Kaizan Blog

The Simplest Most Effective Time Management System Ever

We all know the feeling: You get to the end of a long day and you think “What on earth did I achieve today?

You can read all the books you can find on time management (and believe me I have) but ultimately it all comes down to one thing:

Maximising the limited time you have, to focus on high value activities

That’s it.

If you are highly organised but spend your time on low value activities then you are not going to be a success. Similarly, if you are focussed on high value activities but are so inefficient that most of your time is wasted, you will be unsuccessful.

This system is as simple I could dare make it. It is designed to help you use your time more efficiently but also make sure that you don’t lose sight of what is important. There are 3 steps:

The first step is the ultra-simple To Do list. At the beginning of the day, write down 4 important tasks that need to be completed. Focus on these as much as you can and try and get them all done. At the end of the day, if for some good reason, you haven’t completed all the tasks on your list, you move the remainder onto the next day’s list.

The key here is that the tasks must represent your highest value activities. For instance, if you are a salesperson, your highest value activities are getting new clients, following up existing clients and keeping up to date with your products and sales techniques. Your 4 goals should reflect this.

Even if your major activities aren’t all covered in a particular day, you should make sure over the course of a week, that no major areas are overlooked.Everything you do during the day, should be held against the 4 important tasks.

The second step in this time management system is to use your time better. As boring as it sounds, the best thing I ever did when it came to time management was to write down how I spent my time, hour by hour. I’ve read this suggestion in lots of time management books, but always ignored it because it seemed like an unnecessary hassle. Boy, was I wrong.

The first week I kept a time log, I realised why I never got as much done as I had planned to. In my mind I thought I was working 10 hour days, but actual quality work time was closer to 6 hours. So basically I was working half the time I thought I was. Makes a big difference!

But the best thing about recording my time usage was that the second week I did it, I was very conscious of time wastage. My quality work time jumped from 6 hours per day to 8.5 hours per day. Just being aware of how I was spending my time, made me use it more efficiently.

The key to applying this time management technique, is that you really need to be vigilant about writing down your time usage. Most people who try this, end up forgetting to fill in their time log. The trick is that for the first few days, you need LOTS and LOTS of reminders to fill in your timesheet. That means cellphone alarms, post it notes in car, in bathroom, in office, everywhere. It’s not a habit for you to write down your time usage, so you need lots of reminding.

Keep track of your time for a couple of weeks. In the beginning it will be tough, but will get easier as time goes by. You will notice a lot of interesting things you didn’t realise about how you use your time and the best thing is, you will find yourself being more efficient without even realising it.

Lastly, keep a note of the goals that you have completed during the week as an ongoing list. People often don’t feel like they have achieved anything because they forget all the projects they completed during the year. If you keep a list of what you have achieved, you will be able to refer to it during the year and celebrate how much you have accomplished.

Action Step

Try out this time management system. It’s really easy. Write down 4 goals per day. And then keep a track of how you spend your time. The hardest part is at the beginning when you need to remember to write out the goals and fill in the time log. The rest takes care of itself.

23 Comments »

This is really interesting. I’m going to try this at work tomorrow. Keeping a log for any activity is a great idea, whether it be how many hours you work or what kind of exercise you do or what you eat. It will almost certainly help you achieve your goals.

By the way, today’s photo is a lot easier to understand. That cat one is still annoying me. I think it looks sleepy.

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Comment by Robert — August 17, 2009 @ 8:27 am
@Robert

Congratulations on being the first comment!

Have you heard of the Hawthorne Effect? It’s when someone is observing you, you tend to work a lot harder (Google it). When you keep a time log, the effect is similar. You are in effect observing yourself.

And thanks for the critique on the photos. I feel a lot of pressure now when I select them. Will try to not select sleepy cat photos (unless the blog post is about sleepy cats)

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Comment by Kaizan — August 17, 2009 @ 8:34 am
Thank you Kaizan for your prompt reply. I shall look up the Hawthorne Effect.

Also, I look forward to your blog post about sleepy cats

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Comment by Robert — August 17, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Hi Kaizan, I like the way you have simplified this. I went through the complicated GTD type programs until I through it all out for simple Most Important Task lists.

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Comment by Stephen - Rat Race Trap — August 17, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
@Stephen

I like GTD and have used parts of the system in my own life, but have to admit, I have never finished reading the whole book. I’m sure it works very well if you use it faithfully, but its complexity is a definite turn-off for a lot of people.

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Comment by Kaizan — August 17, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Hi Kaizan! All great tips, thank you! I really like your idea of keeping track of goals achieved. Over the past year I have tried to think of what I did do and did achieve in the day, each night before I go to bed. It has helped so much with my outlook! It builds a momentum for success! A list would be even better!

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Comment by Jodi at Joy Discovered — August 17, 2009 @ 3:49 pm
Very valuable time management tips here Kaizan. I especially favor the part about replacing low-value activities with high value ones to make more effective use of your time. Really interesting. Keep up the good work.

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Comment by John — August 17, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
Great post, i know what i must do!

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Comment by Becky — August 17, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
@Jodi
Thanks for visiting. Glad the article was useful for you!

@John
Thanks for the comment! And the compliment.

@Becky
Knowing is good. Doing is better!

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Comment by Kaizan — August 17, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
Great little post. I’m trying to figure out a good method for logging. do you simply write down what you are currently doing at certain intervals during the day, (ex per hour)? I also really enjoy the other titles of your articles, it all looks very interesting. I will have to spend some time here to read your other stuff. Thanks!

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Kaizan Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 8:30 am
@Russ
Yes, you can either keep a small notebook by you, or do it electronically (phone etc). Obviously if you kept a time log by the minute, you would get more information, but then you would be spending more time writing in the log than doing work! I use hour by hour and it works fine.
Thanks for the comment!

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Comment by Russ Smith — August 18, 2009 @ 12:14 am
Good list! It’s also very important to quantify your time by doing a time audit. It lets you know exactly where your time is going…or has gone.

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Kaizan Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 8:31 am
@Ralph
Yes, time log = time audit.

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Comment by Ralph — August 18, 2009 @ 1:47 am
This is excellent stuff Kaizan. I’ve even taken down a few pointers. I’d like to try the time logging, I wonder if there’s a simple chart available to help with it? This system reminds me of something similar I once heard from Earl Nightingale. Keeping the list short to about 3-5 most important things I think is key. It helps to focus on what’s important without being overwhelmed.

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Comment by Ron - Heroic Nature — August 18, 2009 @ 1:58 pm
Visually imagine filling a bucket. Start with the big rocks, then the medium sized ones then finish with the sand. It is the most effective way to fill the maximum amount of space in the bucket. Same principles apply to the time in your day. Thanks to R. Covey for that one.

Also worthwhile remembering Parkinson law that “work always fills the time allowed”, making sure you set deadlines for doing tasks will ensure that your mind is working effectively. Couple this with the Pareto 80/20 rule of “80% of results coming from 20% of the effort” and you are on course for a high level of productivity in whatever you do.

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Comment by Jonny | thelifething.com — August 18, 2009 @ 5:40 pm
This is such great advice and right on point. I read somewhere that “organization is heaven’s first law”. I think regardless of your spiritual beliefs, everyone can see the positive role that organization can play in your life. I know it has literally changed my work day and I am always looking for ways to increase the amount of organization in my life. Your recommendation of the list of 4 “To Do(s)” is so great and practical. It is simple to follow and integrate into your daily routine. Thanks for the post and the suggestions.

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Comment by alternaview — August 18, 2009 @ 6:41 pm
Writing the things you do in a day really helps track your time so that you can go back and analyze where you can make improvements.
I use a software solution (iCal) that works great because it graphically shows you the time slots you use.

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Comment by Ken Kurosawa | Wasabi Burger — August 20, 2009 @ 12:56 pm
The most difficult part for an effective time management is the determination of what’s the most valuable and what’s the least. People are often lost on their priorities in life, and in the process, wasting some valuable time. You are right of what you have written here.

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Comment by Walter — August 22, 2009 @ 6:20 am
Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting as much accomplished as I could then I look back over my accomplishments and realize how much I’ve really done.

I like how your broke down each step so the actions are in chunks. When we break things in chunks it makes productivity so much easier.

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Comment by Karl Staib - Work Happy Now — August 24, 2009 @ 1:55 am
A good helpful perspective, but I would add one thing. To be sure the activities that you are undertaking are truly high value activities for you, you need to discover your Mission. When you have worked thru this, prioritization becomes much easier.

again thanks for the good work!!

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Comment by Wayne Key — August 24, 2009 @ 5:09 pm
Hi Kaizan, love your simple post. It inspired me to write a quick little application to log my daily activities with. Actually I find it quiet useful. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s working great for making a log of my daily activities. http://russds.com/w.php

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Comment by Russ Smith — August 25, 2009 @ 10:11 pm
Hi Kaizan,

Great time management advice. I follow pretty much the same techniques you describe but I add something that helps me be more productive.

I break my work time into 60 minute blocks and eliminate all distractions (phone, TV, email, twitter, etc). I set a goal each week to knock out a certain amount of blocks for the week and use those blocks STRICTLY for the tasks I identified as being the most important to JUMP my business forward.

It’s important to set a realistic weekly goal in terms of productivity blocks as well as to take breaks in between the blocks to regroup. You don’t need to FILL your day with these blocks…I’ve found that shooting for 20 blocks per week is sufficient to make huge gains. Since I have been doing things this way, I’ve become less of a “busy body” and much more productive. But the key is to focus ONLY on forward moving tasks during those hour blocks. The rest of your day can be spent however you want…twitter time, email stuff, relaxation, exercise, etc…doing things this way you can’t help but move your business forward!

Paul

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Comment by Paul Norwine — August 26, 2009 @ 4:15 pm
Wonderful! So very true re: “The key here is that the tasks must represent your highest value activities.” Of course the laundry still has to be done, so another thing that helps is the idea of breaking up your week into days where some are more geared toward chores, errands, etc., but then devoting other days into high-value activities/focus days. That way we don’t get sidetracked with chores on a day that should be geared toward those highest-value items. And we get momentum! This idea comes from Dan Sullivan’s time management system (where there are “focus, buffer, and free” days.). I realize it can be tough or impossible (!) to get your life to line up for 24-hours of focus-only activities (even if you work for yourself, if you have a family or children, I can’t imagine having 24 hours of pure “focus”). Still, there’s merit (and ability) to incorporate some of the philosophies into your schedule.

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Comment by emily-sarah — August 30, 2009 @ 6:29 pm