Event Recap - First Things First: Tips for Managing Your Time and Energy in School, Work, and Beyond

Written by Monica Martinez

On February 21, 2025, NYU Wagner’s Office of Career Services hosted an online workshop on time management techniques and strategies for organizing daily calendar tasks. The session gave an informative and educational refresher on how to be productive in the intentional allocation of time to tasks, projects, and goals..  Attendees were invited to take a quiz before the session from the organizational software Todoist to learn which productivity method was the most effective for their job roles and management habits. 

The time management frameworks that were discussed include: the Pomodoro Technique for breaking down tasks to be completed in timed intervals; the Pickle Jar Theory and Eat the Frog technique that organize different tasks based on importance and advocate for tackling the biggest, most important task first thing in the morning; and Time Blocking and Getting Things Done (GTD) strategies for effective task scheduling on calendars and an organized review process for recording tasks and engaging in action plans to complete specified projects. 

The workshop also included an activity where participants created lists of tasks grouped into separate lifestyle categories.  Using the Pickle Jar Theory and Eat the Frog techniques, participants identified their most important tasks, organizing which ones can be completed in under five minutes and which can be delegated. Next, there was an opportunity to use Pomodoro and Time Blocking to sort individual calendars and project lists for the first week of the upcoming month. 

The hands-on session encouraged participants to adopt more intentional time management practices into daily work routines and provided additional resources for pursuing organizational practices for enhanced productivity in the workplace. Feedback testimonials from participants included high rankings for their understanding of time management strategies, and they indicated high likelihood of applying at least one of the techniques in the next month.