​​​First: Principles related to planning for time management:

Most people waste their time on many unimportant things, which makes them wonder if they don’t have enough time to accomplish tasks. Perhaps keeping a diary to record daily chores and activities or required tasks is an important priority in time management. Here are some tools that help achieve this:

• Time analysis principle:

Time analysis takes the form of a table in which the individual writes his daily activities and their times. The times within a single day should be divided into periods, each period could be an hour, and it could be less or more depending on the tasks. However, there must be a basic and main table on which the hours of the day are distributed, and between them are points and breaks for every (15 minutes). 

When you analyze, you find that a lot of time has been wasted, or was not taken into account at all due to procrastination, interruptions, or the lack of an alternative plan.

• Daily planning principle:

It is necessary to do daily planning after the end of each day, or before the start of the next day, so that the planning is consistent with the short-term goals and the tasks to be implemented. When determining the daily plan, the priorities and degree of importance of each task or work to be accomplished must be arranged.

• The principle of allocating time according to priority:

After writing down the tasks that need to be done in the daily plan, they must be arranged according to their priority. There are some ways to set priorities, such as:

1. Sometimes things are not as necessary and important as they seem.

2. Tasks are ranked according to their urgency using a scale from “very urgent” to “not urgent,” and then re-ranked according to their importance on a scale from “very important” to “important.”

3. Identify the tasks that others can help you with, as well as the tasks that no one can help you with.

4. The most priority tasks are those that cannot be done for you by others, that are urgent and necessary, and at the same time of great importance.

• The principle of flexibility:

Flexibility should be a key consideration when planning your time. Someone who plans to fill every minute of their day will find that a lack of flexibility in their schedule makes them unable to stick to it. Anyone who has a schedule that takes up more than half of their day (i.e. more than 12 hours a day) may be over-planning. At least half of an individual’s time can be expected to be spent dealing with emergencies, unexpected tasks, or routine work that is not related to work.

Second: Principles related to organization:

The principle of delegation or assistance:

The process of setting priorities and arranging them in the daily plan begins by first determining which of these tasks others can help you with, thus giving you free time during which you can do other tasks that no one else can do for you.

 Principle of division of labor:

All similar tasks can be grouped together at one time in the daily work plan, if they can be performed together or consecutively.

Obstacle control principle:

It is essential for time management to have some kind of control over activities and their arrangement, so as to reduce the number and duration of unnecessary interruptions, as the effectiveness of time use improves the fewer these interruptions.

The principle of reducing routine work:

No one can completely rid himself of routine work, but it should be limited or a little time should be allocated to it. However, there are fixed and specific daily routines that need the necessary time because they are important and necessary.

Third: Principles related to control

The principle of reviewing the implementation of the plan and following up on the continuity of its implementation:

Implementing the plan is essential, as work or tasks cannot be accomplished unless there is a plan that specifies the expected results and compares them with what is accomplished after implementation. It is necessary to follow up on the implementation of the plan schedule step by step, and work on modifying the plan schedule if necessary to suit the goals and surrounding circumstances.

 The principle of re-analyzing the plan and making the necessary adjustments:

The distribution of time in the plan and how it is used and employed should be re-analyzed at least once a month, and then once every few months, in order to avoid returning to bad time management habits. The content of the plan should also be re-adjusted every month or every few months, depending on the new requirements that arise in the individual’s life.