13 Resources to Master Time Management: You will Want to Bookmark Them

We all know we must manage our time well.

We all want to manage our time well.

And we all have read so much about time management that we are ready to start.

But the truth is, when we really sit down to plan our time management strategy, we feel overwhelmed because of so much we have read.

To beat this overwhelm, I have created this handy list of 13 time management resources spread across 7 time management strategies to get you started.

Setting SMART goals

If you want to ensure you reach your goals, you must set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound) goals.

Resource 1: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm (You can read two free articles per month on mind tools)

Resource 2: https://www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/the-6-steps-to-a-smart-goal/ (Tony Robbins is a motivational guru, life coach, business strategist and peak productivity guru)

Pomodoro Technique

Pomodoro technique is perfect to start focusing on your work if you find it difficult to do so. Basically, you set the timer (Pomodoro) and work for 25 minutes then take a break of 5 minutes. After four pomodoros you take a break of 15 to 20 minutes.

Resource 3: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/pomodoro-technique (Includes the story behind the name of the technique. By the way, Pomodoro means tomato in Italian) 

Resource 4: https://www.asianefficiency.com/motivation/pomodoro-technique-ultimate-guide/ (What if you want to work for more than 25 minutes at a stretch? The article discusses all about that too)

4Ds of Time Management

Do, defer, delegate and delete. These are the four Dsof time management. It is a technique to decide which task you must be done when.

Resource 5: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryancollinseurope/2018/06/14/effective-time-management/?sh=7b0cdc931938 (the article is an interesting read with lots of real life examples)

Ivy Lee Method

The Ivy League method is a task management strategy for peak productivity. 

Resource 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9xZvAmEQIY

Seinfield Method of Time Management

This is a simple strategy to stop you from procrastinating on important tasks. Just ensure that you do not break the chain!

Resource 7: https://jamesclear.com/stop-procrastinating-seinfeld-strategy 

Resource 8: https://writingcooperative.com/jerry-seinfelds-best-writing-advice-347e75ea1508 (If you are a writer, this is especially useful for you)

The Pickle Jar Theory

This really is the simplest of on time management techniques. It helps you prioritize and complete tasks in a specific order. This technique was devised by Jeremy Wright and the resource I share is an article written by him.

Resource 9: https://alistapart.com/article/pickle/

Eat the Frog for Effective Time Management

This technique advises you to finish the most important but most challenging task first thing in the morning. Or whenever you start your day. Brian Tracy has written a book by the same name but here I am sharing a  blog post by him, which is good enough to get you started.

Resource 10: https://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-Frog-Great-Procrastinating/dp/162656941X (Get the book)

Resource 11: https://www.briantracy.com/blog/time-management/the-truth-about-frogs/ (if you don’t really want to read the 144 pages book!)

Getting Things Done

Getting things done or GTD is a task management method designed by productivity consultant David Allen to extract all the ideas from your mind, record it externally on paper or digitally and organise them in a way that they can be prioritised and completed.

Resource 12: https://gettingthingsdone.com/what-is-gtd/ (David Allen’s page with link to the book by the same name)

Resource 13: https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/business/getting-things-done/ (an excellent summary of the book Getting Things Done)