Everyone should know the top 8 principles of effective time management.

We have unlimited desires, but our time is limited. If you don't apply what you know or learn in your life, then your knowledge is worthless. So try to turn what you know or learn into action. Otherwise, reading so many books or articles will be of no use. Rather, it will just be a waste of time.

Principles of time management.

1) Planning.

If you think that doing time management, then first planning is important. Take a few minutes in the morning or whenever you want to plan your activities for the day.

You can use different types of planning tools to plan and organize your schedule. These tools include calendars, notebooks, electronic planners, Pocket Note. List all your tasks and plans, so you can focus on your priorities in your planner.

Consider the following important things when using the planning tool:

Record all information on your instrument only.

Check your planner every day.

Always carry your planning tool with you.

Make a list of your priorities on the tool and stick to it.

If you use an electronic planner, sync it with your computer and recharge the planner's batteries regularly.

Make sure you get a backup system for your scheduling tool.

At the end of each work day, take a few minutes to quickly create a list in your mind of the things that need to be done the following day. It will mentally put off the most important duties for the next day and the less important ones out of your head.

2) The 90/30 principle.

Apply the 90-30 rule every day - work continuously for 90 minutes and take a short 30-minute break after 90 minutes, but don't multitask. Then repeat this method throughout the day.

Its essence is that within 90 minutes your brain goes through five stages of sleep, then rests for 20-30 minutes and then repeats the cycle. Research has found that the body follows such a schedule during wakefulness.

3) THE PARETO OR 80/20 PRINCIPLE.

You've probably heard of the Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. According to him, about 80% of the result depends on 20% of the action. Therefore, focus only on a few tasks that will bring you the most benefit.

Maybe you want to do everything at once and can't figure out what to do. Then take a minute to assess: what's important, what's urgent, what you can delegate, and what's generally a waste of effort.

To get more done in less time, track how much time you spend and what you spend it on. Answer the following questions. What brought you closer to your goal? What was a waste of time? What could be delegated?

Choose the 20% of your tasks that give 80% of the result and do only those. Delegate the rest or simply delete them.

Use the rule of the most important things. Each day, highlight three main tasks and focus on them for a certain period of time.

4) 2 MINUTE PRINCIPLE.

The Two-Minute Rule states, “When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear tells us that whenever you are feeling unproductive or feeling unwilling to do some work, then do that work for 2 mins.

So, what happens is that you set up a timer for 2 minutes and try to complete that particular task in that time. It eventually breaks your unproductiveness and increases efficiency.

5) 5 Second Principle.

“The 5-Second Rule is simple. If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it. The moment you feel an instinct or a desire to act on a goal or a commitment, use the Rule.

When you feel yourself hesitate before doing something that you know you should do, count 5–4–3–2–1-GO and move towards action.”

Just start counting backward to yourself: 5–4–3–2–1.

The counting will focus you on the goal or commitment and distract you from the worries, thoughts, and excuses in your mind.

Now, while I reluctantly drag myself out of bed (in 5 seconds) in order to prepare for my day and other morning routines, my career has been impacted the most by the 5-second rule.

6) PARKINSON’S PRINCIPLE.

Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time we allocate to it.

If we give ourselves a year to write a book, it’ll likely take us a whole year. This is the idea of Parkinson’s Law, which states that work expands to fill the time that we allocate to it. But what if we gave ourselves only 4 months? It turns out that with this time constraint we’d likely get it done in 4 months.

This tip is also used by Elon Musk who sets himself incredibly short deadlines so even if he doesn’t finish the whole task he’s still way ahead with the progress.

7) A B C D E PRINCIPLE.

The A B C D E Principle refers to the five ways of allocating your time. As one of the simplest and most effective time management strategies, the A B C D E Method is designed to get you thinking “single-mindedly” & avoid “multitasking” about your work.

With the A B C D E Principle, you make a list of everything that you have to do before you begin. You then go through the list carefully and put one of these letters next to each item on the list:

A — very important & critical tasks that are both urgent and important or that lie on the critical path towards your long-term goals.

B — important things, but they don’t meet the “A” criteria yet.

C — is just for things that would be nice to do, but they are neither urgent nor important.

D — delegate or outsource to someone else who can do it pretty much as well as you.

E — eliminate, these are items that are such low priority that you could eliminate them completely.

8) POMODORO TECHNIQUE.

According to this method, you divide the work into intervals: you work for 25 minutes, then you rest for five minutes. And after four cycles, you take a longer break for 15 minutes.

Get a to-do list and a timer.

Set your timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.

When your session ends, mark off one Pomodoro and record what you completed.

Then enjoy a five-minute break.

After four Pomodoro, take a longer, more restorative 15–30-minute break.

This way you don’t let yourself burn out, and help you cope with distractions by agreeing with yourself in advance that you will pay attention to them during the break.