Time Management: Games And Strategies To Help

Time management games can help people improve productivity at work and school, as well as manage time throughout the day. But learning time management can get you more than a good grade or improve your next performance review.

Time management skills are often exercises in mindfulness: we must anticipate and plan for the future, checking in frequently to ensure our behavior aligns with our goals and values. Here, we will explore the best time management games and strategies to help you learn to prioritize, plan, and remain motivated and disciplined. 

Time management skills and delegation skill practice

Learning to use time effectively can help you achieve more in each area of your real life, something that is taken into account during time management techniques and game development. Effective time management is positively correlated with job satisfaction, health, and perceived control of time and negatively correlated with stress. Before getting started with a new time management system, consider the various dimensions of time management:

Goal setting and prioritization

Goal-setting and prioritization are fundamental to time management. Goal-setting helps you identify what is important and establish purpose, while prioritization can help you understand how to allocate time effectively based on importance and urgency.

Planning and organization

Consider using planners, calendars, to-do lists, and productivity apps to stay organized. You may also implement routines and habits for carrying out daily tasks, which can help facilitate the decision-making process and improve planning skills.

Habits and discipline

Motivation may fluctuate, but a strong sense of discipline and adherence to good habits can ensure you stick to the plan and act in ways that align with your goals. 

Mindfulness and intentionality

Mindfulness can help you remain present and aware, which may be critical for maintaining discipline. Aim to be intentional, allocating enough time towards your goals, priorities, and ambitions while spending leisure time in fulfilling ways.

Delegation and outsourcing

It may sometimes be necessary to delegate or outsource multiple tasks you can not reasonably complete, or that might not be a good use of your time. Offloading a task, even if it’s not the most unpleasant task, can free you up to focus on higher-priority items.

Balance and boundaries

Balancing life’s domains is crucial to effective time management. Try to maintain boundaries between professional and personal obligations, recognize your limitations, prioritize accordingly, and say no when necessary.

Play time management games to practice

If you struggle with time management, it may be worth exploring some different strategies for prioritizing, planning, and remaining focused and disciplined. 

Consider downloading some free time-management apps and games that catch your attention and engage your mind to see if they might help you.

Covey time management matrix

The Time Management Matrix is a prioritization technique created by Steven Covey, author of the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It uses a four-quadrant system to organize and prioritize challenging tasks based on urgency and importance.

• Quadrant 1: Urgent and important (e.g., crises, pressing problems, projects with deadlines)

• Quadrant 2: Not urgent but important (e.g., family time, exercise, planning)

• Quadrant 3: Urgent but not important (e.g., some meetings, calls, and emails; interruptions)

• Quadrant 4: Not urgent and not important (e.g., screen time)

Sketch out a time management matrix to help you identify how to spend time and tackle your to-do list, starting in Quadrant 1 before moving on to 2. Try to delegate tasks in Quadrant 3 or spend as little time as possible on them. Aim to minimize or eliminate anything in Quadrant 4.

Race against the clock games

The Race Against The Clock is a time management game that involves using a timer to establish a short period in which to get as much done as possible. For example, you may give yourself 20 minutes to try cleaning as much as possible or challenge your kids to get ready for the day in 15 minutes. 

By instilling a sense of urgency, you can achieve more in a shorter period, freeing up time for more important tasks. This can also be a fun and effective way to help children learn time tracking and management. There is no average age for learning time management. Consider implementing a reward system; for example, you may give yourself or your kids an extra 10 minutes of screen time if everything is completed before the timer.

The Pomodoro challenge

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management strategy created by author Francisco Cirillo. It involves setting a timer for short, 25-30 minute blocks, during which you must focus your full attention. When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break before beginning another productive block, or “pomodoro.” After 3 or 4 pomodoros, you may take a longer, 30-minute break. 

You can gamify the Pomodoro Method by challenging yourself to complete a certain task within a set number of pomodoros, implementing a reward system for successful completion, or competing with others. You can use a Pomodoro app or browser extension to help you remain focused. 

Time blocking

Time blocking is a highly effective time management strategy designed to help you visualize how to spend your time more intentionally. Use a planner or app to create dedicated blocks of time for each task, appointment, or activity, ensuring you devote ample nonworking time to personal and family matters, errands, social engagements, and even a recreation activity, like a video game. Some video games, like Farm Frenzy or apps where you run a restaurant business or play in multiplayer mode, can help you learn time management in a fun way.

For example, you may block off chunks of time for your morning routine and workout, as well as distinct work tasks, such as checking email and attending meetings. By having a purpose in each moment of the day, you may use time more effectively and remain aligned with your goals.

Don’t break the chain game

Habits are critical to time management, helping you put important but non-urgent tasks on autopilot. Actor and comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s strategy for habit maintenance is simple yet effective: don’t break the chain. For this game, create a 7x7 grid on a piece of paper and label it with your goal or objective, for example, “exercise” or “do therapy homework.”  Each day you complete your goal, put an X on the day’s square.

Keep your grid somewhere visible, and challenge yourself to keep a chain of Xs going for as long as possible. This can be a fun and rewarding way to challenge yourself and behave in ways that help you move towards your goals. Good habits can help you stay productive and maintain momentum as you work towards personal improvement.

The big picture challenge

The Big Picture Challenge is a team-building and time-management game that can also be a fun ice breaker activity. The group is divided into teams, each with between four and eight members. Each team gets a black piece of paper, and team members take turns drawing small parts of a larger picture. Team members must work together to draw the image and color it in.

While this isn’t one that you can do on your own, it can still be beneficial to developing your personal skills. If you’re looking for other time management games for groups, the Hot Air Balloon exercise is another one you may want to try.

The Mayo Jar activity

Another group game is the Mayo Jar Game. For this one, you will need to gather some supplies; sand, pebbles, golf balls, and empty mayo or glass jars. You’ll need one set of supplies for each person or team. 

To play, each person or team has a two-minute time limit to fit as many of the objects as they can inside the jar. Whoever gets the most in wins. The only correct solution is to put the balls in first, then the pebbles, then the sand. The small pebbles will fill in the gaps between the balls, and the sand will fill in the rest of the empty space. 

In this game, the balls represent the big tasks that take priority. They’re the things that you have to complete first. The pebbles are things that you have to do but that can wait a bit, and the sand is all of the non-urgent tasks. 

The visual can behave as a constant reminder of how to prioritize tasks. Having to put them into the jar in a specific order shows how you can manage your time to fit everything in if you prioritize and don’t spend time on the unimportant things first, or you may not get everything done.

Productivity apps

To minimize distraction and use your time more mindfully, you might consider using app blockers, time limits, and tech-free zones to curb excessive screen time. By choosing to spend time in a healthier way, you can focus on what’s most meaningful and maximize productivity and personal fulfillment.

App blockers such as Opal offer a gamified intervention, allowing you to compete with other users and receive badges for time spent productively. Others, such as Habitica, allow you to gain points and rewards for completing routine activities and maintaining habits. Consider exploring these and other productivity games and apps to help you find ways to stay on-task.

Therapy for time management

Learning to spend time meaningfully can involve addressing bad habits, unsustainable situations, and, in some cases, underlying mental or emotional issues. You may also work with a therapist to establish achievable goals, learn problem solving skills, and implement a plan for achieving them, as well as work through issues that might be limiting progress. If you feel you are not spending time in valuable or meaningful ways, consider connecting with a therapist. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been extensively studied and found to be effective for treating a wide variety of mental health issues and may help address unhelpful patterns that can impact personal improvement.

However, attending in-person therapy sessions seems impossible given your current time limitations and obligations; online therapy may be an option worth considering. Online therapy allows you to attend sessions from the comfort of your home and often includes additional features like group sessions, webinars, and therapy homework as part of your subscription. 

Online therapy has been found to be just as effective as face-to-face therapy and may be preferable for those with busy schedules that make it challenging to attend in-person appointments.

“Alison is a good listener and gives good ideas for different strategies to do with coping skills, time management, and habit forming or getting rid of old habits and replacing them with new ones.”

“I have enjoyed working with Donna. She is warm and friendly but professional, never makes me feel judged, and is constantly reassessing to make sure we are addressing the things that are bothering me.”