Spending your time wisely and time management are two completely different things. All of us want to make the best use of our time. Some people are better at it than others and do so naturally. Spending time wisely can be an intuitive art. But without some system for tracking or assessment, intuitive time spenders really have no idea whether or not they are optimizing their time in the best way possible.

Time management helps time spenders keep track of their time utility. By creating sorting and tracking systems, you can get a really strong insight into the way you live your life.

The ironic paradox? It takes time to manage your time. Setting up spreadsheets, data input, note-taking, categorization, calendars, chronicles, time-sheets, reading, reports, etc. Depending on how accurate you want to be, you might even waste time while “managing your time.” I am guilty of this. I know many people who are.

It will take passive tools – perhaps in our phones, browsers, and cars – to help us better-understand our lives without wasting precious time.