Time Management with Anna Dearmon Kornick

·47 min·4 clips

Anna was written up for being late 17 times in a quarter—now she's a time management coach.

This episode of The Art of Decluttering features host Amy Revell in conversation with time management coach and podcast host Anna Dearmon Kornick. Anna shares her expertise on moving from overwhelm to a life aligned with personal values through intentional time management. She discusses her background in high-stakes crisis communications, where she learned to create order from chaos but also experienced significant personal burnout. Anna explains that effective time management begins not with tools or planners, but with getting "crystal clear about what matters most to you." She argues that when people understand their core values and vision, prioritization and time-related decisions become simpler. The conversation draws a direct parallel to decluttering, where success also depends on starting with a clear vision. Anna identifies a common mistake where people try to rearrange existing calendar commitments without first evaluating if those items hold meaning. She introduces three core tactics she calls the "time management Swiss Army knife": time blocking, task batching, and theme days. Anna first outlines two productivity pitfalls: Parkinson's Law, where work expands to fill available time, and the planning fallacy, where people consistently underestimate how long tasks take. She presents time blocking—scheduling a specific block for a task with a start and end time—as a direct solution to both. For task batching, she uses the analogy of baking cookies in batches rather than one at a time to improve efficiency and reduce "attention residue" from constant task-switching. Theme days involve dedicating an entire day to a category of work or life tasks, such as a "creative day" or "client day," to create flexible structure and reduce mental whiplash. Amy and Anna explore applying these concepts beyond work to areas like meal planning, household cleaning, and decluttering projects. Anna shares a personal low point, revealing she was once written up for being late to work 17 times in a single quarter, emphasizing that time management skills are learnable. She stresses that time management strategies must evolve with different life seasons, such as having children or starting a business, and are not one-size-fits-all. An interesting insight is that time perception is malleable, illustrated by how a one-minute plank feels longer than an hour spent with friends. Anna suggests that confidence in time decisions can unlock the ability to pursue almost any goal, from learning a new skill to attending more local festivals. The tone is highly conversational, educational, and supportive, with both hosts sharing personal anecdotes and struggles. Listeners who feel constantly busy yet unfulfilled, or who are seeking practical, personality-aware strategies beyond basic to-do lists, will find immense value. Those looking for a highly technical or rigid productivity system may find the approach too broad or values-focused.

As heard by us

A practical reset for people whose old systems no longer fit.

The episode approaches time management as something that must change with a person’s life, not something to be forced into a fixed mold. Anna Dearman Cornick brings a steady, practical tone to the problem of overwhelm, and the result feels grounded rather than preachy.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if your calendar keeps winning and your routines keep changing.

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