Summary

The article presents a concise "Three Things To-do (3T)" method for effective time management tailored for those who consider themselves lazy.

Abstract

In "A Lazy Man’s Guide to Time Management," the author, who self-identifies as a lazy person, shares a straightforward approach to time management that caters to individuals who struggle with traditional time management methods. The guide emphasizes prioritizing tasks using the '3T' method, which involves limiting daily tasks to three critical items: a non-negotiable 'Highlight of the day,' an 'Easy & Urgent' task, and a 'It’s Okay To Miss' item. The article also suggests automating scheduling with tools like Calendly, which offers various pricing plans, and delegating tasks to others when possible, using platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to free up personal time for more enjoyable activities.

Opinions

The author acknowledges the challenges of traditional time management, finding it time-consuming and overwhelming, especially with the plethora of apps and tools available.
Prioritizing tasks is seen as key to time management, but the author criticizes the common practice of overfilling to-do lists, advocating for a more streamlined approach with the '3T' method.
The article promotes the idea of automating scheduling, reflecting the author's belief that in today's technological age, one should not waste time manually scheduling tasks.
Delegating tasks is presented as a valuable strategy, with the author suggesting that one's time can be more valuably spent on enjoyable tasks rather than on everything oneself.
The author values personal time and suggests that outsourcing tasks can be both cost-effective and beneficial for all parties involved, providing a win-win situation.

A Lazy Man’s Guide to Time Management

A simple three-pointer guide to managing time, for all the lazy bums out there.

I’m lazy. I’m someone you would call a “Couch-Potato”.

I’m that person! The one who switches off the CPU (yeah! I’m from that era 🤷🏽‍♂️) with his toe. The one who cancels plans to stay in bed. The one who orders from a restaurant that’s literally in the same building. The one who knocks on the door because I’m too lazy to search for the key. The one who watches shitty shows on TV because the remote was too far away!

And I’m that person who finds time management time-consuming.

If you are anything like me, I know you don’t wanna read an “entire” 500-word article. So, you can skip ahead to the last section of my story to know my three-step guide to time management.

Time management, by definition, is intimidating.

The Internet defines Time management as the process of deciding on the order in which you will do tasks and making sure that they are done on schedule. ⏰

The whole process takes so much effort, I end up spending way too much time managing time. Allocating your time in a productive way is not as easy as it sounds, and it almost feels impossible to manage your own time without help from external sources like apps or tools. And there are 100s of them out there, with so many features, that sometimes I feel overwhelmed with what these tools can offer.

Time Management & Me

And, oh! How many deadlines have I missed! How many times have I wished I had more control over my time! How many Youtube Videos and Articles have I read! How many times have I started my time management journey and failed!

Do you resonate with this? We have all been on this journey, in some way, right! We want to get better at managing our time. We watch 100s of well-put-together Youtube videos about “The 10 Step Process to Manage Time” or “Why you are so bad at managing time”.

And we (the lazy peeps of the internet) think to ourselves, That’s awesome! But, that’s so much work! Isn’t there an easy way? Isn’t there a HACK!?

So, here it is! A simple three-pointer guide to managing time, for all the lazy bums out there.

📝 Prioritize using The ‘3T’ Method

Prioritizing is key when it comes to time management. And the most widely-used tool for prioritizing is ‘To-do Lists’. And it works! But, we end up filling our to-dos with so many items that it becomes overwhelming. Instead, use my ‘Three Things To-do (3T)’ method while writing down your todos for the day.

What is ‘Three Things To-do’, you ask! It is exactly what it says it is.

Limit your to-do list to 3 items per day. 1️⃣ Highlight of the day — One thing that you would complete. No matter what. 2️⃣ Easy & Urgent — Self Explanatory. I guess. 🤷🏽‍♂️ 3️⃣ It’s Okay To Miss — This is hard. But this is not important or urgent. I can do it tomorrow if I miss this.

📆 Automate Scheduling

I mean, we live in an age where cars drive themselves. We shouldn’t be spending time making schedules. Automate it. And it’s easy. I use Calendly to schedule my meetings.

Calendly Pricing Plan Trial: 14 Days Billing options: monthly and annual options Basic: $0/user/month with limited features Premium: $10/user/month

Sprintful and Vocus.io. are two Calendly alternatives. These are all paid services. They do provide a basic plan with restricted features.

💁🏽‍♂️ And Finally, Delegate!

Delegate work, whenever possible. Especially work that is uninteresting. You don’t have to do every single thing in your life all by yourself.

Ask yourself this question. “How valuable is an hour of my life?” Put a monetary value on your time.

Say, I value an hour of my time at $20. I’d gladly delegate it to someone and get the same work done for $10. And concentrate on the work that I enjoy. You can find freelancers from the Philippines or India on websites like Upwork and Fiverr to get the job done. Paying them $10 an hour is an amazing wage for someone in India. And it’s fantastic for me because it frees up my time to do things that I enjoy. It's a win-win.

There it is! My hack to managing time. Fin.

How do you manage time? What is your hack? Please share in the comments.