For Everyone Who Never Has Enough Time: An Introduction to Time Management

Origin and Introduction

Why Time Management is Necessary and the Target Audience for This Article

Whether in school or already in the workforce, there are always people who complain about being dissatisfied with their current situation.

Among these complainers, some may have no idea how to break free from this cycle of dissatisfaction, unable to find corresponding methods. These are outside the scope of our main discussion today.

However, if you belong to this type of person, perhaps this article can offer some moderate inspiration.

Others have some ideas about how to escape this unsatisfactory situation, and even know exactly what to do.

But the most common phrase these people say is: "Oh, I just don't have time!"

I want to escape a low-paying environment, so I might need to learn other skills, but I don't have time.

I know I'm really overweight and need to exercise to be healthier, but I just really don't have time.

I have many things I want to do besides work, but I still don't have time.

Do these words sound familiar?

If so, this article is likely intended for the reader in front of the screen.

For readers facing this dilemma, hopefully this article can offer some helpful advice, helping you escape the predicament of wanting to do so much but never having enough time.

Why do we need time management?

In life, we always have many things we want to do and desires.

You might want a lot of money, a great job, or plenty of time to do what you want, not just to survive.

You might even want to start a family, escape the pressure of deadlines, become a freelancer, or learn many different things.

We want many things, but human lifespan is actually very limited. With such limited time resources, we can hardly have everything; we inevitably have to make choices.

Of course, if the reader is an elf with an almost eternal lifespan, then disregard what I said (?), for you have the most of all—time!

Besides making choices, we can also make the most effective use of our time resources to increase what we can obtain.

Limited resources and endless desires—I think this is the most important function of time management.

Why can I talk about time management?

A day has 24 hours, but for me, I can make my 24 hours feel as productive as 48 or even 96 hours.

I can handle 4-5 times the workload of the average person, and still find time to cycle and play games daily.

While it's not exactly a work-life balance, I'm still able to do things I enjoy, learn things I like, and earn a decent income.

Of course, I also write articles frequently and spend time managing my own social media.

Since using this method, I no longer feel like I'm chasing deadlines, and I can finish everything ahead of time.

To be honest, I can't remember the last time I was chasing a deadline.

So rather than talking about how to manage time, I want to share the mindset and techniques I've used to maximize my 24 hours.

I hope this will offer some inspiration or insights to the readers of this article.

Mindset Examination and Self-Understanding

Seeing this title, readers might say, "Huh? A time management article is supposed to immediately give me a bunch of time management techniques and tips, right?"

On such a technique-heavy topic, are we starting with mindset?

Of course, there are many books and articles on the market that discuss time management, starting directly with time management techniques, and there are all sorts of methods, templates, and software available.

But often we overlook the fact that you might not actually need time management at all, or the reason you're bad at time management isn't because you lack skills or methods.

Rather, the problem lies in your initial motivation.

Therefore, before discussing time management techniques, I think we should first ask ourselves a few questions to clarify our needs, motivations, and goals. This will give our time management techniques more direction.

Of course, we must be honest when asking ourselves these questions. Don't be embarrassed, and don't lie.

Because this is you, the most unique you in the world.

Question 1: Why do you live? Do you have an ultimate goal in life that you want to achieve?

From childhood to adulthood, almost everyone lives under the pressure of those around them.

From childhood, as children, we're expected to obey our parents, study hard, and take exams. As adults, we become corporate slaves, sacrificing for our companies. As parents, we worry about our children and strive to be role models.

We rarely consider whether we truly desire anything in this world, or what we truly want to do.

Too often, we simply live according to the expectations of those around us and society, and over time, we come to believe that this is what we truly want to do.

So try to eliminate these external expectations and ask yourself: What is my ultimate goal in this world?

You might ask, why do I need to ask myself this question?

The reason we often feel like we don't have enough time is mostly because we have things we want to do and goals to achieve. Therefore, the prerequisite for time management is discovering your true goals.

If you don't have a goal, then time management is actually a false issue for you; in fact, you don't need time management at all.

Because you might use many techniques to create more time, but then find yourself in the predicament of not knowing what to do with that extra time.

Here, I'll share my own answer. I am someone who greatly enjoys and pursues knowledge and skills.

Therefore, my lifelong goal is to unlock all the knowledge and skill trees. Thus, all my arrangements revolve around "whether I can learn as much as possible."

If one cannot learn more about something, or if it's impossible to learn anything new about it later, then for the author, it has no value in doing it.

And because it's impossible to learn all the knowledge in this world within a human lifespan, the author's goal will never end; it will always be a direction to strive for.

What if you don't have a goal?

The author would suggest imagining what "a perfect version of yourself" would be like.

Question 2: What makes you happy, and what doesn't?

This question helps readers clarify what choices are difficult for them to make when faced with different situations, and what things they would be very willing to do without resistance.

When answering this question, it's best to explore the reasons behind your likes and dislikes of certain things or situations.

For example, if you feel happy spending time with friends, what makes you happy?

Is it because you desperately need emotional support from friends, or because you enjoy showcasing your abilities?

If you dislike your job (which is probably the reason most people dislike XD), what part of the job do you dislike?

Is it the regular work hours that make you unhappy, the crowded commuters that make you unhappy, or the repetitive nature of doing the same things that makes you unhappy?

Question 3: What is the order in which things come to mind?

Having learned about your likes and dislikes from Question 2, the next step is to rank these likes and dislikes.

For example, if you dislike your job because of the commute, would you dislike it less if you switched to remote work? Could you even come to like it?

If you really enjoy traveling, is traveling to other cities or even abroad particularly enjoyable? Or are they all pretty much the same?

After prioritizing these things you like and dislike, you'll have a more realistic basis for your choices when you need to make trade-offs to free up time.

Personally, my own affairs are always the most important, but occasionally, the affairs of people I cherish can take precedence over my own.

However, if it's just about providing emotional support, like comforting someone or maintaining a friendship, then it's generally a very, very low priority.

Question 4: Is there anything in your life that you truly cannot give up?

When faced with a real choice, is there anything you absolutely cannot compromise on, something that, if you did, might cause you unbearable physical or psychological suffering?

For example, some people might feel they must sleep a full eight hours every day, otherwise they might be completely unable to work the next day.

Or some people must go out and have fun at least once a week, otherwise they will feel very depressed and unable to plan for the following week.

Of course, the answer to this question is only what you currently consider uncompromising. Whether it's truly uncompromising will be verified and adjusted through subsequent procedures.

In my own experience, if I really had to sacrifice something, I could absolutely reduce my sleep time without any problem.

As I often say, "There's nothing that can't be solved without sleep." That's roughly it.

I myself can work for a whole week without any rest and it's no problem.

Examining the Current Situation - Finding Your Time Deficiencies

After gaining a deeper understanding of yourself through the previous questions, the next step is to understand the current situation, that is, to identify where your time is leaking.

First, use your weekly schedule as an observation subject, and record the time you spend on each activity within that week.

When I reviewed my own work, I recorded the time I spent on each activity in great detail, including commuting, various forms of sleep (including naps), studying, working, and playing.

Moreover, for work, I would break it down into the specific content of the work and the scope of that work.

In other words, it includes not only serious matters but also leisure and entertainment. You must record all the time you spend, not just serious tasks.

The main reason for using a "week" as the observation period is that most people schedule their work and schedules (except for shift work) on a weekly basis.

During this process, you may discover that some things you thought were related to your goals are not actually that relevant.

For example, the time spent regularly playing the lottery hoping to buy a house in the future XDDD.

When I first created this spreadsheet, it wasn't easy to clearly see where my time was being spent in the left-hand column.

This is one possible reason for time management issues XD.

But after reviewing it for a week or two, I gradually filled in the left-hand column, and only then could I truly say I had control over my time.

Next, categorize these time expenditures and consider the following points for each category:

Category 1: Time Spent Unrelated to the Goal

If this is where time is spent, you need to think, "Why are you spending your time on this?"

I personally further categorize this type of time expenditure by whether it's controllable.

Controllable Time Expenditure Unrelated to the Goal

The most typical example of this type is scrolling through your phone watching random videos. Of course, for me, sleeping is also a controllable expenditure of time.

After all, when to lie in bed and when to get up are things we can control.

Regarding this kind of time expenditure, the first question that must be considered is: "Since this time expenditure is unrelated to the goal, why do you need to spend time doing this?"

Scrolling through your phone watching casual videos is something that can truly be completely eliminated and doesn't need to be kept.

But if it's sleeping, readers might say that this involves a person's health, something that absolutely cannot be given up.

Have you noticed? When examining time loopholes, the issues that arise are actually the same questions we asked ourselves during self-examination: What things can be abandoned? How much time is acceptable for each task?

Some readers might think that scrolling through casual videos is a very relaxing activity, so how can it be completely eliminated?

Okay, so this is something you can't give up on. Then you need to clearly understand how much time you can accept spending on short videos each week?

Is it one hour? Five hours? Or do you have to scroll for 24 hours to achieve a healthy level of relaxation?

These all vary greatly from person to person, and the answers to these questions were actually covered in the self-examination mentioned earlier.

For me, when I'm really busy, I often ask myself, "Do I really need to sleep?"

Uncontrollable time spent on things unrelated to your goals

I think this type is a bit complicated. More serious situations might involve physical illnesses, while milder situations might involve emotional distress.

Or even, it might be that frequent rest is needed simply because physical strength is insufficient.

For this type of expenditure, I think the key question is whether this uncontrollable situation can be reduced.

If it's the more common situation of "physical strength insufficient," then perhaps exercise can help.

If it's related to illness, then consider whether to seek medical help to improve this aspect.

Category 2: Time Spent is Related to the Goal

This is "valuable" time expenditure, and when discussing this part of time expenditure, I think we should consider "optimization."

Is there a way to produce the same or better results, but with less time expenditure?

"Do I really need to spend so much time doing these things?" This is the question I most often asked myself in this section.

Starting to Get Better

Once you've roughly determined your goals and needs, and identified your time management and time loopholes, the next step is to gradually improve your time management.

Become someone who can stay ahead of deadlines, instead of being chased by them; someone who can truly control their time and avoid forgetting things.

In this section, I will use the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) quality management model.

PDCA consists of four different phases: Plan, Do, Check, and Act.

Planning

The planning part involves "formulating your adjustment strategy." To ensure accuracy and avoid forgetting anything, I will further break it down into the following steps.

Reviewing and Categorizing Tasks

First, identify what tasks you currently have that must be completed, their importance to your ultimate life goal, and any urgency levels.

You must categorize these tasks and break down your ultimate goal into phased objectives, assigning each phase a different timeframe.

In my own case, my ultimate goal is to unlock all knowledge and skill trees, but some skills cannot be unlocked without being in a specific position.

Therefore, I need to obtain the qualification to earn skill points through specific means, such as increasing my influence on social media, improving my own abilities, or even starting a business.

So, for my full-time job, I might need to obtain the corresponding certifications; for my entrepreneurial work, I need to expand my skills in various different areas; and for social media, I need to regularly produce articles.

Then, I need to factor in the time spent studying for certifications and the preparation period, the various skills I need to learn and the time I need to put them into practice, and the writing of articles also need to be scheduled at different times.

Simply put, I habitually treat everything I do as a project, setting corresponding small and large goals, as well as timeframes and milestones for achievement.

This spreadsheet is adjusted depending on the type of task. For example, for self-study or professional development, aside from specific exam deadlines, there aren't necessarily strict deadlines.

You can also take this opportunity to organize your remaining tasks and identify those that are regularly scheduled.

Of course, this spreadsheet must be updated constantly, with rolling adjustments.

Because as your work changes and your responsibilities shift, some tasks will be completed while others will be taken over. Therefore, based on my situation, I adjust it once a week.

Initial Time Management Plan

Why is it called preliminary? Because adjustments will still be necessary after the review.

Break down the 24 hours of a day, and the 24/7 of a week, totaling 168 hours.

This part also needs to be divided into different types of tasks and handled differently. Generally, this process is carried out every Sunday evening, along with reviewing the schedule for the following week.

But if it's your first time doing this, it's advisable to start immediately, because the first time will usually take longer XDDDDD, and there may be many issues you haven't considered.

1. For things unrelated to the goal but controllable

First, consider the time you can allocate to these things within a week, based on the question you asked yourself earlier: "Do I really need to spend so much time on this?"

And compress this time to "the minimum time you find acceptable."

For example, if a reader absolutely needs 8 hours of sleep a day, then 8 hours is the minimum. Or, if you absolutely need to use your phone for an hour a day, then only one hour is allowed, no more.

If you absolutely need to go out and have fun one day a week, then you have a 24-hour allowance for that outing.

Of course, you don't need to dictate what to do in each time slot like Emmanuel does; rather, your total available time is limited.

In my own case, I only need about 6 hours of sleep a day, and then I don't need any leisure or entertainment.

Dining out with friends is also completely unnecessary, so I hardly spend any of my time allowance on these activities.

But I still reserve one day a week for family or friends as a buffer, to avoid being unable to make time due to last-minute appointments or anything like that.

Therefore, I usually don't accept last-minute invitations, because this buffer time is likely to be quickly used for more serious matters. However, if someone asks me at least a week ahead, I am more likely to agree.

2. Regarding things unrelated to the goal but beyond our control

As we mentioned earlier, we need to find ways to reduce the uncontrollability of these kinds of things.

But ultimately, these are truly beyond our control, so we must allocate corresponding time to deal with them, or set aside additional time to improve them.

In the past, due to insufficient physical strength, I couldn't work very long hours and easily felt tired and bored.

However, since I developed the habit of commuting by bicycle and exercising for an hour every day, my physical strength has improved significantly, allowing me to work much longer hours, and my concentration has also increased considerably.

3. Regarding Goal-Related Matters

For goal-related matters, our focus is on "optimization," and this is also the part that I feel most time management techniques discuss.

But you can first estimate how much time you will need to handle the tasks and goals you plan to complete next week, based on your current situation.

You can even consider at this step whether you were procrastinating because you were constantly checking your phone, and whether there are better methods you can try.

This part can all be included in planning next week's schedule as an improvement plan.

Regarding how to optimize your time to achieve maximum efficiency, after explaining the entire process, I will briefly provide some optimization procedures that I usually use. Therefore, we will discuss this part later.

Review your time plan and adjust it.

Most people will face a problem after making an initial plan: "Ah, I just don't have enough time!"

Then you feel like giving up, and you feel that your goals don't seem necessary to achieve. Why not just relax and live a more relaxed life?

Oh, then I can only say that you may not actually want the goals you set for yourself that much.

Okay, if you don't fall into the above category, but still want to try it, here are a few adjustment methods I often use:

1. Multitasking

This is what I do most often to save time. Now, I do multiple things simultaneously at almost every moment.

For example, recently I wanted to catch up on some anime I'd been catching up on, but since watching anime directly is a bit of a waste of time, I watch it while exercising on my Switch or Nike Training device.

This way, I can achieve my stress-relieving schedule of "exercising for an hour" and "watching anime" within a single timeframe.

During my commute, I also use Notion to write blog posts, then copy and paste them to my regular writing platform at a later time.

Even in situations where I can't use electronic devices but can't avoid being there, my mind is always thinking about different things, like how to design certain elements of an escape room.

To be able to code and watch anime at the same time, I specifically studied Japanese to ensure my Japanese listening comprehension was good enough to understand the story without seeing the screen.

When editing podcast highlights, I listen to our own podcast while doing other things, and then jot down anything I think is worth editing into a highlight in my notebook.

Here's a little product placement for our podcast (very forced).

Spotify Link: Nengmo Podcast

Apple Podcast Link: Nengmo Podcast

Multitasking is already commonplace in my life.

2. Plan your to-do list for the next day the day before.

I have a dedicated page in my Notion for daily to-dos, which is updated every Sunday for the following week. I also double-check my schedule the night before.

My daily to-do list doesn't just list regular work; I also include daily dungeons I need to run in games and which players I need to trade with (don't doubt it, playing games is considered part of my job).

What we need to discuss in the escape room today and how we need to adjust things are basically all recorded in this daily to-do list.

3. Eager to learn various optimization methods

Even with drawing, you can use Paint with a mouse to draw manually, or you can use Illustrator's Bézier curves. Of course, you can also find an image outside and then use Image Tracing in Illustrator (please be aware of intellectual property issues).

To accomplish something, there are relatively efficient and fast methods; not everything needs to be brute-forced like a multiplication formula (sorry, my math teacher).

Some people might think their methods are good enough, even if they're a little slow, it doesn't matter, since they don't want to learn new things.

They'll keep using time-consuming or fundamentally flawed methods, continuing to do the same thing, no wonder they spend a lot of time on it.

For example, I know someone who started a business, and he said he only knows how to handle money and nothing else.

However, when handling the accounts of his newly established small company, he used the money management methods of large corporations, employing outdated Excel and a completely disorganized bookkeeping style.

He even used so-called internal and external accounts to do a lot of unnecessary work, complaining that he had to stay up all night every week to process probably fewer than 10 invoices, feeling immense pressure.

Not to mention, he made a mistake from the very first entry—that's another astonishing little story.

This is an example of someone who doesn't know how to learn new things or adjust their work methods to different situations.

With the rapid evolution of work methods and the assistance of AI, continuously learning effective work optimization techniques is crucial.

Here's a small recommendation for an article I wrote about learning:

How to Become an Effective Learner?

4. Compress Time Spent on Things Unrelated to Your Goals

This is a technique I've placed last in my time management discussion, but it's one that many time management articles frequently use.

The most typical examples are: don't use your phone, don't sleep.

Review note: The sleep reduction below is a record of my personal experience, not a recommendation. Most adults need at least seven hours of sleep per night; reducing sleep to two hours can pose health and safety risks. See the CDC sleep guidance.

As mentioned earlier, for these controllable activities unrelated to your goals, we need to find your "minimum required time."

But in reality, you really need to do this... Is it a long time? Can this time be compressed?

When I was in my senior year of high school, I felt that I didn't have enough time to study, even though I was studying at every moment at school and on the bus.

The reason for this was that I only studied seriously for one year out of my three years of high school; the other two years were spent having fun, so of course, there wasn't enough time.

Therefore, I tried a method called the sleep time compression method.

Every day, I tried to reduce my sleep by one hour, going from eight hours to seven. Once I got used to it and seven hours didn't affect my studies the next day, I reduced it by another hour to six hours, and then got used to that too.

After two months of this sleep compression, I successfully reduced my total sleep time to less than two hours a day without affecting my work or evening studies the next day.

Later, while pursuing my second master's degree, I started to wonder: "Do I really need so much leisure time?"

So I cut back my leisure time little by little until I became a work robot with no leisure time at all—but that's another story.

5. Allocate Ample Time to Support Others

Whether I'm doing a full-time job or running a side business, I don't push myself to the limit with my own work schedule.

Instead, I always reserve 1/3 of my time as flexibility to support and handle any unexpected situations.

After all, all work now requires teamwork and communication. If I fill all my time, I won't have any spare capacity to help the team with any unforeseen tasks.

Therefore, I believe that having time that can be filled to the brim for a whole week is not a good thing. It's essential to maintain sufficient flexibility to adjust daily.

6. Limit Time Spent on Specific Tasks Related to Your Goal

This is the most unorthodox method I've found so far, and it's generally not well-received or met with skepticism when shared, but it's the most effective method I've found for myself.

When I was in university, the amount of time I spent studying each day was fixed, and there was even a time limit for each subject.

In other words, once you exceeded that time limit, you couldn't touch that subject or study that book anymore.

Readers might ask, "What if there's an exam the next day?"

Well, regardless of whether you're fully prepared, you can't study anymore. So, if you fail the exam, you fail; if you fail, you fail.

This is punishment for not valuing time and not handling tasks efficiently.

During my time studying diligently in university, I desperately wanted to achieve good grades to benefit my future career.

Therefore, under this self-imposed pressure, I began to demand maximum efficiency in everything I did. I had to complete tasks within a certain timeframe and clear them from my to-do list; otherwise, I would punish myself.

This habit was formed during my school days, and it eventually became a habit: if I gave myself an hour to complete a task, I would most likely finish it within 30-40 minutes.

This also indirectly improved my procrastination problem.

However, this method has a prerequisite: you must care enough about what you're doing and want to complete it well. In other words, the reader's motivation and attitude towards this task will be crucial to its success.

Execution (Do)

Once you've planned your weekly schedule, we're not planning what you'll do in each time slot like Emmanuel (why do we keep mentioning him XD), but rather planning "what to do" and "how long it will take."

Therefore, you need to prepare a table to remind yourself what tasks must be completed this week and to what extent they are completed. This will allow you to track your progress each day and ensure nothing is left undone.

During execution, I update the timeline for each project and task if I achieve any milestones.

I also record the time spent on each task as a basis for adjusting my time management plan.

I also review the daily completion rate of the to-do list, noting any adjustments or changes that may have occurred.

The most important thing is consistency!

Check

At the end of each week, I usually spend Sunday evening reviewing my time expenditure, the completion rate of my to-do list, and the progress of each small goal. This helps me decide on my schedule for the following week.

Because of the weekly time expenditure and completion rate, I can make a meaningful judgment about whether my time management has truly improved, whether adjustments are needed, and if so, how.

Action

After the review, it's the next week again. Following the schedule and activities planned in the Check step, I continue to repeatedly check my time management to see if adjustments are needed.

In my experience, running this for about 2-3 weeks will noticeably improve my lifestyle and work-life balance.

And I'm almost never chased by deadlines anymore, able to take control of my time back into my own hands.

Conclusion

This article summarizes my time management methods over the past 20 years. From someone who crams at the last minute before exams and is constantly chased by deadlines, I've become someone who can handle any workload with ease, not only completing tasks before deadlines but also allowing ample time for adjustments and assisting others.

Of course, this part is more based on my own experience and may not be applicable to everyone. Some people might be better suited to what I jokingly call the “ketchup method.”

That means piling everything up until the last minute, then producing it all in one burst—a pun on the Pomodoro Technique.

In short, I hope this article can give readers a chance to escape the predicament of always not having enough time and always being chased by deadlines.

On the road to success (????)

See you in other articles~ (waves)