70 Inspirational Time-Management Quotes

As a human being, time is the most precious resource. And, as a leader juggling different priorities, time management is key. In this role, you must also maximize the time of your staff in dynamic conditions that include temporary workers. A to-do list simply isn't going to cut it. 

Surprisingly, an Acuity Training survey revealed that 82% of people don’t have a time-management system and simply use a list or their inbox. 

With this in mind, it's no wonder that professionals waste 91 minutes daily on tasks and meetings that aren’t important to their role.

Benefits of Time Management in the Workplace 

Between tight deadlines, ever-evolving priorities and unexpected challenges, strong time-management skills can be the difference between success and failure. 

The benefits of time management include reduced stress, increased productivity and higher performance, especially in the context of managing temporary staffers. 

Need a dose of motivation to put together an improved team schedule or create blocks in your calendar? Time-management quotes from notable thinkers can help. 

The 70 time-management quotes below are selected to inspire you to transform how you approach your day and maximize your personal and professional success.

Time-Management Quotes to Live By

Some quotes are so powerful that you’ll want to revisit them over and over. From valuing yourself to creating your future, the following words are principles to live by regardless of your role or industry. 

1. “You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” - Benjamin Franklin
2. “Time management is really personal management, life management, and management of yourself.” - Brian Tracy
3. “I think the hardest part of aging really is recognizing the time that you wasted and the things that you worried about that really didn’t matter.” - Oprah Winfrey
4. “Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.” - M. Scott Peck
5. "The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot." - Michael Altshuler
6. "Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow." - Robert Kiyosaki
7. “Time is a created thing. To say 'I don’t have time,' is like saying, 'I don’t want to.'” - Lao Tzu

Time-Management Quotes on Maximizing Productivity

Let’s face it: There are days when looking at your calendar is enough to fill you with feelings of overwhelm. On these days, you'll find yourself wishing for just one more hour in the day. 

The quotes below are exactly for those moments. 

1. "The key is in not spending time, but in investing it." - Stephen R. Covey
2. "Do not wait: the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand." - Napoleon Hill
3. “Time is the scarcest resource and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” - Peter Drucker
4. "Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort." - Paul J. Meyer
5. “Work smarter, not harder.” - Allen F. Morgenstern
6. “Action expresses priorities.” - Mahatma Gandhi
7. “Focus on being productive instead of busy.” - Timothy Ferriss

Time-Management Quotes on Planning Your Time

Are you scheduling your time or merely reacting to events as they happen, such as when a temporary staffer is not showing up? 

While you can’t predict what happens in the uncertain, fast-paced business world, a little advanced thinking can go a long way. These quotes will remind you of this crucial tip.  

1. "If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got." - Lee Iacocca
2. "The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen R. Covey
3. "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton
4. "To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time." - Leonard Bernstein
5. “The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” - Vince Lombardi 
6. “Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” - Alan Lakein
7. “If you don't plan your time, someone else will help you waste it.”- Zig Ziglar 

Time-Management Quotes on Making the Most of Your Time

Time management isn’t necessarily about how much free time you have. Instead, we can think of time management as an effort to make the most of every hour. 

Successful people understand this all too well, as demonstrated in the time-management quotes below. 

1. "Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." - William Penn
2. "You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires, you decide." - Tony Morgan 
3. "Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of." - Benjamin Franklin
4. "We must use time as a tool, not as a couch." - John F. Kennedy
5. “ 'Someday' is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.” - Timothy Ferriss 
6. "Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life." - Michael LeBoeuf
7. “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” - Mother Teresa

Time-Management Quotes on Managing Distractions

Sometimes you need to pivot fast. Other times, it’s tempting to make changes that are just distractions in disguise. Managing distractions is an important time-management principle that can help you discern when to do what – and when to stay the course.

Should you pursue that shiny new strategy you heard a coworker talking about even though yours just delivered outstanding results? Is Q4 truly the right time to revamp your entire onboarding process? 

When faced with questions like these, let the following quotes guide you. 

1. “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” - Stephen R. Covey
2. "You can do anything, but not everything." - David Allen
3. "Your life is controlled by what you focus on." - Tony Robbins
4. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” - Sam Levenson
5. "Beware the barrenness of a busy life." - Socrates
6. "Distractions destroy action. If it’s not moving you towards your purpose, leave it alone." - Jermaine Riley
7. “It is those who concentrate on but one thing at a time who advance in this world.” - Og Mandino

Time-Management Quotes on Staying Motivated

Time is only half the battle if motivation is nowhere to be found. People like Napoleon Hill and Steve Jobs knew this all too well. 

These time-management quotes on staying motivated will provide you with that extra pep in your step on days when a huge latte won't do the trick. 

1. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” - Robert Collier
2. "Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." - Jim Rohn
3. “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” - Napoleon Hill
4. "Time is a created thing. To say 'I don’t have time,' is to say 'I don’t want to.'" - Lao Tzu
5. "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." - Sean Patrick Flanery
6. “The time is always right to do what is right.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
7. "The only way to do great work is to love what you do." - Steve Jobs

Time-Management Quotes on Achieving Success in Twenty-Four-Hour Days

You know what they say: We all have the same 24 hours in a day. 

Truth be told, this concept can be problematic when it’s used to ignore differences in status and privilege. But it’s still worth keeping in mind in the context of workplace productivity. 

The quotes below will have you rethinking how you manage time. 

1. “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” - H. Jackson Brown Junior
2. “It is not enough to take steps which may someday lead to a goal; each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
3. “Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.” - Charles Richards
4. "One always has time enough, if one will apply it well." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
5. "Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time." - Arnold H. Glasow
6. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” - Walt Disney
7. “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four-hour days.” - Zig Ziglar

Time-Management Quotes on Multitasking 

Did you know that multitasking causes productivity to drop by 40%, according to the American Psychological Association (APA)? 

No matter how good you think you are at multitasking, the quotes below will make you think twice the next time you’re tempted to keep all those tabs open in your browser.

1. "You can do two things at once, but you can't focus effectively on two things at once." - Gary Keller

1. "The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time." - Richard Cecil
2. "To do two things at once is to do neither." - Publilius Syrus
3. "Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." - Alexander Graham Bell
4. "The shorter way to do many things is to only do one thing at a time." - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
5. "The brain is not designed to multitask well... When people think they’re multitasking, they’re actually just switching from one task to another very rapidly. And every time they do, there’s a cognitive cost." — Earl Miller
6. "Multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time." — Steve Uzzell
7. "Be like a postage stamp, stick to one thing until you get there." - Josh Billings

Time-Management Quotes on the Importance of Being Present 

Leadership experts and productivity gurus often emphasize the importance of working smart. But they don’t all speak to the importance of mindfulness and presence. 

Being deeply anchored in the present moment, whether at work or at home, is the first step to making the most of your time. 

1. "Wherever you are, be all there." - Jim Elliot
2. "The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness." - Jon Kabat-Zinn
3. "Stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence." - Alan Watts
4. “Today is our most precious possession. It is our only sure possession.” - Dale Carnegie 
5. "There is no present or future — only the past, happening again and again — now." - Eugene O’Neill
6. "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha
7. "Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present, you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply." - Thich Nhat Hanh

Funny Time-Management Quotes 

Sometimes you just need to laugh at your tendency to procrastinate and rationalize it by saying that you “perform best under pressure.” 

You know what they say: Time flies when you're having fun. So, work on your time-management skills but don't forget to enjoy yourself while doing it. 

1. "Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils." - Louis Hector Berlioz
2. "If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?" - Stephen Hawking
3. "I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by." - Douglas Adams
4. "Someday is not a day of the week." - Denise Brennan-Nelson
5. "I'm going to stop putting things off, starting tomorrow!" - Sam Levenson 
6. "To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time." - Leonard Bernstein 
7. “Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.” - Jean-Paul Sartre

Tips to Improve Your Time-Management Skills 

Now that you are motivated to take your time-management tactics to the next level, here are a few more tips to turn your newfound insights into concrete actions. 

Make a Plan 

Having a plan is a pillar of effective time management. 

According to Brian Tracy, author of "Eat the Frog", 10-12 minutes invested in planning your day will save at least two hours of wasted time and effort. Let's get more specific about how you can create a plan that makes the most of your busy life.

Set goals and revisit them regularly 

Without a plan, it’s too easy to lose track of important priorities or waste time on details that don’t get you closer to your goals. 
Set objectives on a regular basis and revisit them to make sure they are still relevant. 

Make sure your goals are tied to a bigger picture 

The most important goals should be tied to a bigger picture. Then, make sure your weeks and days are aligned with your high-level goals. 

Leave room for the unexpected – strong plans shouldn’t be too rigid and should include some flexibility to help you remain adaptable. 

Build a roadmap for you and your team 

Having a roadmap of what you and your team need to accomplish will foster a sense of clarity and control – and reduce stress for everyone involved. 

If you oversee temporary workers, planning is that much more critical. Since these employees are not with you long-term, maximizing every work day and aligning their efforts with organizational objectives is key. 

Establish Priorities and Stay Focused

Setting priorities helps with time management because it helps you stick to your plan. Not every task holds equal weight, and far too many people try to accomplish everything at once, which can be ineffective and lead to burnout. 

Identify high-impact tasks 

Getting your priorities in order allows you to save time later. The idea is to focus on what matters the most and do high-impact tasks first. 

With strong priorities, you may even find that you ditch some tasks altogether – prioritization tends to eliminate busy work and wasted time. 

Communicate priorities and stick to them

As a leader, a crucial part of your job is communicating priorities and helping team members stay aligned and aware of the most important deliverables. 

People will work more efficiently and deliver improved work since they won’t be stretched thin. And, as you expand your time-management skills, you’ll be able to stay focused and help your team avoid distractions as well, which is one of the most common reasons for lost productivity.

Combat Procrastination 

Procrastination is another time-management pitfall to look out for. Putting off tasks until later may seem innocuous enough, but it can seriously affect productivity while reducing the quality of work. 

Here are some tactics to help you use time as wisely as possible. 

Lead by example 

Addressing and overcoming procrastination on a personal level can set a good example for your team and help people focus effectively. 

Break work done into small chunks 

By giving your team deadlines and breaking down tasks into smaller chunks within certain timelines, you’ll also encourage team members to have self-discipline and meet their goals without procrastinating. 

Identify Time-Wasters 

Identifying time-wasters regularly will make you a time-management master. These could be personal habits, inefficient workflows, or not putting the right people in the right roles. 

Maximize individual team strengths 

Get to know your team! When hiring temporary workers, take the time to find out more about them even if it may seem less pressing – it can help you maximize their strengths and integrate them into existing projects more effectively. 

Not to mention the fact that being in tune with your people will always strengthen engagement and improve workplace culture. 

When everyone is on the same page and motivated to do their best, it's that much easier to nail things down on the time-management front. 

Optimize operations 

Building smooth workflows is one of the best ways to avoid wasted time and boost productivity. Spending time auditing processes and figuring out what needs to be improved is worth it. 

Leverage Tech and Automation

These days, you’re lucky enough to have plenty of time-management tools at your disposal. The right tools, such as staff scheduling software, can save you hours in planning, scheduling and executing. 

Automate tasks 

Look for opportunities to automate tasks. For example, you can send automatic shift reminders to reduce the risk of no-shows and late arrivals. You can even use AI to help reduce bias in your hiring process. 

Try a platform like Workstaff 

A platform like Workstaff can help you gain back time. It allows you to manage your workforce faster, especially teams composed of flexible and contingent staff. 

Don’t forget that time-management is a continuous effort. Keep the quotes and principles above in mind as you refine your time-management skills and you’ll be basking in the satisfaction of increased performance in no time.