Time management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.

It is a meta-activity with the goal to maximize the overall benefit of a set of other activities within the boundary condition of a limited amount of time.

Time management may be aided by a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects, and goals complying with a due date. Initially, time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities as well. A time management system is a designed combination of processes, tools, techniques, and methods. Time management is usually a necessity in any project development as it determines the project completion time and scope.

The major themes arising from the literature on time management include the following:

Time management games are a genre of video game focused around fast real time allocation of resources in a consequent order to fulfill the level objectives. The player must react to the incoming requests that occur as they play and serve them in the most effective manner to get the greatest possible reward. They are usually limited in time, and their resources limit the speed at which they can serve the requests. As a game progresses, the player usually has a possibility to upgrade their available resources by spending the earned rewards.

Time management is a subgenre of casual games and Strategy video games. The genre is relatively young, and there are not many books on game design that mention it.

Relationship to general strategy games

Although time management games are considered a subgenre of Strategy video games, they have their distinct set of features and lack some typical strategy game features. They usually don't employ war themes, instead they use work themes. The goals of strategy games are often to conquer a foe, while time management goals are usually to make enough money by doing work in the most effective manner. Unlike strategy games that are often focused on the multiplayer gameplay, time management games are single-player by nature.