reader. writer.

Time Management

Below are several resources that may help with managing time.

Over the years, I developed a collection of writings on time management that I shared with my students. I have produced them here as quick guides on specific goals related to time management, available for free for personal use only.

Weekly plans

Click here to access a blank weekly plan in PDF format similar to the image above.

Sample weekly plans: These sample weekly plans may provide ideas for how to budget time for a typical week.

Quick Tips

Embrace the challenge. This strategy feels like the opposite of my favorite, which is to break down something hard into easy steps. It just goes to show that success may not always be about taking one specific path forward but multiple ones. In this case, I let myself be motivated by the fact that something I am trying to do is hard to do, and there is something satisfying in just making the attempt. The reward for me is not the completion of something challenging, but the feeling that I am engaged in something challenging. 

Variety is the spice of life, ironic to mention when so often I find power in routine and habit. Yet sometimes I need fresh ways to tackle a task. I don’t do this all the time—too much variety slows me down, frankly. But when I feel myself wanting to avoid doing something that is nonetheless important to me, I come up with a way to do it differently, such as finding a new type of exercise, or approaching my writing differently (dictating or handwriting instead of typing, or sketching my ideas instead of using words, etc.) 

Remind yourself to use your time management tools: Lately, I’ve had to remind myself to use one of my time management tools. I continue to make the calendar on my phone my central system, but I’ve been using a digital daily calendar where I can write out goals and notes for the day, filling it out usually every Sunday. I’m fairly consistent about looking at my phone calendar, but less consistent about looking at the plan for the day. Yet it is a comfort when I do, even if I wind up erasing, rearranging, etc. It calms me down to stop thinking about everything all at once. Just look at this day and what I hope to do with it.

You can create your own habits. It takes practice, and you may have to remind yourself, but if there is something that would be helpful if you did it every day, make it a habit to do it every day. The habit of doing a small task daily is often more powerful than any amount of experience, skill, talent, or windfall. 

Pro tip: only add one habit at a time. Don’t wake up one day and attempt to add ten habits all at once. It’s unlikely to work. Focus on one habit at a time, and give yourself several weeks or more to make it stick.

Engage, take action, step back: I know I’ve mentioned how many distractions there are now, words or events calculated to shock or enrage. Every day, I have to decide how much of my attention I will spend on this chaos. Here’s what helps me most: I engage as briefly as I can with news or political analysis to absorb the basics. If I can, I identify one action I can take in response, such as attending a protest, calling a legislator, attending a training, volunteering for a good cause, etc. And then I step back because it’s a matter of cognitive/emotional survival. As in, I won’t be able to help any good cause if I allow terrible people to undermine my ability to form a coherent thought.

Focus on what is working more than what isn’t. When you can, sure, explore ways to improve. To get anything done, it helps to remind yourself of what you can do rather than to dwell constantly on what is not yet in reach.

Make it achievable. If I want to get started on any goal, I have to give myself tasks that feel achievable. That is, I can have goals that are ambitious and unwieldy, even some I may never fully attain, but if I want to make any progress, I have to give myself smaller, doable tasks that will get me one step closer to the larger goal. And, if possible, I should give myself a pat on the back each time I get that small task done, even if the huge ambitious goal is still floating somewhere in the distance ahead of me.

Journaling is a powerful tool, especially as self-coaching. Talking to myself in my journal helps me get focused and/or unpack what is getting in my way (spoiler: me, it’s me, I’m getting in my way). Even though the problems don’t vanish, working through them on paper helps open up room for me to get moving again.

Find ways to clear your head because there are always distractions. Sometimes, not having a distraction is a distraction. One strategy that helps me is to find ways to clear my head before I start work. Sometimes, it’s through physical steps, such as taking deep breaths, stretching, or tidying my workspace. Sometimes, it’s through journaling or reviewing my task lists/calendar tools just to be sure I know what I most need to do in the moment. Accept that there is only this moment now, take a breath, then get started.

If it’s important and/or something I might procrastinate, I tackle it first thing or as soon as possible. (But please also note the next strategy!!)

Don’t let a strategy that could work, such as “Do it now/do it first” lead to self-criticism. Doing something first thing can make a hard task easier. But we are organic beings, and life embraces complexity. For 1,001 reasons, you may not do something exactly how or when you meant to do it. So my follow-up strategy is this—trust yourself to return to the work. This is helping me resist the feeling of failure that arises not because I didn’t do something (I get to it one way or another!), but because I didn’t do it the way I thought I should.

Focus on why I believe what I do matters. Try it: Identify and acknowledge the intrinsic value of what you do. For me, writing is how I create and contribute. For you, is it your kindness? Your attention? Your talents? Your ideas? Your service? Your compassion? Your humor? Your friendship? Your insights? Whatever it is, recognize it, honor it, cultivate it, protect it, and channel it in positive directions.

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