Okay, let’s be honest. Time management. It’s the holy grail, the thing we all chase but never quite catch, right? Or is that just me? I’ve definitely had my fair share of, shall we say, *interesting* experiences trying to wrangle my days into something resembling order. And by “interesting,” I mean disastrous. Hilariously disastrous, sometimes. But also, sometimes, kind of successful. Hence the “wins” part of the title.
The Time I Thought I Could Do It All (Spoiler: I Couldn’t)
I remember this one time, back in, oh, 2018, I think? I decided I was going to become a super-productive machine. I had a new job, I was taking an online course, I was trying to learn the guitar (badly, I might add), and I’d promised to help my friend with her wedding planning. Basically, I signed up for everything. I found some app, some to do list thing, I think it was called “TaskMaster Pro” or something equally intimidating.
I meticulously entered every single task, every single appointment, every single “practice guitar for 15 minutes” entry into this app. I color-coded everything! It was a masterpiece…on my phone. In reality, I was a frazzled mess. I was constantly running late, forgetting appointments, and feeling utterly overwhelmed. I think I even snapped at my friend during one of her wedding planning sessions. Ugh, what a mess!
The problem wasn’t the app, necessarily. It was me. I had overestimated my capabilities and underestimated the amount of time things actually take. I was trying to cram 36 hours worth of activities into a 24-hour day. Surprise, surprise, it didn’t work. Burnout city.
The Pomodoro Technique: A Love-Hate Relationship
So, after my spectacular productivity implosion, I decided to try something different. I’d heard about the Pomodoro Technique – 25 minutes of focused work, followed by a 5-minute break. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. For me, at least.
The first few days went okay. I managed to get some focused work done, but then…Squirrel! My mind would wander during those 25-minute intervals. I’d start thinking about what to have for dinner, or what Netflix show I wanted to binge-watch, or some random thing I saw on Instagram. The 5-minute breaks turned into 15-minute social media rabbit holes. I just couldn’t stick to it consistently. Maybe I’m just too easily distracted. I feel like this method can work for some people, but it was definitely not for me. Was I the only one confused by this, or does everyone else find it hard to stay focused for only 25 minutes at a time?
Honestly, I think I spent more time setting up the timer and resisting the urge to check my phone than actually working. It felt like a constant battle against my own brain. And my brain was winning. Always.
Finding My Time Management Sweet Spot (Eventually)
Okay, so what actually worked? Well, it wasn’t some magic bullet or groundbreaking technique. It was a combination of things, mostly involving being honest with myself and accepting my limitations. I found a sort of a happy medium. No extreme lists, no strict adherence to timers.
Prioritization is Key: This sounds obvious, but it took me a while to truly grasp it. I started by identifying my absolute must-do tasks for each day. These were the things that had deadlines or were critical to my overall goals. Everything else was secondary. If I got to it, great. If not, no big deal. It was okay to let some things slide.
Batching Tasks: I discovered that batching similar tasks together was a huge time-saver. For example, instead of checking email sporadically throughout the day, I set aside specific times to deal with them all at once. This minimized distractions and allowed me to focus on other things in between. It’s kind of like doing all your laundry at once rather than one sock at a time. Makes much more sense.
Saying “No”: This was a tough one, especially for someone who likes to please people (that’s me!). But I realized that saying “yes” to everything meant saying “no” to myself and my own priorities. Learning to politely decline requests that didn’t align with my goals was liberating. I’m still working on this one, but I’m getting better at it.
The Anti-Perfectionist Approach: I gave myself permission to be imperfect. To not get everything done. To not be a super-productive machine. This took a lot of pressure off and allowed me to actually enjoy the process of working towards my goals. It’s okay to have a messy desk, to miss a deadline occasionally, or to simply take a break when you need it.
My Current Time Management Arsenal
So, what does my time management system look like now? It’s pretty low-tech, actually.
A Simple Planner: I use a basic paper planner to jot down my daily and weekly priorities. Nothing fancy, just a place to keep track of what’s important.
Google Calendar: For appointments and deadlines, I rely on Google Calendar. It’s synced across all my devices, so I never miss anything.
A To-Do List App (But Not the Overwhelming Kind): I still use a to-do list app (currently trying out Todoist – seems promising), but I keep it simple. I only add essential tasks and avoid getting bogged down in details.
Timers (But With Flexibility): I still use a timer occasionally, but I’m not as strict about it. If I’m in the zone, I keep working. If I need a break, I take one, even if the timer hasn’t gone off yet.
The funny thing is, now that I’m not obsessing over time management, I’m actually getting more done. Go figure.
The Ongoing Journey of Productivity
I’m still learning, still experimenting, and still having days where I feel like I’m drowning in tasks. But I’ve come a long way since my super-productive machine days. I’ve learned to be kinder to myself, to prioritize what matters, and to embrace the chaos (a little bit). If you’re as curious as I was, you might want to dig into other blog posts about maintaining a positive mindset while trying to reach your goals.
Time management isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. And it’s a journey that’s constantly evolving. Who even knows what’s next? Maybe I’ll discover some new technique that revolutionizes my productivity. Or maybe I’ll just continue to muddle through, learning as I go. Either way, I’m okay with that.
