{"id":5010,"date":"2025-05-13T17:41:27","date_gmt":"2025-05-13T17:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aomtodayprod.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=5010"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:46:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:46:05","slug":"theres-more-than-one-way-to-manage-time-effectively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/theres-more-than-one-way-to-manage-time-effectively\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s More than One Way to Manage Time Effectively"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\r\n

While managers often set rigid work schedules, to-do lists, and deadlines, more flexibility can enable workers to prioritize tasks in ways that help them manage their time more effectively.<\/p>\r\n

Academy of Management Scholar Abbie Shipp<\/a> of Texas Christian University, who coauthored an Academy of Management Annals article <\/a><\/em> on the subjective experience of time with Karen Jansen<\/a> of North Carolina State University, said that there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all method of time management that\u2019s effective for everyone.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOur research on how people perceive and interpret time makes us stop and question fixed time-management suggestions: \u2018Start your day in this way,\u2019 or \u2018Work at this pace and do these things,\u2019 or \u2018Here\u2019s how you focus 100% of the time,\u2019\u201d Shipp said. \u201cThose hacks can be great if you need them, but for some people, that\u2019s not what they need.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor many people, quite frankly, what we need is more thought into questions like, \u2018What do I subjectively perceive about time, and where did I get my understanding of time?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\r\n

Shipp said that she began thinking about how work influences our perception of time when looking at her parents\u2019 schedules, as well as her own early work experiences.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cMy dad was a banker, so he had bankers\u2019 hours, and then my very first job was at a government facility where we had to track our time to the 10th of an hour and charge it to different accounts, so I became really aware of time,\u201d Shipp said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard for me to step away from the office at three o\u2019clock, because I think, \u2018Nope, this time must be allocated in this way until after five o\u2019clock.’<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhen we start to question those socialization influences, we say, \u2018Is this assumption about time helping me or is this harming me?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what subjective time brings in, the awareness of different ways to perceive the passage and meaning of time in concert with objective time: clocks, calendars, and schedules.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIf we think of time subjectively, we can better manage our time and our energy in ways that are fulfilling and productive, both for our work and for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

A sample of Shipp\u2019s AOM research findings:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n