Nuts and Bolts Career Q&A: How do I manage my time?

We have all built up different habits for how we spend our time. Many of us have a very similar routine. We wake up, get ready, head to work, do some activities and then head home for bed time. When you are young, much of your time will be free to do what you want with. That time slowly gets filled up as you pick up more and more responsibilities. Before you know it, you question, “How can I get more out of my day?”

It’s important to remember that we can’t really “manage time.” Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day. What this question is about how you use your time. Trying something new comes at the cost of not doing something else. So where does one begin?

I faced this similar problem when I wanted to incorporate reading into my weekday routine. At first, I bought a book and thought that I would just read it. That book sat on my desk for a month without a page being turned. It became clear to me that I would not get achieve my ambitions if I did not add time in for more reading. I was working 60 hours a week, living with my future wife and very active socially. Just thinking about books wasn't going to make it happen.

I realized that if I wanted to become a reader, I would need to designate a time and a place to make it happen. I looked at my days and thought about where I could squeeze in reading. At this point, while I was riding the subway to and from work, I played Candy Crush. I thought that if I could read instead of crushing, I would be able to get 15 minutes a day to read. So I tried.

The first time I stepped onto the subway and picked a book out of my backpack it was really uncomfortable! I don’t think I got any reading done because I was overwhelmed with self-consciousness. The next day I tried again. I got to reading, but I was still really distracted so I only read two pages the entire trip. Over the following days, weeks, and months, I became more comfortable and built up the habit of making the most on my commutes. That habit continues until today and as I type this, I am on my way home from work on the train.

I have become much more aware of how I spend my time. My approach was simple: replace a low value activity (playing Candy Crush) with a higher value one (reading). When you are trying to better manage your time, start by recognizing that some of the things you do provide higher value than others. Then you can focus on replacing those low value activities. You might be able to implement my approach exactly. Or you might need to better utilize your car rides. You might decide the time after dinner is time to focus. Or maybe you wake up and do your thing before the day starts. Regardless of how you work, there are always ways to better use your time. Here are some tips to making that happen:

1. Complete your work effectively - A simple way to increase your available time is to get the other stuff you have done faster. Learn the hotkeys for the software you use all the time. Templatize your calculations. Standardize your equipment selections. Build automation scripts for designing. Become an expert in your tools. Writing this makes it look easy, but advancing your skills will take time and practice. It will also pay great dividends.
2. Perform a time audit - Grab a pen and paper and write down what you are doing over the course of the day today. Write in as much detail as possible and capture everything you spent time on today. Once you have captured these data points, look at them and figure out which are providing you the most value. The lowest value add activities are the ones you should look to replace with something which brings higher value. You can find a really great write up about time audits here: https://www.timedoctor.com/blog/time-audit/
3. Practice developing new habits - The hardest part of replacing activities are breaking those habits. You likely recognize that habits can be very beneficial or detrimental to your life. You might not, however, recognize that habits can be developed or eliminated with practice. My habit tip comes from James Clear’s “Atomic Habits.” Clear recommends habit bundling to for creating new habits. With habit bundling, you connect the habit you are looking to develop with a habit you already have and do them together. For example, if your dentist says to floss twice a day, but you have only brushed you whole life, it might be tough to fenagle flossing too. Unless you say before I before I brush, I floss and do that every time. You can also bundle habits by listening to social science podcasts when you drive or reading when you commute. Developing new habits and eliminating those which don’t serve you moves you toward better managing your time.
4. Start small - If you want to build a brick wall, you start by laying a single brick. You will burn out if you try to change everything all at once. Prioritize sustainable time management habits, so that you can build them up over time. In Atomic Habits, James Clear notes that a new habit should take two minutes or less to do. That’s small, but each time you can master that two-minute block, you can add another. Over time, you will find yourself being able to do your thing more and more effectively.
5. Set Healthy Boundaries - No matter how effective you are, people will always try to give you more things to do. Only you can stop people from invading your time. At work, consider which activities done be done by you, delegated or dropped entirely. If your manager is asking you to do more than you can handle, ask them which of your other priorities should be dropped for your new assignment.

Use these tips to analyze how you spend your time and to improve your effectiveness. You too can better manage your time by better managing yourself.

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