Time Management Practice

There are several different ways one can go about managing their time. Work through one
of the options below with an academic coach and choose which option might work best
for you! Remember to factor in time for friends, family, and de stress activities as well as
your responsibilities!

After working through one/ a few of these options for sometime, meet with an
academic coach and report on progress (Must show evidence of use/practice online
or in notes)
 Now, Later, Soon: In Class Activity
Objective: Break down tasks by importance/urgency, strategize plan for completion by organizing and
prioritizing tasks.

For Whom: Likely useful for those who utilize to do lists or short term memory when keeping track of
assignments/ duties

Rationale: During the time management workshop, your class may have covered the following time management
activity. Now, Later, Soon is a time management method that requires little set up or maintenance. Helpful in
prioritizing tasks over the span of a few days to a week/month, this method allows users to prioritize and organize
responsibilities to briefly develop a plan of attack.

1. Write down a list of everything that you can think of that you need to do (school, work, clubs,
sports, social activities, etc.)
2. Organize everything under three headings:
○ Now (today)
○ Soon (next few days, this week)
○ Later (next week or later)
3. Start with something on your “Now” list and get it done. That sense of achievement will help
you build momentum to complete other activities.
4. Keep your list up-to-date.
Organization

Now:

Soon:

Later:
 Ivy Lee Method
Objective: Take time to break down your daily or weekly tasks by importances and urgency to best
outline completion.

For Whom: Likely useful for those who utilize to do lists or short term memory when keeping track of
assignments/duties

Rationale: The Ivy Lee method dates back to 1918, when Lee, a productivity consultant, was hired by
Charles M. Schwab, the president of a largely successful Steel Corporation, to improve his company's
efficiency. Meeting with each of Scwhab’s executives, Ivy Lee explained his simple daily routine for
achieving peak productivity:

1. At the end of each work day, write down the six most important things you need to accomplish
tomorrow. Do not write down more than six tasks.
2. Prioritize those six items in order of their true importance.
3. When you arrive tomorrow, concentrate only on the first task. Work until the first task is
finished before moving on to the second task.
4. Approach the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the end of the day, move any unfinished
items to a new list of six tasks for the following day.
5. Repeat this process every working day.

Important Tasks

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.
 Google Calendar or Personal Planner
Objective: To break down and visualize tasks on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis

For Whom: Very useful for those who prefer a visual when managing tasks, helps users to see what
major tasks they coming up and plan around various responsibilities both in and out of school

Rationale: Every student has access to Google calendar through their Montclair email account. For this
method, utilize the calendar to plan and block off time for classes, work, friends/family, and time for
homework and other responsibilities. If you prefer a physical method of management, buying and
utilizing a planner is also a good option. Utilizing similar methods of blocking off time and documenting
various obligations, tasks, and activities, planners also offer a good visual representation of duties and
designation.
 Eisenhower Box
Objective: Take time to organize your daily or weekly tasks by importance and urgency to best
outline completion.
For whom: The Eisenhower method may be helpful for someone who feels they have too much
to do and too little time to do it.
Rationale: Prior to becoming President, Dwight Eisenhower served as a general in the United
States Army and as the Allied Forces Supreme Commander during World War II. Forced to
make tough decisions about which of his many tasks he should focus on each day, Eisenhower
developed this world famous method for prioritizing responsibilities. Eisenhower’s strategy for
taking action and organizing your tasks is simple. Using the decision matrix below, you will
separate your actions based on four possibilities.

1. Urgent and important (tasks you will do immediately).

2. Important, but not urgent (tasks you will schedule to do later).
3. Urgent, but not important (tasks you will delegate to someone else).
4. Neither urgent nor important (tasks that you will eliminate).

Urgent Not Urgent

Important DO (Do these things today.) DECIDE (Schedule a time to do these things.)

Not Important DELEGATE (Who can do these things for DELETE (Eliminate these things.)
you?)
 Pomodoro Technique

Objective: To dedicate time to work/tasks while avoiding burnout

For Whom: Very useful for those who find difficulty staying focused for prolonged periods of
time, good stress management technique

Rationale: The Pomodoro Technique is a very popular time management method invented by
the software developer and author Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980's. The idea of Pomodoro is
very simple. You break down your daily work and complete it in intervals separated by short
breaks. Following the technique should give you enough focus and recovery time to maximize
your productivity. The six steps for the pomodoro technique are as follows:

Steps

1. Decide on a task to be done

2. Set the pomodoro timer

3. Work on the task

4. End work when the timer rings after 25 minutes (one round)

5. If you do fewer than four rounds, take a short break (3–5 minutes) after each round

6. After 4 rounds, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), then go back to step 1
 Kanban Board

Objective: To organize responsibilities while visualizing the prioritization and management of

tasks

For Whom: Useful for those who prefer a visual when managing obligations, helps users to see
what tasks they have coming up while keeping track of those they’ve already accomplished.

Rationale: Kanban is a Japanese word meaning a billboard or sign. Originally a tool for toyota
manufacturers to control and manage work and inventory in the 1940s, the Kanban board today
represents a visual board that helps you to track progress on your goals. Most utilize whiteboards
or other physical boards for the method, however any material that will allow you to draw three
columns should suffice. You will however need sticky notes! The steps for utilizing a Kanban
Board are as follows:

Steps:

1. Draw three columns on a whiteboard or piece of paper

2. Label the three columns: To Do, Doing, and Done
3. Label your sticky notes. Every sticky note represents a task that needs to be completed,
so write down whatever needs to be done. Feel free to color code sticky notes for
different types of tasks.
4. After you have the big board and sticky notes with tasks, you simply stick the notes in
one of the columns, depending on the phase the task is in.
5. Based on your progress, move sticky notes through these columns

If done correctly, you should have a nice visual representation of your tasks and in which
stage they are!