How To Improve Time Management at Work

“People who can focus get things done. People who can prioritize get the right things done” - John Maeda

How To Improve Time Management at Work

When thinking about how to improve time management at work, it can often feel like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle – everything’s urgent, everyone has a priority, and you’re just trying not to set your hair on fire. The problem here is that being busy doesn't necessarily mean you're productive!

Prioritization is simply the art of figuring out what’s most important based on a set of clear criteria. Getting that right is the secret to staying focused and getting the right things done. Being busy on the other hand, just means filling your time with tasks, whether they actually matter or not. Being able to prioritize yourself more effectively is a key part of working out how to improve your time management at work.

Now, we don’t want to waste your time, so let’s check if you’ll actually benefit from reading this. 

Have you ever thought, said, or felt any of these things?

·       I just have too much to do.

·       I don’t know what’s expected of me.

·       I can’t say no.

·       I really care about this project, so I’ll handle it.

·       Nobody can do this as well or as quickly as I can, so I’ll just do it.

·       I’m a pro at spinning all these plates.

·       That task is easier, so I’ll do that one first.

·       Urgh, things keep changing every five minutes!

·       I don’t have enough resources on my team to get all this done.

·       If I just spend a little longer on this, it’ll be perfect.

If any of these hit home, keep reading, and we'll help you work out how to improve time management at work.

Why Does It Feel Like There’s Never Enough Time?

Back to Psychology 101.

It’s easy to sit at your desk at the start of the day, surrounded by a mountain of tasks, emails, meetings, and phone calls, and wonder how on earth you’re going to get through it all. There's equally nothing less motivating than getting to the end of that very long day and feeling like you haven't achieved anything of real value.

The truth is, our sense of time is pretty unreliable, thanks to a little mind trick called the planning fallacy. This means you think things will take far less time that they actually do – even if you’ve done them before. The result? You overload yourself, take on too much and set unrealistic expectations.

Another key player is cognitive load, otherwise known as the mental effort it takes to keep all your plates spinning at once. As a manager, you’re constantly switching between managing your team, making decisions, putting out fires, tackling projects, and a dozen other things. Your brain can only handle so much at once, and when it’s overloaded, you’re more likely to hit decision fatigue, have mental fog, make mistakes, and feel like you’re always falling behind.

Being aware of these mental barriers is step one in taking back control of your time. Now, let’s dive into three practical things to focus on to ensure you’re staying focused on things that matter.

How To Improve Time Management at Work

1.      Learn to be Objective

We all have passion projects, favorite colleagues, and a personal preference for certain elements of our work. This can unintentionally skew your priorities and be the reason you’ll spend hours on a task you love while ignoring the one that actually moves the needle. To avoid this, we recommend using the Eisenhower Matrix, a simple but effective tool that will help you objectively sort your tasks based on their urgency and importance.

Here’s how it works:

·       Urgent and Important (Do It Now): These tasks will have a big impact or negative consequence if not done, so do them right away.

·       Important, but Not Urgent (Prioritize It): These are the tasks that contribute to long-term goals, make time for them before they become urgent.

·       Urgent, but Not Important (Wait or Delegate): These tasks are time sensitive but shouldn’t take your attention right now. Delegate if you can or push them back.

·       Neither Urgent nor Important (Bin It): These are the ultimate distractions disguised as tasks. Remove them completely or, at the very least, minimize them.

If you focus on what really matters, keep emotions out of it, and stop getting sidetracked by ‘busy’ work, you’ll become more objective, and it will be a key part of helping you work out how to improve your time management at work. Want a ready-to-use template? Ask me for a FREE blank template in our Sparx Society forum section of the Team Sparx website at www.team-sparx.com.

2.      Learn to Manage Your Time

This might sound strange, given this whole blog is about how to improve time management at work, but do you actually proactively manage your time? Or are you just reacting to whatever pops up? If it’s the latter, don’t worry – you’re not alone. Here are two simple yet effective techniques to help you work smarter, not harder.

Time Blocking: Stick to It and It’ll Change Your Life

You’ve probably heard of time blocking, but have you actually tried and genuinely stuck to it? It’s a game-changer if you get it right. The idea is simple: dedicate specific blocks of time to certain tasks. Whether it’s a 30-minute slot for emails, two hours for deep work, or an afternoon of one-to-ones, you’re essentially putting your tasks into time buckets. This not only helps structure your days, and weeks, but it also reduces your cognitive overload (yep, that pesky thing we mentioned earlier).  

The 2-Minute Rule – Just Do It!

This one comes to us courtesy of David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’ methodology, and it’s ridiculously simple. If a task will take you two minutes or less, do it immediately. Just get it done, don't overthink it. It’s an incredibly effective way to stop small tasks piling up and turning into overwhelming energy drains.  Try these out and see how much more in control of your time you feel!

3.      Learn to be Adaptable (but Disciplined)

Life happens and priorities shift, yet when it happens, it can really throw you off balance. There is good news here though: you have the power to say “No”! You’ll always be asked to take on new tasks, attend extra meetings, or drop everything to respond to someone’s ‘urgent’ request. While it’s important to be adaptable, protecting your time is just as crucial.

Saying “Yes” to everything only stretches you too thin. So, when something new comes up, pause and ask yourself: Does this align with my priorities or my team’s goals? If the answer is no, get comfortable with saying a polite, but firm, “No”, or at least asking what they would like to you remove from your workload in order to complete this ask.

Now, if the task does align with your priorities, go back to your old friend, the Eisenhower Matrix, and adjust accordingly. If you can’t fit it in, delegate it, or something else, to make room. Time management isn’t a one-and-done thing – it’s a habit you need to constantly work on if you want to understand how to improve time management at work. The key here is staying flexible without letting everyone else’s chaos become your own.

Our Final Sparx

Hopefully, you’ve realized that time management is both an art and a science (and sometimes, a bit of wizadry). By understanding the psychology behind why we feel so busy, and using these simple but effective techniques, you’ll regain control of your time, and understand how to improvement time management at work, so you don't always feel like you're chasing your tail. For more productive tips on improving your time management, check out this article by Slack here.

What time management tips do you swear by? Or are you still relying on sheer willpower, caffeine, and mild panic? 😅 Share your thoughts and stories in the comments – or your favorite brand of coffee – we like that too!