5 Essential Time Management Skills
When you begin to understand the Pareto Principle, you recognize that 80% or more of the outputs come from 20% or less of the inputs. This disproportionate model of productivity allows you to zero in on what actually matters and ignore the rest.
In terms of time management, there are really only 5 skills that matter. If you learn these 5 skills, you'll be lightyears ahead of your peers not only in regards to productivity but also your overall life satisfaction.
You'll feel more balanced, and more in control. And with that balance comes confidence, knowing you can handle anything that comes your way.
Time for an Upgrade
The truth about poor time management is pretty straightforward...
It's not about overcoming procrastination or pulling yourself out of depression.
It's not about hiring more people, or better people, to whom you can delegate everything you don't have time to do.
Poor time management stems from only two things: the Knowledge Gap and/or the Action Gap.
If you're not producing the results you want, it's either because you don't know what to do, or you do know and you're simply not doing it (or not doing it well enough).
When you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed out, you've lost your balance—your center point.
The 5 skills you're about to learn won't just help you move into your center point, they'll also create a fortified defense that prevents you from losing balance in the first place.
A Recipe for Success in Time Management
When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
You've probably heard this before, but what you don't often hear is the second part of the equation...
How do you actually make the lemonade?
What's the recipe for a perfect glass of lemonade?Any recipe you've tried in or out of the kitchen contains two parts: the ingredients and the instructions.
The ingredients are just a list of components that are needed to complete the recipe. They are the parts and pieces that comprise the whole. The proportions of each ingredient must be considered. And sometimes the ingredients can be substituted, but that may affect how the recipe turns out...
Not enough sugar and the lemonade comes out sour.
Substitute honey or agave for the sugar and the lemonade takes on a slightly different flavor.
Add in some raspberries and you get a whole new recipe.
The instructions are the explanation that leads the cook from absolutely nothing to a perfectly prepared dish. Oftentimes, the instructions are sequential: Step 1 first, then Step 2, and so on... Other times, you can just throw all the ingredients in the blender and press the ON button, like a fruit smoothie or frozen margarita.
These two parts of the recipe—the ingredients and the instruction—are co-dependent.
Both parts must be known and used together to complete the recipe correctly. If you have one without the other, it becomes a frustrating game of trial and error, and the end result never really turns out the way you were hoping.
So the following 5 skills are presented as a recipe, or formula, that contains both the ingredients and the instructions together. When you "make this recipe," or in other words, apply the formula correctly in any given area of your life, the results speak for themselves...
Less stress. More freedom.
Less burnout. More balance.
Imagine feeling so in control of your time and attention that you complete everything that needs to get done quickly and easily. You have that "ahhh, finally finished" feeling that makes your shoulders drop downwards and your lips curve upwards.
Call it dessert, call it an appetizer... doesn't really matter what you call it.
As long as you follow the instructions and avoid substituting any ingredients, you'll be well-equipped to own the day and achieve any results you seek.
The Freedom Formula
The Freedom Formula is the instructional part of the recipe. It explains not only the ingredients to use but also the order and method in which to use them.
This formula seamlessly ties together the 5 essential skills of time management in a simple, straightforward way that allows you to start and finish whatever you need to do...
Another great benefit of this formula is that it's scalable... Whether it's a class for school, a project at work, or simple routine tasks at home, you can use this recipe to get results with ease. You can even apply it entire dimensions of your life, for instance, health or relationships.
If you remember nothing else from this entire site or any other productivity tips and tricks you've come across, remember this formula...
The Freedom FormulaThe Freedom Formula is a recipe that spells out both the ingredients and the instructions for long-term success through time management.
Spelling out the recipe is easy, and you must only understand it once to comprehend its impact.
F = Focus
e * e * e = Efficacy * Efficiency * Environment
S = Systems
Just 5 simple ingredients, that all.
These 5 essential skills make up what I call the "Foundational Five," because they are the concrete that must be laid before building your proverbial productivity "skyscraper."
If you don't get these right, you'll find yourself continuing to treat the symptoms of poor time management instead of address the root problem.
You'll continue to struggle with the juggle, putting out fires and prioritizing all the wrong things.
Before you learn how to run, you first need to learn how to walk. And before walking, you need to be able to stand strong, putting your fit in the ground for stability and support.
The Foundational Five are your stability and support. They will keep you grounded, calm, and collected no matter what situation presents itself.
The Foundational Five
The Foundational Five are the few core skills that will improve your time management exponentially. So by investing in these core skills, you've committed to upgrading how you think, speak, and act.
And this upgrade eventually affects how you show up as a person... in the world, at home, at work, at family gatherings, and anywhere else you find yourself.
Now let's take a closer look at each of the five ingredients...
1. FOCUS
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
“I don’t much care where...”
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.”
—Alice in Wonderland
First, you must determine what the desired result is, which becomes the center point for all that you think, say, and do.
It is the bullseye in the middle of the dart board.
Multi-tasking is a myth, so the more you believe it's a real thing, the more you'll try to do it. And the more you do it, the more you'll dilute your focus, which ultimately hinders your ability to achieve results in the best way possible.
Other skills that fall under this category are goal-setting, planning and prioritizing.
To learn more about Focus, click here.
2. EFFICACY
"If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster."
—Stephen Covey
After a result has been identified, a filter is naturally created through which you screen choices and actions based on whether or not they move you closer to the desired result.
The things you think, say, and do that are in alignment with your desired result are considered to be effective. They "move the chains down" the field.
Other skills that fall under this category are decision-making and procrastination.
To learn more about Efficacy, click here.
3. EFFICIENCY
"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."
—Peter Drucker
Then, you optimize your productivity by maximizing the results achieved while minimizing the resources needed to produce those results.
Other skills that fall under this category are organization and outsourcing.
To learn more about Efficiency, click here.
4. ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
"The individual is the maker of the very environment to which he becomes a slave; but he has also the power to break away from it and create an environment that will not dull his mind or spirit."
—Krishnamurti
After you've identified the desired result and have taken measures to ensure this result is achieved effectively and efficiently, you design an environment that supports these conditions, called Environmental Design, or Environment for short. This is a skill that can be applied both internally (in the mind) and externally (in the world).
Other skills that fall under this category are organization and outsourcing.
To learn more about Environmental Design, click here.
5. SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems."
—James Clear
Finally, you develop systems to ensure the desired result is achieved consistently without fail, with or without your conscious involvement. This last ingredient—Systems for short—is known to be the icing on the cake that sets you free mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Other skills that fall under this category are automation and processing.
To learn more about Systems Development, click here.
These five skills are all that's needed to drastically improve your life through time management.
These are the 20%... and if you invest enough time developing them, they'll yield 80% or more of the results you desire.
Time Management Skills That Get Results
Remember, the original definition of productivity is defined by the resource(s) being used to achieve a specific result...
So the Freedom Formula is used to both identify and maximize the desired result as well as minimize the resources used to achieve that result.
Through the lens of time management, the resource being minimized is time. However, other resources will automatically be minimized as you become better at applying the formula.
This recipe is the best way to get started with improving your time management skills.
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