How much time do you have in the day to get your work done? Chances are you have about as much time as everyone else, anywhere from eight to ten hours. Despite this, people often don’t spend their time like they should, leading to a work crunch as they approach deadlines. A survey of office workers from Vouchercloud found that only 21 percent believed that they were productive throughout the day.
It’s time to change that line of thinking. If you and your organization struggle to remain productive, time management activities can help. These activities can lead to a more cohesive team and greater production across the business. Read on to discover more benefits of time management activities, the lessons they teach team members, and some of the best ones you can try today.
What Are Time Management Activities?
Think of time management as a skill. People engage in time management activities to improve that skill. Time management activities are exercises that help people make better use of the time they have for work. These exercises can include special training sessions, ice breaker games, targeted warm-up activities, and team-building exercises. While something like a team-building exercise may elicit groans, they’re quite helpful in getting people to work together to manage their time better. When combined with project management apps, a time management group activity can turn a team into an efficient squad capable of meeting deadlines easily and achieving lofty goals.
The Benefits of Time Management Activities
A report from The Telegraph found that the average employee wastes about 60 hours every single month on non-productive tasks. That’s a whole week and a half of wasted time and money. Time management games can cut down on that time significantly, but that’s not the only benefit. A time management exercise can help people relieve stress by doing a fun activity. It also helps them de-stress by teaching them time management skills that will help them meet deadlines and handle their work with plenty of time to spare.
Time management activities also help teams grow together and develop effective problem solving skills. It gives them a chance to tackle new challenges when the stakes aren’t as high. A team comes out of these activities stronger and ready to help each other, improving productivity. While doing these exercises, memorable lessons and practices are reinforced as well. They become ingrained in the minds of each team member, making each activity serve a dual purpose.
Time Management Activities
1. How Long Is a Minute?
- Make sure no one is using a smart device and that there are no visible clocks in the room.
- Tell the group to close their eyes and keep them closed for a full minute.
- Instruct them that they should open their eyes when they think one minute has passed.
- Watch for when people open their eyes, making a mental note of the earliest and latest times people do so.
- If the group performs as expected, people will open their eyes at very different times.
What They Should Learn
People have different interpretations and expectations of how long a minute is. Most will likely be surprised how long it takes for a minute to pass. Use this as a teaching moment to show how much can get done in only a minute, then extend that throughout an entire day. This activity works well at the start of a longer training session. You can do this with a longer time, like two minutes, to get even more varied results.
2. The Desert Island
- Gather a group of team members and give them a pen and piece of paper.
- Tell everyone to write down what essential items they would bring with them if stranded on a desert island.
- Set a time of two minutes to have each person write as many things down as they can.
- Compare notes once the time limit expires.
What They Should Learn
Many time management games aim to get people to think about what matters. This activity in particular not only has people writing down a list of priorities, but they must do so under pressure. When the team compares notes at the end, they’ll likely be surprised at how different their items are. The game is helpful because it teaches team members the need to set priorities and identify what doesn’t matter in the long run. Extend this to eliminating distractions so people can focus on the most critical tasks at hand.
3. The Mayo Jar
- Get a large glass jar for every participant, along with rocks, pebbles, gravel, and sand.
- Instruct the team to fill the jar with as many things as possible.
- Observe their work, correcting as needed.
What They Should Learn
Most teams will quickly start filling the jar with whatever they have on hand without much order. Before long, they’ll have a stuffed jar, but many items will remain outside of it. Show them that if they place the largest items first, it will be easier to put the smaller items all the way down to the sand.
Think of the jar as the amount of time in the day and each item as a task. The largest objects represent the most important tasks. While those should take priority, that doesn’t mean there’s not enough room for other smaller jobs. Teach the importance of filling every space with something productive, even when they feel there’s no more room. The team can even apply this principle to their personal lives, which is why this activity sometimes goes by the name of the “Jar of Life.”
4. The Big Picture
- Divide the group into four teams.
- Instruct the teams to each draw a quarter of a large picture given to them, such as a famous art piece.
- Tell the teams that all lines should match and colors must be the same.
- Reveal the final picture, combining all four parts into one.
What They Should Learn
Some time management activities, like this one, emphasize working together as a team. In this case, the final picture might be a bit rough, but it shows that collaboration helps people get large tasks done more quickly. This activity teaches that a “big picture” approach makes coordination that much easier. Teamwork with a unified goal in mind helps people work as one, but they need to communicate often, or else the result ends up as an incoherent mess. Time management games like this also help with building team culture centered on collaboration.
5. Find the Ace
- Before starting, obtain a deck of cards for each of the participants.
- Shuffle all of the decks except for one.
- At the start of the time management exercise, give each participant a deck and ask them to keep it face down.
- Tell the players to flip over the decks and hold up the ace of spades once they find it.
What They Should Learn
Barring an unusual event, the player with the non-shuffled deck will have a much easier and faster time finding the ace of spades than the others. You may even prepare that deck so that all the aces are at the top so they’ll see them right away. That person has a major advantage over the others, and the rest of the team will feel like the whole game is unfair.
Explain each deck of cards is like a work schedule. A person who schedules the most important tasks at the start of the day will get those tasks done more quickly. Randomized schedules, on the other hand, lead to disorganization. If team members want to get things done quickly, they need to organize their day. As best-selling author Brian Tracy explained, “Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent Return on Energy.”
6. The 86,400 Dollar Bank Account
- Tell your team members that they have an imaginary 86,400 dollars to spend as they please.
- The only rule is they must spend it all in a day as any money left over will vanish.
- Have them write down what they would spend their money on, even down to the dollar.
- Compare notes and discuss how and why they spent their money the way they did.
What They Should Learn
Why the number 86,400? Because that’s how many seconds make up a day. Ask your team, “How do you spend your day?” Every second counts, so they should spend each one working on worthwhile activities. Many team members may look at how they spent their imaginary money and realize that they didn’t prioritize correctly. This activity gets them to rethink how they manage their time and understand they can always do better.
7. The Ribbon of Life
- Get a length of ribbon 100 centimeters (cm) long.
- Gather your team and ask them what the average lifespan for a human being is. So if they say 80 years, cut off 20 cm of the ribbon.
- Ask for the average age of the participants, then cut that amount off too. So if the average age is 30, cut off a further 30 cm.
- Calculate the number of Sundays and Saturdays for the 50 remaining years, which would be equal to about 14 centimeters.
- Add up the holidays and vacation time for the remaining 41 years, which leaves about 24 cm.
- Calculate the average amount of time remaining that they sleep, eat, and commute to work. On average, that will leave anywhere from five to seven centimeters of the ribbon.
What They Should Learn
The length of ribbon remaining represents the number of years people have to make their mark in their working lives. It doesn’t seem like very much, does it? Of all the time management games out there, this might be the only one to instill anxiety in the participants. However, the point is to motivate them to prioritize their time and concentrate on the most important things. Show them that wasting time on distractions gets them nowhere. They shouldn’t wait to progress in their jobs, and if they want to gain important skills, then now’s the time.
8. What I Did Yesterday
- Gather your group and give them each two pieces of paper.
- Have them write down ten things they did at work yesterday on one piece of paper.
- On the other sheet of paper, have them write down five items they think they’ll discuss at their next performance evaluation.
- Ask them to compare the two lists they wrote.
What They Should Learn
As they compare their lists, they should note what things they did the day before that contributed to their performance. What items did not impact performance? Would it be possible to eliminate those items from their schedule? If the goal is to streamline schedules so people only work on what matters, this exercise helps them see what should become a priority. They can identify where the wasted time goes and think of new tasks to replace unnecessary ones.
9. The Blind Polygon
- Organize a group of players with one player acting as the leader.
- Blindfold each player.
- Give the team a length of rope.
- Instruct the team to transform the rope into a shape as instructed by the group leader in a specified amount of time.
- During the activity, no one can remove the blindfold.
- Everyone must always touch the rope during the exercise.
- Have the leader keep time.
- Repeat with different shapes, allowing the team to discuss how to operate between each round.
What They Should Learn
Most groups will have difficulty at the beginning. The first couple of rounds will be filled with confusion and poor communication. Over time, however, they’ll begin to organize more efficiently and communicate more easily. In addition, they’ll learn to listen to their leader more closely. With each new round, they’ll perform better and more quickly. This time management group activity teaches that they can overcome challenges and manage their time better with teamwork and practice. It’s a great exercise for building team unity and developing leadership skills.
Online Time Management Activities
Working from home has become much more common these days. As such, the above activities can sometimes be challenging for a virtual team to pull off. Luckily, organizations can look into numerous online games with a timer element that teaches many of the same principles and time management skills. These time management games reinforce lessons involving teamwork and communication, all of which apply to the business world. The following are some of the best management games available which people can do from the comfort of their own home:
- Farmerama: This is a farm management game where players grow crops, tend to animals, and even fight off alien attacks. The game helps players develop planning and organization skills and encourages people to work together through various challenges. For players to excel, they’ll need to communicate well with their neighbors and offer a helping hand.
- Overcooked: Players take on the roles of chefs as they desperately try to make and serve meals to demanding customers, all while a timer mercilessly counts down. Players receive grades on the accuracy of fulfilling orders as well as how fast they do it. With each level, the obstacles become even more ridiculous and the meals more outlandish. This is one game that requires a fully committed team and quick, decisive communication to do well. Teams can turn into a well-oiled machine, or everything can devolve into chaos in just a couple of minutes.
- Scavenger Hunt: This one doesn’t require purchasing a game. Just divide a group into two teams over Zoom, give them a list of items to find in their homes, and provide them with a time limit. People need to coordinate to cover as many things on their list as possible and show them to the person running the activity to get credit. The team to find the most items wins. Groups will learn how to divide and conquer as they collaborate to fulfill the requirements.
What Lessons Do People Learn from Time Management Activities?
These time management games don’t just provide a fun activity for team members: They teach valuable lessons they can apply to all areas of their jobs. Time management activities demonstrate that time is limited, and those who don’t take advantage of every moment will see it all slip away quickly. They also show why employees need to manage their time wisely. Organization becomes a top priority if people hope to get the most important items done quickly.
Another vital lesson these activities teach is that no matter the challenge, there are usually multiple ways to solve it. Some of those solutions require less time to complete than others. Team members should plan ahead and learn how to solve problems differently to improve their time management skills.
Time Management Activities Help You Make the Most of Your Time
“Time is what we want most, but what we spend worst.”
William Penn
If you struggle with constant distractions throughout the day, time management activities help correct your thought process and put you on the right track. While hiring employees with strong time management skills benefits an organization, for those who need and want to learn, these activities can do the trick. Find several activities you think will leave a lasting impression and allow members of your team to participate. Team members will have a greater appreciation for the need to use their time wisely.
Ready to continue building a solid team? These articles will help:
Managing Remote Workers: How To Build A Strong Remote Team
The Hiring Process: A 9 Step Guide For Finding A-Team Players