There’s no shortage of advice on how to manage time more effectively. In today’s workplace—where constant communication, digital distractions, and shifting priorities compete for attention—time management is less about rigid schedules and more about the ability to think critically and act deliberately.

Fortunately, there’s a growing body of research that supports time management as a cognitive skill—one rooted in analysis, prioritization, and strategic decision-making. In other words, managing your time well isn’t just about being organized—it’s about thinking well.

Think of your time as a garden

With spring approaching, it’s fitting to borrow a metaphor from the natural world. Imagine your time as a garden. Some tasks are high-value plants—worthy of time and care. Others are weeds—distracting, low-impact activities that consume your attention but yield little return.

Unless you tend the garden with care and discernment, the weeds will take over. The same is true of your calendar.

The key is to use CQ Critical Thinking to identify and remove low-impact tasks, while nurturing the work that truly drives outcomes. That means balancing reactive work (emails, meetings, interruptions) with proactive work—planning, strategy, relationship-building, and deep execution.

Below are several evidence-based strategies that can help you stay focused, manage priorities, and make better decisions about how to spend your time.

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Prioritize with purpose

One of the most effective tools for time triage is the Eisenhower Matrix, also known as the Urgent-Important Matrix (Mackenzie, 1990). This framework helps categorize tasks into four quadrants:

• Urgent & important – e.g., project crises, imminent deadlines
• Important but not urgent – e.g., strategic planning, skill-building
• Urgent but not important – e.g., most emails, interruptions
• Neither urgent nor important – e.g., busywork, digital distractionsThis simple yet powerful tool encourages you to pause and ask: Is this the best use of my time right now? Over time, it helps shift focus from urgency to impact.

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