Four Generations of Time Management

The importance of Time Management can never be denied.

Each and every individual needs to manage his / her time well to be successful in life. The first step towards time management is to set tangible goals by writing them down and breaking them into individual projects and to-do lists. Every item on the list then must be prioritised and assigned a deadline. This is the basis of time management!

With increasing work pressures and growing responsibilities, each one of us once in a while wishes there were more hours in day! In spite of the fact that almost all of us are aware of the importance of managing time well, most of us are unable to follow time management strategies effectively due to a lack of sustained effort on our part.

The 4 generations of Time Management

There are a variety of time management strategies which have been identified till date. Different people follow different ways to manage their time well.

The 4 generations of Time Management is a broad categorization of these numerous approaches to Time management by Stephen R. Covey. Let's take a look at each one of these categories one by one -

First Generation: Use Notes & Checklists that act as reminders

Those people who like and favor this approach believe in managing their time by writing notes and creating checklists of things to be done. The items on the list are not arranged on a priority basis and the note acts as a reminder of all the tasks that must be completed during the day. By following this checklist and striking out tasks as and when they are accomplished, such people are able to keep a track of all that which needs to be completed. Tasks which are not completed within the stipulated time are put on tomorrow's list.

Second Generation: Prepare & Plan using Calendars and Appointment Books

Time managers of the second generation are those people who are in the favor of constructive planning and like to be prepared well in advance by scheduling tasks. Such people put to use scheduling items such as calendars and even the computer to write down the timings and venues of meetings & important events etc. 

Third Generation: Schedule & Prioritize

Third generation people take the entire time management activity to the next level by identifying those tasks that must be completed first. Arranging activities of the day on a priority basis helps them to set different time goals. Such people may maintain their task list on the computer or in a written format (organizer / appointment book).

Fourth generation: being efficient and proactive

Those people who fall into the 4th generation of time management understand and appreciate the difference between urgent and important tasks. In our attempt to accomplish urgent tasks, we often ignore those activities which are of utmost importance. Such an approach can prove to be very costly in the long run as it makes us forget about things that were important in our life and needed our time, simply because they were not urgent!