10 Time Management Tasks You Can Do in Under a Minute

People often think that they don’t have time for time management.

I don’t have time to plan, time to organize, or time to get to my todo list.

Yet, the biggest results of managing your time are from the small things that you do. The minor habits and tactics that often take moments of your time.

It Only Takes a Minute or Two

Time management does’t have to take a lot of time.

In fact, time management can take only a few minutes. It’s about the little actions you take now that save time later.

“Small time management tasks now, can save you big time later.”

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You don’t have to spend hours of your day planning or organizing. There are many quick time management steps you can take that require only a minute or two of your day.

Here are 10 Time Tasks You Can Do In Under a Minute:

1. Make Your Bed – The best way to start your day feeling organized is to make your bed. (I timed myself, it only took 43 seconds.) What is your excuse?
2. Review Your Calendar – Not checking your calendar is a recipe for missed and surprise appointments. (Took 50 seconds to review my calendar for the remainder of the week.)
3. Check Your List – Why keep a todo list if you aren’t going to look at it? Your todo list is there to keep track of your todos and priorities so that you don’t have to. Whenever you have a free moment, you should check your list to make sure you are doing the right task. (Time: 30 seconds.)
4. Return a Phone Call – There is a time and a place to return a call versus other communication methods. Yet, it doesn’t have to take long. Those quick calls can be fit into your day. Set expectations that you only have a moment and get to business. (Elapsed time: 35 seconds to return call and confirm details.)
5. Put Things Away – Don’t put that item down on the counter when the drawer it belongs in is only 3 steps away. The few seconds that it takes to put things away, can save hours of clean up later. (10 seconds to put things back where they actually belong.)
6. Finish a Task to Done – Do you leave tasks undone? You do all the work right until the end, but then stop short of finishing the task to done. A great example is paying bills where you check the due date, arrange payment, but then don’t actually mail or send the payment. (< 1 minutes.) Finish that task all the way.
7. Send a Message – Email, text, Slack, it doesn’t matter. Don’t be a productivity bottleneck by not communicating. It only takes a moment to pass along information, send a task, or answer a question. (10 seconds.)
8. Clear Off Your Desk – If your desk is full of piles, you may doubt your ability to do this one. Yet, if you do it each and every day, it will only take a minute. (Took me 56 seconds.)
9. Pick Up That Laundry – Is there laundry on your floor? There is no excuse, unless you don’t have a hamper. Picking it up each day takes mere moments. (20 seconds.)
10. Throw Things Away – Look around your immediate workspace (or car or bedroom). What things could/should be thrown away? Throwing things away takes only moments, and again, saves hours of clean-up time later.

Take a Minute to Save Time

Your time management doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Often, it only takes a minute or two to do things right the first time.

Keep organized, keep your home and work space clean. Stay on top of things… it should only take you minutes a day.

Question: What 1-minute tasks keep you on track? You can leave a comment by clicking here.