26 Time Management Hacks

26 Time Management Hacks for the Intelligent 

These are the top 26 time management hacks that we wished we knew at 20 years old. Though they are still all applicable for any age group. Initially, I had thought to go down the list and pick my favorites, but as I started going down the list, I realized all of them were very good.  

1. There's always time.  Time is priorities. 
2. "Only plan for 4-5 hours of real work per day."  Days always fill up.
3. "It's normal to have days where you just can't work and days where you'll work 12 hours straight." Work more when you're in the zone. Relax when you're not.
4. "Your time is $1000/hour, and you need to act accordingly." Respect your time and make it respected.

5. Single-treading and home at 5pm Stop multi-tasking. It merely kills your focus. 

6. Set up a work routine and stick to it. Your body will adapt. 

7. We're always more focused and productive with limited time. 

8. Work is the best way to get working. Start with short tasks to get the ball rolling. 

9. "Doing is better than perfect." Work iteratively. Expectations to do things perfectly are stifling. 

10. More work hours doesn't mean more productivity. Use constraints as opportunities. 

11. "Separate thinking and execution to execute faster and think better." Separate brainless and strategic tasks to become more productive. 

12. Organize meetings early during the day. Time leading up to an event is often wasted.

13. "A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in." Group meetings and communication (email or phone) to create blocks of uninterrupted work.

14. Keep the same context through out the day. Switching between projects/clients is unproductive.

15. Work around procrastination. Procrastinate between intense sprints of work (Pomodoro).

16. "Break the unreasonable down into little reasonable chunks. A big goal is only achieved when every little 

thing that you do everyday, gets you closer to that goal."

17. No 2 tasks ever hold the same importance. Always prioritize. Be really careful with to-do lists..

18. "Only ever work on the thing that will have the biggest impact." Always know the one thing you really
need to get done during the day.

19. Break tasks into hour increments. Long tasks are hard to get into; feels like it all needs to get done.

20. "If something can be done 80% as well be someone else, delegate!" Delegate and learn to make use of 

other people.

21. "Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games." Turn the page on yesterday. Only ever think about today and tomorrow.

22. Set deadlines for everything. Don't let tasks go on indefinitely.

23. Set end dates for intense and stressful activities. Everything ends at some point.

24. "Get a reminder app for everything. Do not trust your own brain for your memory." Always take notes.

25. "Write down anything that distracts you- google searches, random thoughts, new ideas, whatever. The 

point is, if you write them down, they'll stop bubbling up when you're in the zone."

26. Take breaks. Sometimes.