Time Management for Engineers: How to Be Productive Without Burning Out

Hey guys, today we're going to talk about managing your time and how to accomplish more while still making time for relaxation. This advice is helpful for everyone, from engineering students preparing for study sessions to seasoned engineering managers juggling multiple projects. I'm Alex, a professional engineer, a Certified Professional Career Coach, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer. Many people ask me how I manage my time. I’ve indeed taken various courses on time management and read dozens of books about productivity and time management, so I have some tips to share.

First of all, I suggest analyzing how you spend your time. There's an expression: "You can't improve what you can't measure." So, start by measuring your time. It's easy to do in today's world. One way is to check your screen time on your phone. See what you're spending your time on when you use your phone. People used to spend around 5-6 hours a day on their phones, mostly on social media like Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and messaging apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, and many others. Sure, these are important, but the real question is: how much time are you spending and what are you actually doing? If you're mindlessly consuming content for 2-3 hours a day, that's something you might want to cut to save your time. I know many people are subscribed to dozens of channels on Telegram, Reddit, keeping thousands of unread messages. But do you really need all of them? I'm only subscribed to one news channel. As a result, I never have unread messages. If you're playing games on your phone, computer, PlayStation, etc., that's another time sink. I'm not saying you shouldn't play at all, but again, it's about how much time you're dedicating to it. A few years ago, I had a PlayStation and played with my kids, but only for a couple of hours on weekends.

Another time consumer is TV, especially series. Remember one simple rule: Never start watching series. I stopped watching TV about 10 years ago when my first son was born. To be honest, I just didn’t have time for it. Again, it depends on how much time you spend watching TV and what you're watching. If you're watching YouTube channels like Engineer-Millionaire, that's different.

So, now that you've identified your time eaters, it's time to plan your free time wisely. I'll share a few methods I use myself to make the most of every day. The first method is called the Eisenhower Matrix, this is a handy tool created by Dwight Eisenhower, a former US President. It helps you decide what tasks to focus on by sorting them into four categories based on urgency and importance.

Here's how it works:

1. Urgent and Important: Tasks in this category are both urgent and important, so they need to be done right away. Examples include deadlines for most important projects, emergencies, or critical tasks. You should tackle these tasks immediately. As I work in the field and a lot of tasks are coming every day I use this tool regularly.

2. Important but Not Urgent: These tasks are important for your long-term goals but don't require immediate attention. Examples include planning for the future, skill development, or working on important but non-urgent projects. Schedule time to work on these tasks to prevent them from becoming urgent later on.

3. Urgent but Not Important: These tasks may seem urgent, but they don't contribute much to your long-term goals or priorities. Examples include interruptions like phone calls, emails, or minor tasks that can distract you from important work. Try to delegate or minimize these tasks as much as possible to focus on what truly matters.

4. Not Urgent and Not Important: Tasks in this category are neither urgent nor important. Examples include trivial activities, time-wasting activities, or distractions. Avoid spending too much time on these tasks as they can eat into your productivity. By using the Eisenhower Matrix, you can prioritize your tasks more effectively and focus on what truly matters, helping you manage your time and workload more efficiently. You don't have to use the matrix constantly, but you can revisit it when you're swamped with work.

The next time saver for me was the Focus feature on my phone, with options like Do Not Disturb, Personal, Driving, Sleep, Sports, Reading, and so on. It also helped to increase my efficiency. When Apple introduced this feature, I thought, "What's the point, and who would even use this?" But for over a year now, I've been actively using it and consider it a must-have in today’s world! I set the SLEEP function every day from 10:00 PM to 6:30 AM. So, at 10:00 PM, all my devices switch to sleep mode, and no notifications come through until 6:30 AM when the alarm goes off. The only exception is notifications from family contacts. I use the DO NOT DISTURB function when I'm having consultations, webinars, or just need to focus and work hard without interruptions. In today's busy life, everyone gets hundreds of notifications on their phones every day. I manage several social networks, so I get even more notifications than the average person. When I start working, which may require, for example, 2-3 hours, it's impossible to get anything done because notifications start coming, which is very distracting and doesn't allow me to focus on my work. So, this option has become a lifesaver for me and really helps in my life. I highly recommend it!

With regards to the notifications and emails coming to your phone, that is another area you need to work on. Every 2-3 months I used to do digital clean-up, by unsubscribing from all email newsletters, groups, and channels in social media which I don’t need anymore. Remember the first thing is to eliminate your time eaters.

The next one is Scheduling meetings, it used to be a major time drain for me, a real nightmare until I discovered Calendly. Another tip for better time management is to automate scheduling as much as possible. In today's world of Video calls and online chats, I found myself wasting endless hours going back and forth trying to find a suitable time for meetings across different time zones. It was like a never-ending cycle of messages before anything got finalized. But then I found Calendly, and it's been a game-changer. It's not a sponsored plug, I just share what I use myself. The beauty of Calendly is that you simply send someone a link with your availability, and they can easily book a slot in your calendar. It has saved me so much time and eliminated the hassle of scheduling back-and-forth messages.

Another time management method I use is the Pomodoro Technique, created by Francesco Cirillo. It's a "25-minute system" where you work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. After every four cycles, you take a 30-minute break. Another point I'd like to mention is that according to one research, your brain can focus on a task for a maximum of 15-20 minutes. After that, the efficiency drops significantly. So, I try to work in 20-minute bursts, followed by a 5-minute break. This way, my productivity is much higher than sitting for 1-2 hours without a break. This is especially useful for engineering students during intense study sessions.

Another great way to manage time is by using the "Eating the Frog First" method. This means doing the biggest, toughest task first. When you have a big task, it can seem overwhelming. But if you break it down into smaller steps, it becomes easier to handle. For example, let's say you have to write a big report. Instead of staring at the whole thing and feeling stressed, you can break it into smaller tasks. First, you can outline the main points. Then, you can gather information for each section. Finally, you can write one section at a time. By tackling the big task first, you get it out of the way. This leaves you with more time and energy for the smaller tasks. Plus, it feels good to accomplish the hardest thing first. It's like eating the biggest, ugliest frog on your plate before anything else. Once it's done, everything else seems easier in comparison. So, next time you have a big task, try eating the frog first!

Another must-have technique to use is delegation. I actively used it when I was leading a team of over 50 people being Head of Mechanical Maintenance. I was doing it very well so after spending several months properly optimizing all the processes within the team and delegating all possible tasks I almost didn’t have anything to do. So for everyone who has subordinates, I strongly recommend learning this skill. Delegation is not about shirking your work but it’s a smart way to manage time and get things done efficiently. It's like dividing the work so that everyone does what they're good at. Another good example of delegation is video editing. Imagine you're making a video about your trip. You have hours of footage, but you're not sure how to edit it all together. Instead of spending days trying to figure it out, you could ask someone who's good at editing to help. While they work on the editing, you can focus on writing a great script or finding the perfect music. This way, the video gets done faster, and it turns out better because each person focuses on what they're good at. To be honest I never did video editing myself, I delegated this task from the first video. I believe video editing is a relatively complicated job that takes a lot of time and requires many skills to make a good final video but at the same time, it doesn’t cost much

There are many other methods like Kanban, the "90/30" method by Tony Schwartz, the "52/17" method, time management based on chronotype, and using different mobile apps. Many engineering managers rely on project management software tools to keep track of deadlines and delegate tasks. Another really important thing I want to tell you and it doesn’t matter what tricks or methods you try if you're not getting good sleep. Feeling super tired all the time, called Compound or Chronic Fatigue, is really common nowadays and lots of people are going through it. Many people don't get why they're tired and they try all sorts of things like drinking lots of coffee, having alcohol, or energy drinks, listening to music, or taking baths. But guess what? I learned from Anti-Fatigue Training that the only real fix for feeling tired and physically drained is getting enough quality sleep. None of those other tricks will really help, and they might even make your health worse. So, what can you do to improve your sleep? Well, there are a bunch of things you can try! Start by creating a bedtime routine to signal to your body that it's time to wind down. Avoid screens like phones and TVs for at least an hour before bed, because the blue light can mess with your sleep hormones. Make sure your bedroom is comfy and quiet, and try to keep it cool since your body sleeps better in a slightly cooler environment. And don't forget to aim for around 7-9 hours of sleep each night – your body will thank you for it! So guys, analyze what's taking your time but not contributing to your future goals, and eliminate or reduce it.

In today's world, technology offers us opportunities to learn and develop yourself like never before. Whether you're at home or in the office, you can dedicate less time to unproductive activities and more to building your future careers. Try to set aside a specific few hours each week for skills that will help you grow.