How to improve time management skills
If you often find yourself distracted, unmotivated, and putting things off, this guide is for you. Learn how to improve your time management skills now.
By: Amanda Phagan, Edited by: Marie Custodio Collazo
Published: June 19, 2025
From appointments and social events to meetings and deadlines, strong time management can help you streamline several aspects of your day-to-day schedule, lower your stress levels, and improve your productivity. Time management skills can even help you land a job, as employers often cite effective time management as one of their most desired skills in candidates.
Ready to get focused and reclaim your productivity? Discover how to improve your time management skills — and avoid common time-wasting pitfalls — in our guide.
What is the golden rule of time management?
While there is no universal "golden rule" of time management, most experts agree that prioritization is one of the most important time management skills. This involves identifying which tasks are most urgent and important and completing them first. If you have several competing to-do list items and don't know where to start, you can use the Eisenhower Matrix to determine which tasks are worth doing first:
| Is the task... | Urgent? | Non-urgent? |
|---|---|---|
| Important? | Do it now. | Decide on a time to do it later. |
| Unimportant? | Delegate the task to someone else. | Delete it from your immediate to-do list. |
What helps your friend or coworker manage their time may not work as well for you. Fortunately, there are several different methods you can use to improve your time management.
Below are five tactics you can try.
Set SMART goals
SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. While the SMART method is especially helpful for defining professional goals, it can also be applied to personal to-do list items. This method ensures that you plan your goals in a way that makes them easier to achieve and evaluate once completed.
| Acronym | Goal | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| S | Specific | What specific steps will you need to take to achieve this goal? What does your desired result look like? |
| M | Measurable | How will you know that you've met your goal? What data will you need to collect or measure? |
| A | Achievable | What skills and resources will you need to complete your goal? Is it feasible? |
| R | Relevant | Why is this goal important? How does it relate to the big picture? |
| T | Time-bound | When do you plan to accomplish this goal? What is the deadline for each step in the process? |
Use time management tools and apps
Whether you prefer physical media or digital apps, there are plenty of free time management tools at your disposal — you just have to find what works best for you.
- Calendars can help you visualize your day and designate blocks of time for different tasks. If you use a calendar app, you can take time-blocking a step further by ensuring colleagues can't invite you to meetings during your designated productivity time.
- Keeping a daily to-do list can help you see what you need to achieve at a glance. Some people find that physically writing a to-do list on paper helps them commit to the tasks, but your phone's notes app is also a great resource that goes everywhere you do.
Eliminate distractions from your environment
Our lives are busy, and it can seem like we're being pulled in multiple different directions at any given time. Unfortunately, the human brain is incapable of completely focusing on two or more tasks at the same time. That's why it's crucial to minimize distractions when you need to get something done. To decrease distractions, you can:
- Put your phone in "focus mode" or simply silence notifications.
- Work in a quiet, uncluttered room away from children, pets, and other distractions.
- Practice mindfulness to keep your thoughts from racing or wandering.
- Schedule "distraction breaks" to check your social media and email (if you must).
Employ the Pomodoro Technique
Our attention spans are shrinking — and that's where the Pomodoro Technique comes in. This time management strategy involves working for 25 minutes at a time, then taking a five-minute break. This allows you to break your work into smaller chunks, which can help you feel less overwhelmed (and allows you to enjoy brain breaks, which positively reinforce your focus).
If you struggle with time blindness, this method can also help you realize how much time tasks take. This can help you plan your tasks more effectively in the future.
Try task-batching
Task-batching is grouping similar tasks together and completing them in succession. This method tends to work well for people who get overwhelmed by a long to-do list with multiple singular items. Consider a task-batched to-do list vs. a traditional to-do list and determine which would work best for you:
Traditional to-do list
- Send manager email
- Finish spreadsheet
- File expense report
- Grocery store
- Pet store
- Drop off package
- Do laundry
- Cook dinner
- Watch movie with family
- Brush toddler's teeth
- Bathe toddler
- Read bedtime story
- Play board game with spouse
Task-batched to-do list
- Work (email, spreadsheet, expense report)
- Run errands (grocery store, pet store, package drop-off)
- House chores (laundry, cook dinner)
- Family time (watch movie, toddler bedtime, board game with spouse)
Top time-wasters and how to manage them
If you've ever thought, "Why is this taking so long?" or "I could have been done with this by now if it wasn't for [insert distraction here]," you've likely fallen victim to a time-waster. Some of the most common time-wasters include:
Unlimited distractions
You may think that taking a quick break from your to-do list doesn't take up much time, but "quick" breaks add up if you take too many. If you allow yourself to succumb to distractions every time they arise (i.e., checking your phone each time a notification pops up), you could easily lose hours.
Limit distractions by setting boundaries. Silencing phone notifications and scheduling breaks using the Pomodoro Technique may be effective for easily distracted people.
Overthinking and agonizing
You may have heard that perfection is the enemy of progress, and this is especially true when it comes to looming to-do list items. Spending too much time thinking about how you will accomplish an important task or — worse — agonizing over the prospect of it can significantly hinder your ability to make progress. Often, the anticipation is much more stressful and time-consuming than the task itself.
Blocking a reasonable amount of time to plan may help you think through the steps you need to take without going overboard. Remind yourself that it's ok not to be perfect; you can always review or revise your work after you've made progress.
Procrastination
We all have to do things we don't want to do, and that can contribute to the desire to put them off until the last minute. A lack of motivation is often the root of procrastination, so it's important to identify what motivates you. Try the following techniques to see which helps you the most:
- Reward yourself with a treat you've been craving after you've completed the task.
- Divide the task into smaller, more digestible tasks.
- Schedule when you will start and complete the task.
- Imagine yourself after the task has been completed. (Wow, you feel so accomplished and relieved!)
Take action with edX
Arm yourself with the self-improvement and soft skills you need to succeed and enroll in an online course through edX. After you've sharpened your time management skills, build your résumé by learning more about: