Effective time management techniques
In order to properly plan your work and organize your working day, you need to learn. In this article, we’ll go over the main points to look out for if you want to improve your productivity.
Daily planning
First of all, time management starts with planning. It is a powerful tool that allows you not only to structure tasks but also to motivate (or demotivate) yourself.
The main rule is not to write too many points in one day and not try to build a per-minute schedule. This is due to the fact that not completing the assigned tasks, you are likely to get upset. And with a per-minute schedule, something will definitely go wrong, and you will not complete the tasks.
Making a plan can be an enjoyable ritual. Set aside time for your evening cocoa or morning coffee and start planning in a good mood.
Plan in your diary or use apps and services. For example, many people choose Google Calendar to make a plan. The time, information about the event and its duration are recorded there.
Important: Set no more than four important tasks for the day and write them in order of urgency. Plan your rest during the evening hours. If you think that there will be time left, add a few small subtasks that you can postpone until tomorrow. Learn to rest as it increases productivity.
SMART
It’s a goal-setting system that turns blurry dreams into concrete plans ready to go. And abstract ideas into understandable tasks.
SMART is an abbreviation in which each letter denotes a measurement criterion. Objectives must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timeable.
Concreteness in planning is half the battle for those who want to master time management.
Pareto’s law
It is also called the 80/20 principle – the golden ratio of the resource invested and the result obtained. Pareto’s Law was derived by the economist Vilfredo Pareto, noting that 20% of the effort gives 80% of the result and vice versa. This law applies in many areas: 20% of the team does 80% of the work, 20% of the buyers make 80% of the profit.
To use this law in time management, identify the 20% most effective actions and focus on them.
In work, there are often processes that can be automated or not performed at all, if they are outdated and used out of habit.
Eat a toad for breakfast
This metaphor means that the most unpleasant thing must be done right away.
When some unpleasant, but very important work is hanging, the prospect of messing with it spoils the mood and annoys. The longer you put it off, the more negativity accumulates.
Having finished with the toad at the beginning of the working day, you, being satisfied with yourself, are motivated for further effective activity.
Complex tasks can also be attributed here: if you do not do them in the morning, then by the evening there will simply be no strength left.
Divide tasks
Divide the task into subtasks. This is especially true for time-consuming projects that stretch over several days or months. Time management advises breaking them down into short chunks. At the end of each stage, take stock, praise yourself, be happy, rest, then move on to the next step. So you can overcome even the most difficult task at first glance.
The tomato principle (Pomodoro)
The main idea behind this principle is to measure the performance of tomatoes. This is a tomato-shaped kitchen timer.
The inventor of this theory was a student and procrastinated constantly instead of studying for exams. Then he decided to force himself to study in small intervals: 25 minutes of intensive and concentrated work, then 5 minutes of rest. All together – one half-hour tomato. After four working tomatoes – one for rest.
The tomato method is suitable for those who want to concentrate as much as possible on the task at hand, and not sit on an open project and dream of the impossible.
Morning acceleration
How quickly you start your day determines your productivity. There is such a technique: do everything as quickly as possible in the morning. Get ready quickly, take a shower, take the bus. This pace will continue throughout the day. If in the morning you salt over a cup of coffee for half an hour, the day will turn out to be slow and lazy.
In no case do not go to social networks, do not perceive the negative, do not overeat in the first half-hour after waking up. The best morning is active, fast, bright, with good music, fresh air from the window, we are in the mood for vigorous and productive activity.
Deadlines for any task
Unresolved cases can pile up because we postpone non-urgent tasks for later. To prevent this from happening, set deadlines for any business, even if you are responsible for the fulfillment only to yourself. Sometimes it takes a couple of days to resolve the issue, but it will hang and wait for its turn for six months.
Unfinished tasks drain energy, so revisit. Find out which ones are relevant and need to be completed, and which ones should be discarded.
10-3-2-1-0
This is not just a set of random numbers, but a formula that will help you correctly correlate your work and rest schedule.
Do not drink coffee or other invigorating drinks 10 hours before bedtime. Stop eating and drinking alcohol within three hours. Two hours before bedtime, put off all work, take time to rest, get ready for bed. Turn off all gadgets in an hour: it has been proven that using electronic media before bed has a negative effect on falling asleep. Zero is the number of times that you can put off the alarm for five sweet minutes in the morning. If the graph is right, it won’t be necessary. You will get up the first time, cheerful and ready to act.
