Previously featured on Forbes Business Council 

All companies, large and small, begin each day with the same amount of time. In our tech-driven age, it’s easy to say that time is money, but there is truth in that statement. It’s not just our billable hours; it’s how we use time—the greatest of all assets and our greatest common denominator—to maximize efficiency and productivity.

Of course, there have been people who have taken the concept to extremes, like Frederick Winslow Taylor and his time-motion studies. Taylor’s book The Principles of Scientific Management, which measured factory workers’ output and productivity, has been a business school classic for over 80 years.

I’m not advocating Taylor’s suggestion that we become high-performing automatons, but I am suggesting that we become more conscious of how we use time in day-to-day business activities. Technology has had a huge impact on our personal and professional lives and made many processes faster, easier and simpler for most businesses and consumers. For example, manual activities such as driving to a bank or reconciling financial reports have been replaced by online banking and automated accounting solutions.

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Strategies For Time Management

Remarkably, amid all these changes, I’ve found the basic principles of time management have remained the same. Here are some popular strategies.

1. The Two-Minute Principle

Pioneered by David Allen, the two-minute rule states that if you think of something you need to do and it will take less than 2 minutes to complete the task, do it right away. If the task will take longer than 2 minutes, add it to a to-do list and stay focused on your current activity. This rule can maximize productivity, optimize workflows and minimize procrastination.

2. The 5-Second Rule

Popularized by Mel Robbins, this rule is a catalyst for immediate action. It requires the user to count down from five to one and immediately begin a task without hesitation.

For instance, if you’re new to sales, you can count down and just make that cold call to avoid procrastinating. When this behavior is reinforced over time, it can become a healthy habit that drives productivity while diminishing stress and procrastination.

3. Delegation Through To-Do Lists

Believe it or not, there’s an art to crafting a to-do list, and there is more to it than just jotting down tasks. It is a useful exercise that can help people prioritize and delegate tasks. Assigning specific activities to others and training them when necessary is crucial for improving efficiency and can free up time to focus on high-value activities.

4. The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique takes focusing on specific tasks to a whole new level through 25-minute intervals of concentrated work followed by a five-minute respite. Individuals can take longer breaks of 15 to 30 minutes after four cycles. This method is popular with productivity enthusiasts.

5. Embracing The Outdoors

Taking regular breaks is essential to one’s health and well-being. Step outside and try to shift your gaze away from electronic screens at regular intervals. Even taking a brief walk can rejuvenate your mind and body.

6. The Pareto Principle

Studies by Vilfredo Pareto revealed that 20% of efforts account for 80% of results in nature as well as business. Applying this principle to business by prioritizing high-value tasks that fall within the 20% segment can maximize productivity.

7. The 1-3-5 Rule

At the dawn of each day, outline your tasks using the 1-3-5 rule, which basically states that on any given day, you will not have the ability to complete all the tasks on your to-do list.

Instead of trying to tackle everything on the list, it’s better to identify tasks in order of importance and tackle one primary task, accomplish two to three medium-level tasks and five smaller tasks. This structured approach can help ensure balanced productivity.

8. Eating The Frog

Eating the frog is a productivity method that places the most daunting of all tasks on the top of a to-do list, effectively requiring the user to “eat the frog.” The feeling of accomplishment after clearing the most challenging hurdle of the day is not to be underestimated and sets up the rest of the day for success.

9. Fragmenting Large Tasks

Task fragmentation, like other productivity methods that rank tasks in order of importance, is a useful approach to segmenting large projects into smaller, more manageable pieces. Completing small segments provides a sense of accomplishment and divides a larger project into a series of smaller subsets that can be completed along the way.

Why Multitasking Is Overrated

Multitasking may look cool, but it has been shown to scatter an individual’s focus and productivity, in much the same way as professionals who strive to be a jack-of-all-trades and become master of none.

It’s far better, experts say, to focus on a single task and block out time on the calendar to allocate specific times for paperwork and other activities that require a degree of concentration.

Finding What Works For You

As someone who has implemented all of the above strategies with varying degrees of success, I heartily recommend trying these methods to drive efficiency, reduce stress and add a bit of spice to your working day.

As Joseph Campbell famously showed in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, many heroes set out to find the very things that have been with them from the start. This is certainly true about time, which all businesses have in equal measure, a great hidden asset just waiting to be tapped.

Previously featured on Forbes Business Council 

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