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Time & task management

Task and time management

Time management is how each person utilizes their time to maximize productivity in achieving long-term goals.


Taking breaks during work is important for maintaining energy levels and mental agility. The mind can only process 5–9 things simultaneously (Miller's Law). The fewer disruptive stimuli, the easier it is to get on with things and produce results. Developing routines, improving concentration, minimizing external factors and consciously calming one's mind all facilitate carrying out and completing various tasks.


Try these cognitive ergonomics tools:

  • Setting the day's main goals in the morning (1–3 goals)
  • Not-To-Do lists
  • Splitting a large project into smaller tasks
  • Automating and outsourcing repetitive tasks
  • Creating a recurring task list (to establish routines and habits)
  • Using an interval timer with preset phases for routines
  • Utilizing time management methods (such as GTD or Pomodoro)
  • Taking regular breaks and microbreaks while working
  • Tidying the workstation before and after working
  • Writing down in the evening the tasks that preoccupy the mind

Implement some or all of these time management strategies into your workday:

  1. Get a time management app to track everything you do for a week (for example Toggl).
  2. Before meetings, set up a desired result
  3. Use a time limit for each task
  4. Plan your week (e.g. on Sunday)
  5. Create a to-do plan for the day
  6. Add a "done list" to your to-do list (boosts reward mechanisms in the brain)
  7. Do your most important tasks first thing to start the workday
  8. Do not multitask
  9. "Just do it" - Nike (meaning don't wait for inspiration, but do the task)
  10. Schedule breaks

Prioritize quickly with the Eisenhower matrix

Former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower once said that what’s important is rarely urgent and what’s urgent is rarely important. President Eisenhower incorporated this principle into his time management method (see image below).

Task: try to categorize at least one task daily with the Eisenhower matrix and estimate how it affects your overall workflow and performance.