tasks done while youre still feeling fresh, for example, as we explain in Is This a "Morning" Task?

And you can boost your efficiency, gain peoples trust, and use adrenaline to your advantage, by reading How to Meet a Deadline.

Goal Setting

The most successful "time managers" have clear targets to aim for. They develop SMART Goals, allowing them to allocate their time effectively.

Treasure Mapping is a powerful way to see your goals clearly so that you're motivated to give them the time they need. Personal Mission Statements are also helpful for being organized and staying committed to your plans.

Concentration and Focus

It's no good just making the time to pursue your priorities. You have to use that time well, too. We have a collection of resources devoted to doing just that, including advice on minimizing distractions, and getting into a focused state of "flow."

There's also detailed guidance on using your time well when you're working from home, and when you're doing your job on the move.

Help With Better Time Management

Even with the best intentions, and plenty of powerful tactics, it's all too easy to fall back into bad time-management habits. So Mind Tools offers a number of resources that will help you to stay on track.

How to Stop Procrastinating, for example, explains why it's so tempting to put things off and how to stop doing it.

9 Ways to Use Your Dead Time Wisely makes sure that you don't waste a moment.

And in Self-Discipline we explore the core skills you'll need to embed long-lasting time-management techniques.

Quick Tips for Time Management

The resources mentioned above cover a wide range of tried and true time management strategies. But if you need a few quick pointers, here's a list of 10 practical time management tips:

• Prioritize Your Tasks: Differentiate between what's important and urgent, versus what's not. Focus on tasks that are both important and urgent first.
• Use Tools and Apps: Utilize productivity tools and apps to help manage your tasks, schedule your day, set reminders, etc.
• Set SMART Goals: Set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This provides clear direction and makes tasks more manageable.
• Time Blocking: Dedicate specific blocks of time to different tasks or types of work throughout your day. This can help reduce context switching and improve focus.
• Delegate When Possible: If there are tasks that can be done by someone else, delegate them. This allows you to focus on the tasks that require your specific skillset.
• Avoid Multitasking: Multitasking often leads to mistakes and decreased productivity. Instead, focus on one task at a time until it's completed.
• Create a Structured Daily Routine: Having a set routine can help ensure that you're making the most of your day and not wasting time deciding what to do next.
• Minimize Interruptions: Try to create an environment where you're not constantly being interrupted. This might involve setting office hours, using "do not disturb" mode on your phone, or setting boundaries with colleagues.
• Take Care of Your Health: Remember to get regular exercise, eat healthily, and get plenty of sleep. These factors can have a significant impact on your energy levels and overall productivity.
• Regularly Review and Reflect on Your Work: Take time at the end of each week to review what you've accomplished and identify any challenges you faced. This can help you continually improve your productivity strategies and make necessary adjustments for the upcoming week. This process of self-reflection can help you identify time sinks, and efficiency gaps, or prioritize tasks better for future planning.

Remember, different strategies work for different people. It can be helpful to experiment with different approaches to see what works best for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is time management and why is it important? Time management is the process of organizing and planning how to allocate your time between different tasks and activities. It allows you to work smarter, not harder, leading to greater productivity and reduced stress.

How can I assess my current time management skills? Our quiz, How Good Is Your Time Management, can provide insights into areas you excel in and where you may need improvement.

Is being busy the same as being productive? No. Good time management is about shifting focus from mere activities to actual results. It's possible to be busy and still not achieve meaningful outcomes.

What tools I can use to improve my time management? Some tools to help you manage your time better include Activity Logs, To-Do Lists, and Action Programs.

How do I prioritize tasks when everything seems important? Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle can help you to categorize and prioritize tasks based on their urgency and importance.

How can I minimize distractions and maintain focus? Create an environment free from unnecessary distractions. This might include setting boundaries with colleagues, using "do not disturb" modes on electronic devices, and committing to a single task rather than multitasking. It's also beneficial to understand your peak productivity times during the day and schedule challenging tasks accordingly.

Key Points

Time management means organizing your time intelligently so that you use it more effectively.

The benefits of good time management include:

• Greater productivity.
• Less stress.
• More opportunities to do the things that matter.

Mind Tools offers a wealth of resources to improve your time-management skills. They can help you to:

• Be more organized.
• To prioritize better.
• To schedule tasks appropriately and complete them in a focused and efficient way.

Our resources also explain how to use clear goals to guide your time management, helping you to stay motivated and disciplined.

And there's advice on overcoming common time-management challenges, so that you keep improving your approach and using your time to the full!

12 time management tools and techniques that actually work

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Whether its in your personal life or your professional sphere, you must master the art of efficient time management if you want to get things done.

Fortunately, with the right combination of time management tools and techniques, you can organize your time, boost productivity, avoid missed deadlines, and become a time management ninja in no time.

In this article, well show you seven effective time management techniques and five powerful time management tools you can start using today.

This article contains:

(Click on the links below to jump to a specific section)

Lets get started.

7 effective time management techniques

Here are seven proven time management strategies for people who need help getting things done:

1. Pomodoro technique

This time management technique, created by Francesco Cirillo, uses a timer to divide your work into 25-minute intervals. We call each interval a Pomodoro, after the tomato-shaped timer that Cirillo also created.

The Pomodoro technique teaches you to set goals and achieve them.

How it works

• Determine which task you want to accomplish.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes.
• Start the timer and concentrate on one task until the timer rings.
• Take a five-minute break. Go for a jog, have a coffee, or do something else thats non-work-related.
• Then, set your timer for another 25-minute session and focus on another specific task.
• Repeat the process four times.
• The fifth time you start the process, you can take longer breaks of 20-30 minutes between each Pomodoro (25 minute session.)

2. Eisenhower Matrix

Learning to prioritize your most important task is an important time management skill, and this time management strategy can help you do that.

The Eisenhower Matrix was created by former American President Dwight Eisenhower when he was a commander in the army during World War II.

Due to the difficult decisions he had to make daily, he created this time management matrix to help him with prioritizing, deleting, and delegating tasks based on importance.

How it works

• Organize your tasks into four separate quadrants
  • Urgent tasks and important tasks/ projects to be completed first.
  • Not urgent and important tasks/projects to be scheduled on your calendar.
  • Urgent and unimportant tasks/projects to delegate to someone else.
  • Not urgent and unimportant tasks/projects that you can delete.

3. Eat That Frog

Brian Tracy developed this time management technique with a simple premise: tackle your hardest and most important task first every morning.

The idea came from the Mark Twain quote, Eat a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

In his popular 2001 book Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Tracy says your action plan should focus on impact.

How it works

• Decide on your biggest goal and what you want to achieve most. Then, write it down.
• Define your key performance indicators.
• Set a deadline.
• Make a list of the things you need to do to achieve your goal, and order the list according to priority. Whatevers first on the list are your frogs.
• Tackle your frogs first. If you have more than one frog, tackle the hardest, worst ones first.
• Do something the first thing every morning that moves you toward your goal. This way, no matter what happens later in the day, you know youve made progress towards your most important goal.

4. Time blocking

The time blocking technique involves planning out each hour of your day in advance and dedicating specific time blocks for various tasks and responsibilities.

Unlike timeboxing that limits the amount of time you spend on each activity, time blocking only reserves time in your day for a specific task how long you reserve is up to you.

How it works

• On a paper, write down blocks of time for each hour of the day. Your time blocks can be any amount of time you choose. For example, each time block can be 30 minutes, or it can be 1 hour its up to you.
• Estimate how much time youre going to take to complete each task and enter the task names into time blocks.
• So, you could divide your entire day into 30-minute time blocks and assign the first 30-minute block to eat breakfast.
• Then assign one or more 30-minute time blocks to other tasks you need to accomplish that day.
• Add buffer times between a few time blocks to allow for unexpected delays and tasks that unexpectedly take a lot of time.

Remember to assign your most important tasks to the time of day when youre most productive, like in the morning. Then, assign the less important tasks to the time of day when your energy levels arent as high.

5. Rapid Planning Method (RPM)

Heres a time management strategy that aims to train your brain to focus on a vision of what you want. Its proven highly effective in helping people achieve their long-term goals.

How it works

• This time management system involves writing down the tasks you need to accomplish in the week.
• Then chunk and group your tasks together based on commonalities- for example, group items that are personal, group career-related tasks, etc.
• Create your own RPM blocks by dividing a sheet of paper into three columns:
  • The task
  • The result you want from completing that task
  • The purpose for completing it
• Then, list the actions you can take to accomplish the tasks.

6. 80/20 Rule (Pareto analysis)

Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created this time management technique on the premise that 20% of actions are responsible for 80% of outcomes .

The aim is to help you prioritize your tasks based on what will have the biggest impact and get you closer to achieving your significant goals.

How it works

• List some of the issues or problems you have to address.
• Determine the root cause of each.
• Assign a score to each issue based on their importance the more important thing would have a higher score.
• Group similar tasks and problems together based on the root cause.
• Add up the score for each group.
• The group with the highest score is the issue you should tackle first.

7. SMART goal system

The SMART acronym stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound. Its a good time management technique for people who have a larger goal that they want to achieve.

How it works

• Specific: Clearly and concisely define your goals so you know exactly what you need to do.
• Measurable: Use metrics, numbers, or smaller tasks that can help you measure your goals.
• Achievable /Attainable: Ensure that your goals are realistic and achievable.
• Relevant: Ensure that your goals align with your projects, different tasks, and long-term plans. You also need to set manageable tasks.
• Time-Bound: Make sure that your goals dont take too long. Set time limits with a specific deadline.

To set SMART goals, you can either set SMART goals templates or create your own system of tracking goals.

Next, lets explore five powerful tools you can use in conjunction with these techniques to enhance your time management skills.

Here are five tools that can help skyrocket your time management efficiency:

1. Time Doctor for time tracking

Time Doctor is an industry-leading time management tool used by SMBs like Thrive Market and large companies like RE/MAX to maximize employee time and boost company productivity.

With this time tracking software, you can accurately record the time taken for all your tasks and projects in real-time. Moreover, its compatible across all devices that support Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, or Chrome operating systems.

Key features

Heres an in-depth look at this time tracker and its key features:

A. Straight-forward time tracking

Time Doctors time tracking feature lets you track your activity with a simple and user-friendly interface.

Heres how you can track time manually:

• Open the Time Doctor app and log in.
• Either create a new task or choose one from the task list.
• Click the Play button to begin tracking time.
• Time Doctor will track time while running in the background.
• Once youve completed your task or if you want to take a break, simply click on the Stop button.

You can also automatically track your time as soon as you turn on your computer.

The automatic tracking mode has no user interface and runs silently in the background as you work. This way, you wont forget to log any time entry, and you can simply focus on the task at hand.

B. Idle time tracking and distraction alerts

With Time Doctor, you can do more than just record your time. You can also track the time that youre idle throughout the day.

The app measures idle minutes (inactive minutes) as the time when a user actively tracks time but theres no keyboard or mouse activity. This way, you can get a clearer picture of your activity levels, analyze the data, and improve your productivity.

Time Doctor also helps you remain focused on the task at hand withuseful notifications in the form of distraction alerts. If youre idle for too long, an alert will pop up, asking if youre still working.

Note: Time Doctor isnt a keylogger. It only checks if youve clicked any keys or moved your mouse.

These pop-up alerts can help you self-correct unproductive behavior and improve your efficiency. Additionally, itll help you accurately calculate billable hours.

C. Detailed productivity reports

Time Doctor generates detailed productivity reports to provide insight into your computer usage and what youre spending your time on.

For instance, the web and app usage report can show you which apps and websites you use the most. You can generate this report for any date, week, month, or date range and quickly identify where youre wasting time or which social media apps you spend too much time on.

Other useful reports you can generate include:

• Timeline report: An activity log that shows the time a user spent working and the time spent on breaks in daily and weekly formats.
• Hours tracked report: Reveals how many hours a user tracked in a day, week, or within a specific date range.
• Activity summary report: Indicates the active, unproductive, manual, and mobile time for a user over a selected time range.
• Projects & tasks report: Shows the time you or an employee spends on various projects and daily tasks.

Time Doctors plans start as low as $7/user per month, with a free 14-day trial (no credit card required).

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.4/5 (260+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (390+ reviews)

2. Calendar for scheduling

Calendar is a helpful time management tool for scheduling tasks and projects, setting appointments with clients, and efficiently planning out your work day without the need for back and forth emails. Its a popular Google Calendar alternative.

Key features

• Create time slots for events and online meeting templates.
• Share calendar links with clients, employees, and anyone else.
• Anyone youve shared your calendar link with can then schedule meetings with you based on your availability.

Pricing

Calendars paid plans start at $8/user per month. Theres also a free limited plan available.

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.7/5 (40+ reviews)
• Capterra: n/a

3. Trello for task and project management

Trello is a popular task management software that uses the Kanban board technique as well as useful to do list formats. Its especially handy if youre a project manager or for work on team projects because team members can easily track task progress.

Key features

• Automate tedious tasks and workflows with Trellos Butler automation.
• Easily create a Gantt chart, Kanban visual, or time blocks for project tasks.
• Advanced checklists let you keep track of every single task within larger projects.

Pricing

Trellos paid plans start at $5/user per month. Theres also a free limited plan available.

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.4/5 (12,390+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (20,440+ reviews)

Check out our in-depth Trello review for more information.

4. Evernote for note taking

Evernote is a handy note-taking and content organization app to help you efficiently organize ideas, lists, tasks, projects, etc. It also allows you to add attachments, web clippings, and audio to your digital note.

Key features

• Save time switching between devices by syncing and organizing your notes across all your devices.
• Save any web page, online article, or PDF files using the easy-to-use web clipper functionality.
• Search for specific data within handwritten notes and photos.

Pricing

Evernote has a free basic plan for personal use. Paid plans for professional use start at $9.99/user per month.

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.4/5 (1900+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (7000+ reviews)

5. Momentum Dash for focus and inspiration

Momentum Dash is a free Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge add-on that aims to help you remain focused and motivated.

If you find it dreary staring at a computer screen all day or need help avoiding procrastination, this is the app for you.

Key features

• It shows your to-do list on your homepage. When you pull up a new tab, you get a reminder about what you should focus on.
• Receive daily inspiration in the form of quotes, mantras, and pictures on your computer.
• Lets you start each day by entering the main thing you want to accomplish into the Daily Focus section.

Pricing

Momentum Dash is free however if you want to access additional features like widgets, youll have to upgrade to Momentum Plush.

Customer ratings

• G2: 4.9/5 (10+ reviews)
• Capterra: n/a

Are you working from home or managing a remote team?

Check out our article on time management strategies to boost your productivity.

Final thoughts

Finding the right tools and adopting effective techniques are the first steps to efficient time management.

Weve given you some great time management tools and techniques to start with, and when used together, they can be even more effective.

At the end of the day, this will help you prioritize your time better, work faster and with fewer distractions, and save time for the things that matter most.

To get started, why not sign up for Time Doctors free trial and improve your time management today?

Vaishali Badgujar is a Content and SEO specialist at Time Doctor, an employee-friendly time-tracking system that boosts productivity.