How do you time manage and prioritize your work and projects? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 days ago by GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I have, within the context of my job, things to do that will take various lengths of time and are of various priorities. If I get blocked on one it'd be useful to know what to switch to, and on.

I have, within the context of my personal life, things that I want to do that will take undetermined amounts of time and are of various priorities.

It'd also be nice to have a record to go back and reflect on when I did what. And it'd be nice to plan a little ahead so that I can decide what I hope to do next.

So... how do you do it? I am so bad at time management. Is there a useful software I can use (if so, is it foss)? Is there a way to keep consistent with my planner so that I don't fall behind on managing my time management, without falling into the trap of spending much effort on creating a time management system that all my time is spent managing my time.

Send help :(

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[-] zeca@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 day ago

I have the same problem. Got a teaching job while in the middle of my phd and now i just end up doing preparations for the following classes, grading exams and so on, and never get around to working on my phd. Ive found no good solution though. If I work on my phd I leave my students waiting and with more improvised classes, if i work on material for the students I forget about my phd subject.

Ive tried using an app called superproductivity, which is on fdroid and works fine, but it didnt help me as much as i hoped...

Send help :( Also got long term personal stuff id like to work on, like at least an hour a week, but theres always something urgent from work that shows up and takes my time or leaves me too tired.

[-] GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

For both our sakes, I hope we can find something that works for us. I don’t need to be on my productivity grind 24/7. I don’t desire that at all. But I really don’t like the feeling of completely misspent time. I want the balance of doing what I want to do AND totally relaxing (physically+mentally) when I feel it’s time to relax

[-] xtrapoletariat@beehaw.org 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Personal experience, obviously:

enforce time limits on apps (like 45 min messaging/social per day), e.g. using built-in tools => frees a lot of time
streamline communication, i.e., do not be available 24/7 for mail, chat, etc. Instead, define time windows to check and answer your channels
Use some Pomodore timer [1] to focus on specific tasks for a few hours. Minimize distractions as far as possible in that time window.
Sleep. Working tired is a black hole for time management.
Do sports/seek nature to keep the stress level down.
Plan honest to your capabilities, sometimes the 80% solution will do (yes, this can be hard to accept)
A simple hand-written checkboxed ToDo list per day is helpful, take 5-10 minutes to compile it before your day starts.

[1] Goodtime

this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025

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