Time Management 1: How are you spending your time? Let's try recording it

Do you ever struggle with having too much work, constant overtime, or not having enough time to respond to urgent requests from your boss?

You might even feel exhausted by the daily grind of being chased by work, leaving you with no mental or physical breathing room.

Actually, I have experienced the same situation. I felt exhausted by the heavy workload and the struggle to balance housework, childcare, and my job, and I was just barely hanging on while fighting against time and stress.

When I worked at the Ministry of Education (at the time), my average departure time was around 10:00 PM. During busy periods like budget requests and budget compilation, it was common to leave between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM. I think I was able to endure it because I was young, had physical stamina, and had good relationships with my colleagues.

At the time, I had absolutely no sense of time management, and I had fallen into the mindset that working in such a 'black company' environment (I don't think that term even existed back then 💦) was just normal.

After that, I got married, transferred to a national university, and gave birth to two children. I took maternity leave for each and returned to the workplace (full-time). From then on, I became extremely conscious of time management in order to balance housework, childcare, and work.

Universities also have quite a lot of overtime. But I had to pick up my children from daycare by 7:00 PM at the latest, no matter what. It was a hectic balancing act, cooperating with my husband and sometimes using the Family Support Center (a service that helps with daycare pickups and feeding dinner).

Now, those children have become university students.

Looking back on my more than 20 years of experience working in organizations and as a training instructor under those circumstances, I would like to write in this note series about what I have learned and cultivated regarding time management and task management.

Note that, basically, I plan to write about time management during working hours when employed by an organization.

■ Try recording your own "use of time"

⏰ Even Drucker says so

Management scholar Peter F. Drucker states the following in the chapter "Know Thy Time" in his famous book, "The Effective Executive."

Do you clearly remember how you spent your day every single day?

Have you ever been working while deep in thought, only to look at the clock and panic, thinking, 'Wait, it's already this late!?' or wondered at the end of the day, 'What was I doing today?'
Some people might even feel like their time has just disappeared somewhere.

That means you haven't grasped 'how you are using your time' or 'what is taking up your time.'
In any situation, if you don't understand the current state, you cannot improve it.

As Drucker also emphasizes, before starting work or planning,first, clarify how you use your timeis the first step toward effective time management.

⏰ Recording activities and time spent

The first step to achieving this is torecord your daily activities and the time spent on them.

Specifically, you will record what you did from what time to what time.

If possible, it is better to record in small increments, such as 15-minute or 5-10 minute intervals, rather than rough one-hour blocks.
However, you don't need to write down minor tasks that finish in a very short time.

If you only want to manage your work time, record from the time you arrive at the workplace until you leave. If you want to review your life time as well, try recording from the time you wake up until you go to sleep.

The important thing is to record in real-time, rather than trying to remember and summarize at the end of the day.

Check the start and end times for each task and record them as you go.
By doing this, you can accurately grasp your daily activities and the time required for them.

⏰ How to Record

It is important to choose a recording method that is easiest for you to use.

・Handwritten planners or notebooks
・Web calendars like Google Calendar
・Time management apps
・Spreadsheet tools like Excel

There are many diverse methods available.

If the task is already written in your schedule, you can simply check it off if it goes as planned, extend the line if it takes longer, or add the time manually.

With Google Calendar, it is easy to drag and shift items, or extend and shrink time slots.
If you are already proficient with Google Calendar, using that will be the quickest way.

It might also be good to create your own "time requirement log" in Excel.

The advantage of Excel is that you don't have to look at a clock and type in the time; if you press the Control key "Ctrl" and the colon ":" at the same time, the current time is automatically entered.
Furthermore, if you enter a formula to subtract the start time from the end time, the required time will also be calculated automatically. (For the display format of the required time, select the user-defined "h:mm" or "h"hour"mm"minute"")
For example, a simple table like the following would be easy to view as a list.

Using social media is also a good idea.
If you send "Task Name" to a private LINE Keep Memo when you start a task, and "Finished" when you are done, the time will be recorded automatically.
If you decide on simple abbreviations or marks for task names and completion status, it will save you effort. If you sync it with the PC version of LINE, you can record even more efficiently.

Choose a tool that is as burden-free as possible, matching your lifestyle and work habits.

⏰ How Many Days Should You Record?

In fact, if you continue recording for one week, you will be able to see clear trends in how you spend your time.

That said, actually recording it can be quite difficult (tedious).
If a week is too difficult, it is worth trying for just three days, or even just one day to start.

You will likely have various realizations, such as tasks taking longer or shorter than you expected.

In fact, have you ever been working and thought a task would take about an hour, only to find it took three hours in the end?
It is surprisingly difficult to accurately estimate the time required for work based on intuition alone.

By adopting this habit, you will be able to grasp the actual time required for each task, allowing you to create schedules that are closer to reality.

If you find it difficult to get work done according to your planned time, I recommend starting by recording how you spend your time.

⏰ Next Time and Beyond

Well, next time, I plan to write about how to identify "time thieves (wasted time)" from the "time usage" you have recorded.

I intend to continue writing about time management in a long series (set as a magazine) from here on out, so I hope you will continue to read it!

※Updated December 2024
I have published an e-book👇 that compiles the articles from this time management series.

■ Reduce Working Hours and Get Results!: 7 "Time & Task Management" Steps
～Super Practical! Time Management Techniques for Busy People
※Available on Kindle Unlimited.
(Paperback version is also available.)