Time management in project management

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Abstract

Effective time management is a vital skill in project management as it involves handling multiple tasks while prioritizing and planning them. This article explores several time management theories as The Pickle Jar theory, Parkinson’s Law, and Eisenhower matrix, which can help project managers prioritize their tasks effectively.

Furthermore, this article provides guidance on how to transform the way we work and enhance productivity by adopting techniques, such as decluttering the mind, batching, bite sizing, and reviewing introduced as essentials. It also emphasizes the importance of a productive work environment and identifies distractions that can worsen time management skills for project managers. Distractions such as external noises, electronic devices, and time-consuming conversations are dealt with. The article further discusses studies on reducing distractions in project management office environments.

Finally, the article uncovers the silent killers of effective time management, namely perfectionism, multitasking, and working without breaks. It emphasizes the need to be aware of these silent killers and provides insights on how to avoid the detrimental effects.

Introduction

“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort” – Paul J. Meyer

As a project manager, you have the responsibility to follow and track your teammate's progress, but more so you have the responsibility to track your own performance and complete big projects within the deadline and budget. This article focuses on how you can use your time efficiently and effectively. A few essential time management theories will be presented and how you can use techniques to utilize the available work time. The trick is not to overwork but use the available work hours to your best benefit.

Time management theories

The following time management theories can help project managers prioritize their tasks effectively.

Pickle jar theory

The Pickle Jar theory is based on prioritizing your daily activities and responsibilities in a specific order. The pickle jar theory (also known as The Bucket of Rocks or The Jar of Life theory) was developed by Jeremy Wright in 2002 with the perception that time is limited [1].

To visualize this, imagine you have an empty pickle jar that represents the available time in a day and your daily activities consist of large rocks, pebbles, and sand
The Pickle Jar Theory [2]
. The large rocks represent the value-adding activities in your day, the pebbles represent necessary activities but not value-adding activities. Lastly, the sand represents non-value-adding activities such as scrolling on social media, etc.

So, instead of doing your daily activities in a random order, where you don’t differentiate between value-adding and non-value-adding activities. The theory suggests prioritizing the most important and value-adding tasks (large rocks) before the pickle jar is consumed with sand (non-value-adding tasks).

The theory emphasizes the limitation of time and the importance of completing value-adding tasks as early as possible.

Parkinson's law

In 1955 Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote a book named “Parkinson’s Law: The Pursuit of progress”. In the book, the author describes a woman whose task for the day is to send a single postcard. The woman spends the day completing the task by dragging her activities out to fill the day.

This is one of the extreme examples, but we have all been affected by Parkinson’s law to some extent.
Parkinson's Law [3].

Studies show that when given a task we tend to think of how much time is available to complete the task instead of how much is actually needed in order to complete the task [4]. This results in having a deadline that is way beyond what is needed and dragging the work out until right before it’s due. Some would call that procrastination, however, it’s Parkinson’s law in action. Parkinson’s law resolves around the amount of delegated time we give to a given task. The law states that the amount of time needed to complete a task will increase according to the amount of time there is allocated [5]. In practice, this means if you have sat aside 2 hours to send an email, you surely will spend 2 hours to send the e-mail, although the task might require 10 minutes to complete. Luckily there are steps and tools available to avoid Parkinson’s law, these will be presented later in the article.

Eisenhower matrix

The Eisenhower matrix also known as the urgent-important matrix or the time management matrix is a method that exploits the concept of importance and urgency to prioritize tasks. [6]
The Eisenhower matrix

The Eisenhower matrix has its roots in 1954 when former president Dwight D. Eisenhower acknowledges that he only had two kinds of problems “The urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent”. [7]


Later on, the Eisenhower matrix was illustrated by the author Stephen Covey in "7 Habits of highly effective people". The matrix consists of four different quadrants to help categorize the urgency and importance of the tasks at hand. The illustration in the figure shows each quadrant and how it’s divided. The golden quadrant to be in is when a task is important but not urgent. This is also where you are proactive and not reactive in contrast to the first quadrant (urgent and important). [8]

Productive techniques to transform the way you work

As a project manager, you have a lot of responsibility and many project activities you need to keep track of. Although there are many great tools that enhance effective and efficient time management, tools solely are not enough to succeed as a great project manager.

Here are the steps needed to transform the way you work that will differentiate you from any other project manager.

Unclutter your mind

Many of us have a lot of internal reminders set, these can include anything from project management related to having to buy new dental floss. The internal reminders create a lot of internal noise and can clutter the mind very easily.

A trick to clear the mind is to create an inbox for all your internal reminders.

Take a piece of paper or create a document on your tablet/laptop and name it “Inbox”. Now note all the reminders, questions, and thoughts down. The inbox should be a place you use daily and is easily accessible for you to update the list daily.

These are all tasks you can’t handle right now but are still important to remember. By writing them down you remove the tasks from your “active memory” and free up space in your mind. This isn’t necessarily your to-do list, it is a mixture between to-dos and a memory list. The important part is that you note the future tasks down to focus on the current tasks you’re dealing with [9].

Batching

Now that you have created an inbox and removed the clutter from your mind, you can go to the next step: batching [10]. Batching is a time management technique, where you group similar tasks which contribute to a common objective. By time batching you can work on tasks for a specific amount of time or till you complete a finite number of tasks.

Tasks can be categorized in two ways:

Shallow tasks: Tasks that are rather simple and can be completed quickly.

Deep tasks: Tasks that require a large amount of focus to complete.

Batching can potentially reduce mental exhaustion and achieve a greater level of productivity. In the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen, he approaches time management as transferring the clutter in your mind (now in an inbox) to a safe place. A safe place can be translated as a spot in an organized system.

Consider what you have written in your inbox. Are the items actionable? If an item is actionable, there are three things you can do [11]:

  1. The two-minute rule: If the task takes less than two minutes to complete, you should do it immediately, so it doesn’t take up space in the inbox and get in the way of important tasks. These tasks are often shallow tasks.
  2. Delegate the action: If the task can be delegated to other colleagues to be finished.
  3. Defer the action: If the task can’t be completed within two minutes, the task should be scheduled in your planner and the needed time should be allocated. This often refers to deep tasks.

The inbox should be emptied on a regular basis, and the system will notify you when tasks need your attention.

Bite size

Projects first given at hand can seem rather overwhelming and intimidating. It can be difficult to figure out where to begin. An approach is to break down the whole project into smaller and more manageable parts. Completing each part at a time leads to progress instead of procrastination.

The technique Work Breakdown Structure can also be used for this purpose. Work breakdown structure are especially good for smaller projects and can be used in several ways. The methodology are covered by a fellow wiki creator in the article [12].

Review and planning

To be able to set time aside every day and review what tasks have been accomplished and what is left to be done are essential time management skills. Reviewing allows you to reflect on how well your current time management system is working and implement necessary changes for improvement. Reviewing the tasks that require your attention and learning and planning the most efficient way to accomplish them is a good way to develop your time management skills. The large project you broke down into smaller and manageable segments with the method bite sizing, now each segment needs to be planned in accordance with the timeline of the large project.

Planning the optimal order to approach each segment and ensuring completed segments can seamlessly transition into the following segment. This approach prevents starting a project stage only to realize that it relies on the completion of another stage that is scheduled for a later time. For monthly planning a Gantt chart [13] is a great tool to use since dependent tasks can be included in the planning of different segments.

Daily review

Get into the habit of reviewing your time management plan before starting the day. A daily review will allow you to make minor corrections before they become major issues. Reviewing the tasks from your weekly or monthly schedule will make you clear on which tasks you want to accomplish for the day, the most important tasks should be planned for completion as early as possible. Review your tasks during the day and adjust as needed to improve your time scheduling.

Before ending the day, review your plan and notice which tasks you accomplished for the day. You might learn that the time you allocated for a task was far more than the time you needed to complete the task. This insight gives you the opportunity to update the allocated time for your future and similar tasks in your weekly or monthly schedule.

Productive work environment

Until now we have been through the techniques and theories and if you still don’t see results from the time management theories and techniques it might be due to your work environment. Studies have shown that a typical office employee only gets 11 minutes between each interruption, and on average it takes 25 minutes to return to a task after an interruption [14]. Therefore, it’s very important to find the main interrupters and reduce them.

Workspace

A clean workspace is vital for your productivity and hence your time management. A messy and cluttered workspace distracts us from the task at hand and instead our mind wanders to the pile of paper on the desk. A cluttered workspace is not necessarily a physical one, your workspace on your computer should also be clean and neat so you can find important documents quickly. A study at Princeton University found that “Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout the visual cortex, providing a neural correlate for the limited processing capacity of the visual system” [15]

A workspace is personal, and you will probably have your own preference for setting things in order. A good start to quickly and efficiently sort the pile of paper is the RAFT system [16]. Categorize your pile of paper into the following:

  • Read: Documents that require future reading, this could also include reading of interest and not work-related stuff.
  • Act: Documents that require you to take action, such as bills, contracts, invitations, etc.
  • File: Documents that require to be filed for future references, such as legal documents, business receipts, etc.
  • Toss: Documents that you don’t need, such as outdated information, junk mail, past events, etc.

The RAFT system is the first step to getting to the bottom of your pile of paper. To avoid the progression of the pile of paper it’s necessary to build a sustainable system. The Japanese method 5S from the lean toolbox is great for this purpose [17]. The 5S method can be used for sorting the papers, setting them in order, making your workspace shine by cleaning it, standardizing the new system, and lastly sustaining the new system.

Distractions and how to reduce them

Distractions exist at all times, they can be very hard to completely avoid. Nevertheless, it’s important to recognize the biggest distractions and develop attainable actions to reduce them. A study from University of California on the cost of interrupted work concludes ”After only 20 minutes of interrupted performance people reported significantly higher stress, frustration, workload, effort, and pressure.” [14]. This highlights the importance of spotting the biggest distractors and reducing them as much as possible.

External noises

External noises can be difficult to eliminate since they’re out of your control. Although you can acquire noise-cancelling headphones for a start and see if that helps with the noise. You might be tempted to blast your favorite music genre on full volume, but that might not be the best promotor for focused work. Instead, you should tune into Baroque music [18]. Baroque music is a genre of classical music composed between 1600 and 1750. The music is dramatic with elaborate ornamentation. According to “Music and Learning: Integrating Music in the Classroom” by Chris Boyd Brewer [19] the benefits of using music during studying include establishing a positive learning state, changing brain wave states, focusing concentration, increasing concentration, improving memory, releasing tension, enhancing imagination and providing inspiration and motivation. Brewer states: “Baroque music, such as that composed by Bach, Handel or Telemann, that is 50 to 80 beats per minute creates an atmosphere of focus that leads students into deep concentration in the alpha brain wave state. Learning vocabulary, memorizing facts or reading to this music is highly effective.”

Electronic devices and social media

It has become very common to use several devices at one time, checking your e-mails while scrolling on social media. Switching between different apps on your smartphone. This is called “media multitasking” and a study from University College London published shows which effect media multitasking can have on our brains. "Research has demonstrated that brain structure can be altered upon prolonged exposure to novel environments and experience"[20]. The researchers investigated if the brain structures of hefty media multitaskers were different from the brains of light media multitaskers. The findings of the research showed that the hefty media multitaskers brain structure was different from the light media multitaskers. In particular, one region of the brain, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), was smaller than the ACC of light media multitaskers [21]. The ACC is associated with emotional control and focus, thus it’s vital to reduce distractions related to media multitasking. The first step is to go from multitasking to single-tasking when the distraction appears, only leaving you with one electronic device at a time. Next, you can use the methodology of batching as presented earlier. Instead of checking social media constantly at any given opportunity, you batch the activity and plan when to look at social media, preferably once to twice during work hours.

Time-consuming conversations

Having conversations with co-workers can be great fun, but sometimes they can be very time consuming, and it can be difficult to bail out of the conversation again. The reduction of this distraction is not solely up to you, but you can take your precautions and avoid unvoluntary conversations.

Time-blocking in your work calendar is a good way to let your colleagues know that you are busy and working. If they still decide to drop by your office, you can politely tell them that you will get back to them when you have finished your task. A pair of headphones are also a good indicator that you’re not welcoming any chatty colleagues at the moment. It's important to set work boundaries to protect your focus and concentration [22]

The silent killers of effective time management

Perfectonism

Oxford Dictionary's definition of perfectionism is “refusal to accept any standard short of perfection”. In the context of time management demanding perfection can be a waste of time, since managing time means completing a task efficiently and by the standards set for it. Perfectionists have difficulties handing a task over that is flawed, this leads to procrastination and delaying the deadlines without reason.

Project managers with perfectionist characters set unrealistic expectations for themselves and their teams. This results in inefficient use of time and negatively impacts time management. It’s vital to recognize the signs of perfectionism and take manageable steps to reduce it. Setting realistic goals, prioritizing tasks, and being willing to accept imperfection are steps that can help with the inner perfectionist. It should be noted that a perfectionist can be disguised as having imposter syndrome [23], and it requires a level of awareness to acknowledge and accept you might have the tendencies of a perfectionist.

Multitasking

Multitasking is a known phenomenon in today’s society and is often mistaken to be time efficient and smart to use. The phrase “I can do it faster because I can multitask” is a widely misunderstood understanding of multitasking. Neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin and the author of the book “The organized mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of information overload” explains the following on multitasking:

”Asking the brain to shift attention from one activity to another causes the prefrontal cortex and striatum to burn up oxygenated glucose, the same fuel they need to stay on task”. He then proceeds to add “And the kind of rapid, continual shifting we do with multitasking causes the brain to burn through fuel so quickly that we feel exhausted and disoriented after even a short time. We’ve literally depleted the nutrients in our brain. This leads to compromise in both cognitive and physical performance.” [24]

Multitasking means switching between different tasks, it has no relation to time efficiency. If you don’t want to lose focus by switching between tasks simultaneously, then stop multitasking. [25]

Working without breaks

Taking breaks is necessary for long-term focus and concentration, and breaks can prevent decision fatigue. Sitting at a desk for many hours a day does not equal effective work, our brain has a limited focus and concentration span. It’s necessary to take breaks to keep performing at a high level. [26] A good rule of thumb is to use the Pomodoro technique to ensure you incorporate breaks during your work hours. [27]

The Pomodoro technique was developed in the 1980s by Francesco Cirillo when he was a student in college. Cirillo had a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato (pomodoro in Italian), he challenged himself to concentrate only 2 minutes on a task without distractions [28]. He then increased the time and found a sweet spot of 25 minutes of work followed by a 5 minutes break which accounts for one Pomodoro. After four Pomodoro’s a longer break of 15-30 minutes is taken. Today the Pomodoro technique is used worldwide and there are several Pomodoro apps [29] for free you can use to follow the technique.

Annotated bibliography

  1. Morgenstern, J. (2009) Time Management from the inside out the foolproof system for taking control of your schedule - and your life. Solon, OH: Playaway Digital Audio.
  2. Dienstmann, Giovanni, (2021) Mindful self-discipline, Live and Dare Publications.
  3. Kwik, Jim, (2020), Limitless, Hay House.
  4. Allen, David, (2015), Getting Things Done, Brown Book Group.

References

  1. ↑ Nwabueze, Akachukwu I., Edikpa, Edith C. and Chukwuma, Ifeoma S., TIMING THE WORK FOR ENHANCED ADMINISTRATIVE PERFORMANCE IN UNIVERSITIES, 2018, https://www.journalijdr.com/sites/default/files/issue-pdf/13705.pdf, (Accessed: April 9, 2013)
  2. ↑ Zoho. (2022, January 4). Say Goodbye to Workplace Distractions in 2022. Zoho Blog. https://www.zoho.com/blog/cliq/say-goodbye-to-workplace-distractions-in-2022.html
  3. ↑ Asana, T. (2022) Parkinson's law: Overcome it to increase productivity [2022], Asana. Available at: https://asana.com/resources/parkinsons-law (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  4. ↑ Brannon, L.A., Hershberger, P.J. and Brock, T.C. (1999) “Timeless demonstrations of Parkinson’s first law,” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 6(1), pp. 148–156. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03210823
  5. ↑ Asana, T. (2022) Parkinson's law: Overcome it to increase productivity [2022] • asana, Asana. Available at: https://asana.com/resources/parkinsons-law (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  6. ↑ Content Team, M.T. (no date) Home, MindTools. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/al1e0k5/eisenhowers-urgentimportant-principle (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  7. ↑ Dwight D. Eisenhower (August 19, 1954). Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Evanston, Illinois. (Retrieved 9 April 2023.)
  8. ↑ Asana, T. (2022) Be productive at home: 11 tips to promote efficiency [2023] • asana, Asana. Available at: https://asana.com/resources/eisenhower-matrix (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  9. ↑ Business.us, D. (no date) Time Management Guide and Resource, Discover Business. Available at: https://www.discoverbusiness.us/resources/time-management/#:~:text=Three%20theories%20about%20time%20and,Pareto%20principle%2C%20and%20Parkinson's%20Law. (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  10. ↑ Team, Editorial, (2022), Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/time-batching, (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  11. ↑ Business.us, D. (no date) Time Management Guide and Resource, Discover Business. Available at: https://www.discoverbusiness.us/resources/time-management/#:~:text=Three%20theories%20about%20time%20and,Pareto%20principle%2C%20and%20Parkinson's%20Law. (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  12. ↑ Almanzi, Stefano, (2022), Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), APPPM, Available at: http://wiki.doing-projects.org/index.php/Work_Breakdown_Structure_(WBS), (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  13. ↑ Boesgaard, Katrine, (2018), Gantt Chart, APPPM, Available at: http://wiki.doing-projects.org/index.php/Gantt_Chart, (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Mark, G., Gudith, D. and Klocke, U. (2008) “The cost of interrupted work,” Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems [Preprint]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/1357054.1357072.
  15. ↑ Webmaster, S. (2018) A clean, well-lighted place, Stanford BeWell. Available at: https://bewell.stanford.edu/a-clean-well-lighted-place/ (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  16. ↑ Birchtree, H. (2019) Birchtree organizing: How to quickly sort through paper clutter, Birchtree Organizing | Maximize Space. Optimize Time. Simplify Life. Available at: https://birchtreeorganizing.ca/how-to-quickly-sort-through-paper-clutter/ (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  17. ↑ Bicheno, J. et al. (2009) “Preparing for flow,” in The Lean Toolbox: The Essential Guide to Lean Transformation. Buckingham, England: PICSIE Books, pp. 60–79.
  18. ↑ Kirsch, C. (2017) If it's not baroque don't fix it, The Belltower. Available at: https://belltower.mtaloy.edu/4940/academics/if-its-not-baroque-dont-fix-it/ (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  19. ↑ Brewer, C. B. (1995). Music and learning: Integrating music in the classroom. New Horizons for Learning, https://www.scirp.org/(S(czeh2tfqw2orz553k1w0r45))/reference/referencespapers.aspx?referenceid=1052700
  20. ↑ Markham Heid, "The Brains of Highly Distracted People Look Smaller", VICE, October 12, 2017, https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjxmpx/constant-tech-distractions-are-like-feeding-your-brain-junk-food, (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  21. ↑ Markham Heid, "The Brains of Highly Distracted People Look Smaller", VICE, October 12, 2017, https://www.vice.com/en/article/wjxmpx/constant-tech-distractions-are-like-feeding-your-brain-junk-food, (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  22. ↑ Grace Saunders, E. (2019) Protect your time at work by setting better boundaries, Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/12/protect-your-time-at-work-by-setting-better-boundaries (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  23. ↑ Redelinghuys, D. (2022) Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a project manager, Career Karma. Available at: https://careerkarma.com/blog/imposter-syndrome-in-project-management/ (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  24. ↑ Daniel J. Levitin, The organized mind: Thinking straight in the age of information overload, Dutton, 2016
  25. ↑ Magazine, Discover (2021), Why multitasking does more harm than good, Stanford University, Available at: https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/why-multitasking-does-more-harm-good, (Accessed: April 9, 2023)
  26. ↑ Breaks during the workday (no date) Toward a Respectful Workplace. Available at: https://workplace.msu.edu/breaks-during-the-workday/#:~:text=Not%20taking%20enough%20breaks%20leads,mental%20health%20and%20well%2Dbeing (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  27. ↑ Giesbrecht, Beth A., (2015), Pomodoro Technique for time management, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Available at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=nbdcwhitepapers
  28. ↑ The Pomodoro® Technique (no date) Cirillo Company. Available at: https://francescocirillo.com/products/the-pomodoro-technique (Accessed: April 9, 2023).
  29. ↑ https://focuskeeper.co/
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