{"id":21650,"date":"2020-12-16T09:02:58","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T13:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=21650"},"modified":"2020-12-27T18:36:57","modified_gmt":"2020-12-27T22:36:57","slug":"history-of-time-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/","title":{"rendered":"History of Time Management: The Seldom-Told Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the history of time management? How did time management approaches of today differ from those of the past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In his book <em>First Things First<\/em>, Steven Covey talks about the history of time management approaches and their evolution through time. He breaks down past approaches into three generations, and offers a fourth generation that places emphasis on <em>using your time effectively.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to learn about the history of time management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The History of Time Management <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The history of time management spans four generations, each one building on the previous one and improving efficiency, but each with its critical flaws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>First Generation: Sticky Notes and Checklists<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The first generation of time management uses different forms of reminders, like notes and to-do lists. This approach helps you keep track of all the tasks that get thrown at you and allows a fair amount of flexibility to add things to the list as needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the first generation does little to prioritize tasks and views all tasks as equally valuable uses of your time. It also fails to take into account your larger vision and values, so \u201cfirst things,\u201d or priorities, tend to be whatever\u2019s in front of you, at the top of the list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Second Generation: Planners and Calendars<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The second generation takes your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gtd-to-do-list\/\">to-do list<\/a> a step further by using calendars and appointment books to schedule tasks. This approach improves both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/peter-drucker-efficiency-and-effectiveness\/\">efficiency and effectiveness<\/a> by offering a larger picture of your tasks and priorities than a one-dimensional to-do list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the second generation\u2019s heavy focus on the calendar can put your schedule ahead of important, unscheduled events and opportunities. You may schedule yourself so tightly that you view other people as interruptions and distractions that pull you off schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Third Generation: Prioritize and Set Goals<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The third generation calls for you to have some sense of your long-term priorities and values so that you can set short, medium, and long-term goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The third generation places a heavy emphasis on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-schedule-your-day-2\/\">daily planning<\/a>, using electronic and paper planners and organizers. This approach is highly efficient but also very rigid, and tends to lead to overscheduling.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Fourth Generation Favors Personal Leadership Over Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/time-management-systems\/\">time management strategies<\/a> of the first three generations all work within the same paradigms of control and efficiency, which is why they don\u2019t result in true personal effectiveness and a higher quality of life. <strong>In order to achieve results that bring peace, balance, and satisfaction, you must change the paradigms in which your behavior is rooted: It\u2019s not about gaining more control or getting more things done faster, but instead about redefining what the best uses of your time are.<\/strong> What are your priorities, your \u201cfirst things\u201d? Use your answers as a compass to determine your direction and the experiences you want to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fourth generation creates paradigms around these values and combines them with skills from the first, second, and third generations of time management to achieve a higher quality of life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the history of time management? How did time management approaches of today differ from those of the past? In his book First Things First, Steven Covey talks about the history of time management approaches and their evolution through time. He breaks down past approaches into three generations, and offers a fourth generation that places emphasis on using your time effectively. Keep reading to learn about the history of time management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,43,30],"tags":[176],"class_list":["post-21650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management","category-self-improvement","category-work","tag-first-things-first","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>History of Time Management: The Seldom-Told Story - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The history of time management spans 4 generations. The first 3 focus on the paradigm of efficiency and the 4th one emphasizes effectiveness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History of Time Management: The Seldom-Told Story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The history of time management spans 4 generations. The first 3 focus on the paradigm of efficiency and the 4th one emphasizes effectiveness.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-16T13:02:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-27T22:36:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/48-laws-of-power-law-35.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"778\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"521\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"History of Time Management: The Seldom-Told Story\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-16T13:02:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-27T22:36:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/48-laws-of-power-law-35.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"First Things First\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Management\",\"Self-Improvement\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/\",\"name\":\"History of Time Management: The Seldom-Told Story - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/history-of-time-management\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/48-laws-of-power-law-35.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-16T13:02:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-27T22:36:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"The history of time management spans 4 generations. 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