must secretly work at 2 or 3 am. They seem to be daydreaming a lot. You rarely see them working very hard and yet, miraculously, they get a huge amount done. These folks exert major efforts and can move mountains in a very short time. Power lifters, however, also need significant recovery time, and they tend to prefer irregular hours.

Marathoners are the workers who are at their desk at 7 am and ar

I don’t know about you, but I run screaming in the other direction when I come across time management how-to advice. I’ve been around the organizational block one too many times to believe that a trip to Staples and an armful of inboxes, file folders, and three-ring binders is going to magically fix my time management issues. However, I have learned a couple of universal time management concepts from my clients and from my own trial and error, which I’ll share with you here.

The first principle is that we don’t all work the same way. That’s why those time management seminars never stick. What does work is to understand your personal time management archetype and design your schedule in alignment with your natural rhythms and needs.

Think of your colleagues. If your office is like most, there is a diverse range of ways that people manage (or don’t) their time and work. I liken these working styles to sports archetypes: joggers, sprinters, power lifters, and marathoners.

Joggers are your colleagues who always seem to work at a relatively steady pace no matter what’s going on. They don’t take a lot of breaks and they never appear particularly stressed. They’re not speed demons but they stay the course, and typically work 9 to 5.

Sprinters are those who work a bit faster. They have more erratic work patterns. You’ll see them working pretty hard, but you’ll also see them at the water cooler fairly frequently. Sprinters need to recover from the sprint and need a moderate number of breaks during the day; they also tend to be 9-to-5ers.

Power lifters are those people you imagine must secretly work at 2 or 3 am. They seem to be daydreaming a lot. You rarely see them working very hard and yet, miraculously, they get a huge amount done. These folks exert major efforts and can move mountains in a very short time. Power lifters, however, also need significant recovery time, and they tend to prefer irregular hours.

Marathoners are the workers who are at their desk at 7 am and are

clients and from my own trial and error, which I’ll share with you here.

The first principle is that we don’t all work the same way. That’s why those time management seminars never stick. What does work is to understand your personal time management archetype and design your schedule in alignment with your natural rhythms and needs.

Think of your colleagues. If your office is like most, there is a diverse range of ways that people manage (or don’t) their time and work. I liken these working styles to sports archetypes: joggers, sprinters, power lifters, and marathoners.

Joggers are your colleagues who always seem to work at a relatively steady pace no matter what’s going on. They don’t take a lot of breaks and they never appear particularly stressed. They’re not speed demons but they stay the course, and typically work 9 to 5.

Sprinters are those who work a bit faster. They have more erratic work patterns. You’ll see them working pretty hard, but you’ll also see them at the water cooler fairly frequently. Sprinters need to recover from the sprint and need a moderate number of breaks during the day; they also tend to be 9-to-5ers.

Power lifters are those people you imagine must secretly work at 2 or 3 am. They seem to be daydreaming a lot. You rarely see them working very hard and yet, miraculously, they get a huge amount done. These folks exert major efforts and can move mountains in a very short time. Power lifters, however, also need significant recovery time, and they tend to prefer irregular hours.

Marathoners are the workers who are at their desk at 7 am and ar

is a diverse range of ways that people manage (or don’t) their time and work. I liken these working styles to sports archetypes: joggers, sprinters, power lifters, and marathoners.

Joggers are your colleagues who always seem to work at a relatively steady pace no matter what’s going on. They don’t take a lot of breaks and they never appear particularly stressed. They’re not speed demons but they stay the course, and typically work 9 to 5.

Sprinters are those who work a bit faster. They have more erratic work patterns. You’ll see them working pretty hard, but you’ll also see them at the water cooler fairly frequently. Sprinters need to recover from the sprint and need a moderate number of breaks during the day; they also tend to be 9-to-5ers.

Power lifters are those people you imagine must secretly work at 2 or 3 am. They seem to be daydreaming a lot. You rarely see them working very hard and yet, miraculously, they get a huge amount done. These folks exert major efforts and can move mountains in a very short time. Power lifters, however, also need significant recovery time, and they tend to prefer irregular hours.

Marathoners are the workers who are at their desk at 7 am and ar

tay the course, and typically work 9 to 5.

Sprinters are those who work a bit faster. They have more erratic work patterns. You’ll see them working pretty hard, but you’ll also see them at the water cooler fairly frequently. Sprinters need to recover from the sprint and need a moderate number of breaks during the day; they also tend to be 9-to-5ers.

Power lifters are those people you imagine must secretly work at 2 or 3 am. They seem to be daydreaming a lot. You rarely see them working very hard and yet, miraculously, they get a huge amount done. These folks exert major efforts and can move mountains in a very short time. Power lifters, however, also need significant recovery time, and they tend to prefer irregular hours.

Marathoners are the workers who are at their desk at 7 am and ar

must secretly work at 2 or 3 am. They seem to be daydreaming a lot. You rarely see them working very hard and yet, miraculously, they get a huge amount done. These folks exert major efforts and can move mountains in a very short time. Power lifters, however, also need significant recovery time, and they tend to prefer irregular hours.

Marathoners are the workers who are at their desk at 7 am and are still there at 7 pm. It seems like they never stop! Marathoners work in a very methodical, moderate rhythm and they certainly go the distance—just not as fast as the types above. Many companies like the marathoner-type employee best, though this preference can be unfair.

Although the above categories don’t capture everyone, you’ll find most people can identify, at least broadly, with one of these working styles.

Think about your archetype. Invent new sports metaphors to see if that works for you—there are certainly walkers and super-marathoners out there. Create a category that is truly you. Think about how your type impacts your scheduling and your work capacity and rhythms.

Power lifters, for example, tend to like to work in big blocks of time. They dive into a project with great intensity for a few hours, and then they need a long break. What they have accomplished in that time may take someone else twice as long. However, they need to stop working or slow down for a significant amount of time to recuperate. Power lifters can also work non-stop for a few months almost to the point of collapse, then need to rest for several days or even weeks. Sprinters, on the other hand, work at moderate intensity, but just need short breaks to regain their energy.

Once you identify what your style is you can arrange your schedule to work with it. For instance, a sprinter might design blocks of time during the day to focus on a project, and build in breaks at key junctures. Of course, this is easier if you can work independently. When you are working with others who have different rhythms