What are effective time management techniques for achieving long-term career goals?

You don't need SMART goals. You need to understand the outcome you want at the end and then work backwards. It's more powerful to create a sequence of events with milestones that you can check off to know if you are on the right track. The time-bound doesn't work for everyone, especially those with ADHD brains. Parkinson's Law states that work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion. Give yourself six months, it'll take six months. If it's part of a sequence, and you get to that part in Month 3, you'll achieve it faster. And if you can't figure out the sequence of events, you don't know enough about what you're trying to reach yet. Go back to the drawing board! Hope this helps.

Here is one key aspect which has worked for me 1> Everyday I ask myself "Activity vs Accomplishment". What have I achieved today in alignment to my long term career goal? This helps in ensuring that while solving for today, the focus on the crucial aspects of long term is not lost.

Personally, I've found that setting clear priorities and breaking down big tasks into smaller ones is incredibly helpful. Plus, scheduling regular check-ins to track progress has been key for staying on top of things.

Setting SMART goals is like plotting your success story with a GPS. Instead of a vague "I want to get better," you're saying, "I'll nail that personal development course by month's end." Here's the game plan: Your goal should be clear-cut, something you can tick off a list, truly achievable, deeply important to you, and with a solid deadline. It's not about wandering aimlessly; it's about having a sharp strategy, a direction, and a finish line in sight. By crafting SMART goals, you're not just dreaming of success, you're mapping out the steps to grab it, making every second along the way count towards your victory.

SMART goals we are all familiar with and although there are a few variations many do find it a useful tool. The evolution to SMARTIE I think is a really valuable perspective. Again there are variations - so lets offer a view on the 'IE' (I welcome others). The 'I' is for inclusivity or how it impacts others, this can act as a sense check to ensure your goal is in line with your values. The 'E' more me is all about Excitement (other variations are available) and this is fundamental. If your goal does not excite you, then your chances of hitting it, especially if things get hard, diminish! Always 'ask yourself why is this important?' If your goal does not pass the why test, then my advice is to re-consider it.

I love this quote by Ray Dalio: "Prioritize: While you can have virtually anything you want, you can't have everything you want." So many people (including myself) try to pursue too many goals at once, achieving few or none of them. It's the same with career goals. It's crucial to decide which ONE THING to focus on first and dedicate your efforts to it. Avoid spreading yourself too thin by attempting two or three or more goals at once. Ruthlessly prioritize what matters most to you, achieve it, and then move on to the next one.

Tackling your to-do list? Think of it as sorting your playlist for the ultimate road trip. Use the Eisenhower matrix like a DJ mixing tracks: hit 'play' on tasks that are urgent and important, 'queue' the important but chill ones for later, 'pass' the urgent but meh tasks to someone else, and 'skip' the ones that just fill the silence. Jump on the big beats first, pencil in the slow jams for later, hand off the remixes, and trash the noise. It’s all about playing the right tunes at the right time, making sure every action drives you forward, not just keeps you busy. Focus on what moves you closer to your goals, turning your to-do list into a hit chart of achievements.

The Matrix is a very useful tool. Why not go one step further and decide what you are going to do and what you are not going to do (The matrix can of course help with this). The key difference is it's not just a case of prioritising it is a case of choice. So If you've a list of 10 things rather than just prioritise - get it down to a list of 5 you will do and 5 you will not. Less is more.

Scheduling time for long-term career goals is crucial. It's easy to get lost in day-to-day work and forget about the thinking and learning that is needed to develop yourself. But you need to learn consistently to build up your skills in the long term. What works for me is blocking time in my calendar every Friday (even just 30 minutes) to read books or articles, catch up with mentors, or think about business strategy.

This quote by Tony Robbins perfectly captures the essence of scheduling your time for growth: "If you talk about it, it's a dream. If you envision it, it's possible. But if you schedule it, it's real." For career growth and to get promoted beyond middle management, it's crucial to dedicate time for deep work. Merely excelling in your current role isn't enough to reach the next level. Instead of getting lost in endless meetings and busy work, reserve a 2-hour block each week for strategic thinking. Use this time to analyze metrics, plan for key initiatives, or prepare for important meetings with your manager. Also, use this time to ask yourself powerful questions like "What’s the one thing we can do that will really move the needle?"

Crafting your day is like mixing the perfect soundtrack. Choose your app or planner and lay down your tracks, each task getting its own slot, with some wiggle room for those unexpected jams. Pay attention to when you're on fire, energy-wise, and drop your big challenges there. It's about harmonizing your to-dos with your peak moments, ensuring you're not just filling time, but making every hour hit just right. By tuning your schedule to your personal rhythm, you're not just ticking boxes; you're crafting a day that sings with productivity and steps you closer to your dreams.

Consider this we rarely let others down for meetings that are in the schedule but more common is to let ourselves down for things we said to ourselves we would do. Because who is the easiest person to let down? yes, absolutely it's yourself. So treat your time with the same respect you treat other people's!

Set some deadlines, combining with timeboxing is a really useful combination to have some progress in the projects while keeping the moral since some intermediate results are seen.

Distractions are EVERYWHERE, both external and internal. Externally, we're bombarded by phone calls, emails, social media notifications, and colleagues dropping by. Even chores you suddenly remember you gotta do while you're WFH. ?? Internally, distractions can arise from avoiding challenging tasks due to discomfort, unfamiliarity, or feeling overwhelmed, as well as from boredom or mindset blocks like fear of failure or imposter syndrome. To effectively manage distractions, it's crucial to identify and address the root causes of these fears and issues. Putting a band-aid on the situation, like disabling notifications on your phone, won't solve the underlying problem. You'll likely find another way to get distracted if not!

Focus is your biggest superpower in the modern world. Since distractions are everywhere, you not only need to deal with them, but also make sure that the 'why' related to your focus is strong enough to not allow for distraction. Work on important goals, and avoid distractions.

Keeping distractions at bay is like creating a focus fortress. External buzz, think pings, rings, and the endless scroll, can derail your groove. Slam the brakes on those by silencing alerts, tidying up your digital workspace, or finding a calm corner to dive deep into tasks. Then there's the internal static, boredom, stress, or just plain tiredness. Beat these by stepping away for a breather, finding your zen with a quick meditation, or letting music lift you back into the zone. It's all about crafting a space where your concentration can flourish, transforming your productivity from scattered to supercharged.

I would encourage you to make time for distractions!!! Yes, we are human - if you don't your 'lazy' brain will find a way and you'll end up being unproductive subconsciously. Take ownership and plan when you will be focused and when you'll relax. Your ideal will be unique to you, that's ok - for some its 20-minute power sessions for others, they can go 90 minutes.

Taking action on your goals without measuring, reviewing, and adjusting is like sailing without a compass. You might be moving, but you're not necessarily heading in the right direction. Remember, what gets measured gets managed. To sum up the points made in this article: 1. Prioritize that ONE key goal for your long-term career growth 2. Schedule dedicated time to work on it 3. Identify and address the root causes of your distractions 4. Regularly monitor your progress If things aren't going as expected, pinpoint the issue and make necessary adjustments continuously until it works. Don't give up. And if things are progressing well, take a moment to intentionally celebrate your successes because success builds on success! ??

When reviewing progress and effort, I like to suggest something as simple as a done list. Keeping a done list, no matter its length, can be surprisingly empowering. Reviewing evidence of what you’ve completed can eliminate a feeling of productivity debt; shared by all of us (a phrase coined by Oliver Burkeman). Often we tie our self-worth to our performance, and dissatisfied feelings of progression may lead us to seek distraction (avoidance of feelings). But a done list however, can provide a greater sense of agency to keep pursing our goals with rigor. Feeling better about our progress will put us in good stead to keep progressing; albeit moving towards our long-term goals.

Fine-tuning your time game is key. Keep a log on paper, a spreadsheet, or an app, of what you're doing and how it's going. It's not just about tracking; it's about discovering your wins and where you're off track. Use this goldmine to tweak your approach, shift your focus, or shake up your routine as needed. And when you nail something? Celebrate it. Adjusting your strategy isn't just maintenance; it's about levelling up your efficiency and making every minute count even more. It's how you turn good into amazing, ensuring you're always moving forward, smarter and sharper.

Just the act of sharing what you are going to commit to doing with someone else can often be enough to significantly increase your chances of achieving it. Depending on the task you might want to go up the commitment ladder which could look something like this - Just thinking about it, making a firm commitment to yourself in your head, actually writing it down or scheduling time, sharing it with someone else, asking something else to hold you to account...

Timeboxing was ranked the most useful out of 100 productivity hacks by Harvard Business Review. Here’s how to use to achieve long-term career goals: 1) Set 3 major daily goals Start your morning by writing down your 3 most important goals for the day. This forces you to figure out what matters most. 2) Timebox collaborative work Start by timeboxing your collaborative work (notably meetings). If there are appointments with others on your calendar, you’re already timeboxing your day. 3) Timebox focus Timebox one 45-90-minute session of deep focus on your daily goals. This amount of “deep work” doubles your productivity, McKinsey has found. Do it at a time of day when your energy is high – for 75% of us, that's in the morning.

Ich empfehle 1. Deep Work Phasen ohne jegliche Ablenkung einplanen 90 min Slots - um Aufgaben mit hoher Priorit?t mit Fokus zu bearbeiten 2. Eat the Frog: Aufgaben, die gerne vertagt werden zuerst zu erledigen, und such die Last dieser nehmen 3. Monotasking: Multitasking ist bekanntlich ineffektiv. Das beinhaltet Benachrichtigungen auszuschalten (Emails, Slack, Handy) und optimalerweise sogar das Handy in einen anderen Raum verbannen. Und bei allem gilt: nicht zu viel auf einmal vornehmen. Kleine Schritte führen zum Ziel.

I rely a lot on energy management. This means knowing when I am mentally at my most energetic to do my major thinking work and to then look at doing the less mentally strenuous stuff thta doesn't require heavy lifting when I'm at a lower ebb. I also have started to time box activities... Establish how long a task should take and aim to stick within this time frame.