The productivity myth

As we saw in Chapter 11, the traditional nine-to-five, five-days-a-week working pattern doesn't exactly reflect our capacity for productivity, because the average person is productive for less than three hours a day. In other words, that colleague who stays later than everyone else isn't necessarily getting more work done (probably the opposite is true).

Recognizing this, time management is about working smarter rather than working harder or longer. Someone who is great at managing their time will know when they're at their most productive and use that time wisely, reserving the less-productive hours for other tasks (or nonwork passions). In this way, time management is all about creating a better work–life balance. After all, your time is a precious—and finite—resource.

Some companies have really taken this to heart and are starting to introduce four-day workweeks. Unilever is one such company. In New Zealand, Unilever is trialing a radical approach where employees work four days a week but get paid for five days. The approach is based around the 100:80:100 logic, in which people keep 100 percent of their salary, work 80 percent of the time, and still deliver 100 percent of their output. If the trial is successful, Unilever says it will extend the initiative to other offices around the world.¹

Even entire countries are transitioning to a four-day workweek as standard. Iceland trialed this approach between 2015 and 2019 and dubbed the trial an “overwhelming success.” Today, 86 percent of Iceland's workforce is already working fewer hours (without taking a pay cut), or will be entitled to do so.² Best of all, productivity levels at the companies involved in the trial either stayed the same or improved—showing that productivity isn't about how much time you spend working, but how you spend that time.

Overcoming procrastination

There's often a conflict at the center of time management—and that conflict is all about self-control and motivation. Think of it as having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The angel motivates you to get a certain task done, while the devil is constantly coming up with reasons to put it off. Managing your time effectively is a question of which one is most persuasive—the angel or the devil. And this may be influenced by various internal and external factors.

Of course, we all know deep down that time management is about having the self-control to get things done and not to procrastinate. But the reality isn't that simple, since most of us are still guilty of procrastinating at some point or other. Why is procrastination so tempting? Why do we listen to that voice telling us that it's okay to put something off, even when we know it doesn't serve us?

Research shows that the various reasons why we procrastinate fall into two camps: demotivating factors and hindering factors.³ Examples of demotivating factors might be fear of failure, anxiety, perfectionism, or simply not wanting to do the task because it's unpleasant. And hindering factors might include things like being exhausted, having goals that are too vague, or when the reward for the task is too far in the future. These are hindering factors because they literally hinder our motivation. And when our motivation is weakened, it's more likely to be outweighed or overpowered by any demotivating factors. As a result, the balance tips in favor of procrastination.

This is a simplistic summary—the psychological mechanisms behind motivation and the reasons for procrastination are obviously more complex and varied than this. But it goes to show that time management is often a case of making sure your motivation—which may or may not be hindered by external factors—outweighs any demotivating factors. The good news is there are plenty of practical strategies to keep your motivation up, avoid procrastination, and make the most of your time. More on this coming up later in the chapter.

For individuals

• Do the important jobs first. People often like to get the most unpleasant task ticked off the list first, just to get it done. (As the Mark Twain saying goes, “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”) Others like to get quick and easy tasks done first, just to feel like they're achieving stuff. But it's far better to prioritize in order of importance, regardless of whether or not it's hard. This brings me to the next point.
• Ruthlessly prioritize your time. I like to use the ABC method to plan my day and prioritize tasks in order of importance. An “A” task is my most important, must-do item for the day (or, if there's more than one A task, I label them A1, A2, and so on). “B” tasks are secondary tasks that are less important than A tasks—you never move onto a B task while there are still A tasks on the list. And C tasks are those that are nice to get done, but it's not a big deal if they don't happen that day. I start every morning with this method (or you could do it at the end of each day, ready for the next day).
• Set a time limit for each task. Once I've made my to-do list for the day, I set time limits for each task on the list. This ensures I don't let tasks expand to fill more time than they really need, and it keeps my day manageable because I know what I can realistically achieve.
• Build in buffers between tasks. When planning your time, don't absolutely pack your schedule. You never know when something may take a bit longer than you think, or when something more important may crop up. For example, if you know a task should probably take one hour, block out an hour and 15 minutes, thereby leaving you a bit of wriggle room in your day.
• Schedule breaks. In Chapter 11 we saw that productive people take regular short breaks, and you should do the same. You may find it helpful to block out time for breaks in your daily schedule, or set an hourly reminder to take a five-minute breather.
• Frame tasks and goals within a wider context. One thing that I find motivational is to focus on how specific tasks or goals will help me fulfill a longer-term vision. Yes, we humans like short-term results and instant gratification, but it also helps to see how tasks feed into the bigger picture. Ask yourself questions like, “How will this help my overall career?” “How will this help me achieve my long-term goal of X, Y, or Z?” Or “How will this help my organization achieve its vision?”
• Keep it bite-size. If a task feels overwhelmingly large, break it down into manageable, actionable pieces. Then prioritize those chunks in order of importance as per the ABC method.
• Find your productive hours. Productive people don't fill every hour of their day—they know when they work best and they make sure they get the important stuff done during those hours. For you, this may be in the morning, it may be late at night when the kids are in bed, or somewhere in between. The key thing is to know when you work best, so you can block that time out for the most important tasks, and avoid filling it up with meetings or less important jobs, which are better suited to other times of the day.
• Don't multitask. Multitasking is the enemy of productivity because you can end up not doing anything properly. Remember, time management isn't about being super-busy or working extra hard; it's about being smart with your time and effort. That means giving one task at a time your full attention, and finishing that before moving on to the next item.
• Eliminate distractions. I love working from home, but I recognize that some people find it distracting. It certainly helps to turn off notifications on your phone, turn on your phone's “do not disturb mode” when you need to, and set boundaries for anyone sharing your space. (For example, by saying, “For the next hour, I really need to get my head down and concentrate,” or “When my office door is closed, it means do not disturb.”) The same tips also apply when you're in an office environment.
• Learn to say no. Saying no is an art form, and if you can master it, you'll feel much more in control of your time. Very often, it's not even a case of saying no but setting expectations for when you can do something—for example, by saying, “I can't do this until next week,” or “The next free time I have available for that is Friday afternoon.” If you do need to say no, explain your current workload and be firm and polite, without being overly apologetic.
• Delegate nonessential tasks where possible. If something doesn't have to be done by you, consider delegating (or outsourcing) it. Circle back to Chapter 15 for more on leadership and delegation.
• Weigh up the consequences of doing something versus not doing it. When all else fails, ask yourself, “What will happen if I don't get this done?” If the answer is “Er, not much,” then it's probably not that important. But if you know there might be serious consequences if you put it off, that might give you the extra motivational nudge you need.
• Reward yourself for getting jobs done, perhaps with a short walk, a fancy coffee, or a few minutes on TikTok—whatever floats your boat.
• Understand that sometimes—just sometimes—procrastination can be a good thing. The urge to procrastinate might be telling you something (for example, that a task isn't that important to you, or that you're tired and need a break). So circle back to the demotivating and hindering factors from earlier in the chapter and try to identify why you feel the need to put something off. And sometimes, the mind just needs a bit of time to wander, imagine, and be creative (see Chapter 8)—and that's also a good thing.
• Finally, if you find yourself not wanting to do many of the tasks associated with your job, then maybe it's time to switch jobs! Seriously, ask yourself whether it's really the right job for you, because it's not “normal” to dislike your job or feel constantly demotivated.

For organizations

I highly recommend business leaders invest in time management training for their teams to instill good practice across the organization. But it's also important to recognize that productivity (and productive hours) will look very different from person to person, meaning you should give people the freedom and flexibility to work however and whenever they work best. You may even consider going as far as implementing a four-day workweek (while still paying people for five days), which has been shown to deliver benefits for work–life balance, productivity, and stress.

For managers, I recommend asking people within the team when they're most productive and focused, so that you can leave people alone during those times and, where possible, schedule things like catch-ups and team meetings for less focused hours.