Have you noticed that time has begun to pass much faster than 5–10 years ago? The development of communications, Internet technologies, even more “intelligent” office equipment than before - everything is designed to simplify communication and other aspects of human activity. However, as they say, “to whom much is given, much will be required.”
Society places increasingly high demands on its members, sets tasks one more difficult than the other, and in order to get everything done we have to call on time management for help - a strategy that helps organize time management.
Why do we need this?
Time is a resource, just like money and raw materials. Only, unlike raw materials and finance, time is a non-renewable resource, it is becoming less and less. Having mastered the basics of time management, you will receive:- Simplification of the work process,
- The efficiency of the work process will increase,
- A significant time resource will be freed up,
- You will learn to spend time on the most important things, set priorities,
- You will be able to organize your time exactly in accordance with your goals.
How to manage time
Experts who are professionally involved in time management claim that by mastering its rules, you can save a third of your time and your life. Basic principles of time management: In addition to the basic principles, there are other rules of time management that help put work time management on a regular basis. You can get acquainted with them by widely using time management tools:- Specialized literature on the topic “time management”,
- Trainings, seminars, courses,
- Computer programs.
Time management training exercises
- "Values and Priorities". This exercise requires two participants. Everyone writes down on small pieces of paper the ten most important fundamentals and values of life, ranking them in order of importance. Participants take turns asking each other questions about the importance of a particular value, ultimately rearranging the list of priorities.
- "Time Sinkers" To complete this exercise, you need to build a table listing 5-6 time sinks, possible reasons this loss, measures to eliminate it. First, the table is discussed in pairs, then in the whole group.
- "The Connecting Thread" For this exercise, the training participants need to take turns wrapping a thread from a skein of thread around their finger, voicing the goal they want to achieve. The purpose of the exercise is to realize that when one goal is achieved, other areas of life will inevitably suffer.
Hello, friends! Dmitry Shaposhnikov is in touch.
According to my observation, modern successful man inevitably comes across the concept of “time management”. Everyone, to one degree or another, has felt a lack of time, pressure of deadlines, and experienced stress from forced haste.
After reading the article, you will learn the most important things about time management and become familiar with the basic concepts of successful time management. All this is accompanied by my examples and comments. I hope you find this topic useful, interesting, and fun!
Let's start, friends!
1. What is time management - definition and history
Direct translation of this term " Time Management"from English - " time management" It is clear that it is impossible to manage time in the literal sense: the real function of time management is to use the time of your life with maximum efficiency.
The most accurate definition of time management is:
Time management- this is the accounting, distribution and operational planning of your own time resources.
Another definition.
Time management- This scientific approach to organizing time and increasing the effect of its use.
The motto of a professional time manager:
Work less, have time more!
People who know how to manage their own time productively live more fulfilling and fulfilling lives. life to the fullest, do their job with minimal time expenditure.
By managing our time, we have more living space: it becomes more real possibility do what we really like.
Considering the emergency situation he lives in modern man, the issue of time resource management is becoming increasingly relevant, if not vital. Developed time management skills significantly increase personal effectiveness. I realized this 12 years ago.
Time management allows you to organize your work and personal time during the day (week, month) in order to have time to do all the important and necessary things without being distracted by secondary or extraneous issues and problems.
Effective planning allows you to free up colossal time resources for a rich and fulfilling life. According to professionals, the size of such resources is calculated in years and decades.
History of time management
The scientific approach to organizing time is not a new problem. The history of time management goes back a long way.
Even 2000 years ago in Ancient Rome The famous thinker Seneca proposed dividing all time into usefully spent, that is, good, into bad and useless.
Seneca also began to keep a constant record of time in in writing. The thinker said that when living a certain period of time, it is necessary to evaluate it from the point of view of its fullness.
In the subsequent history of time management, these ideas formed the basis of the concept of “personal effectiveness.”
Alberti, a writer and Italian scientist who lived in the 15th century, said that those who know how to manage time effectively will always be successful.
To do this, he proposed using two rules:
- Make a to-do list every morning.
- Arrange things in order of decreasing importance.
For many centuries, all these principles existed only in theoretical form, and only since the 80s of the last century this topic began to move from theory to practice.
Time management is not just for executives and owners own business: each of us must be able to manage our own assets in order to enjoy the process of life to the fullest.
Of course, not everyone needs time management. If a person has nothing to do in his life, and his main task is to “kill time,” then time management for such a person is an irrelevant and unnecessary discipline.
In other words, you first need to decide whether you really don’t have enough time and where you would like to spend your free minutes, hours and days when they appear.
Time management consists of several components:
- strict time tracking;
- optimization of time resources;
- planning the day (week, month or other period of time);
- organization of motivation.
Time management is important not only for work: people who have mastered the art of time management are more cheerful, healthy and successful in their professional and personal lives.
Effective time management allows you to comprehend all your actions and decisions from the point of view of their expediency for own development and improvement.
2. Myths about time management – 3 main misconceptions
There are a number of social stereotypes and misconceptions about time management.
Some believe that time management is needed solely for work, that in Russia this discipline is ineffective due to the peculiarities of the national mentality, that life strictly according to plan turns a person into a robot and deprives him of free will.
All these myths are unfounded: below I will try to completely debunk them.
Myth 1. No one can manage time.
The statement is correct in form, but erroneous in content. Managing time is truly impossible. (unless, of course, you are the inventor of a time machine). No one is able to slow down its objective progress, speed it up or stop it even for a moment.
But a person can do the following : manage yourself, your decisions and actions over time, and also engage in setting priorities. This is exactly what time management practitioners talk about – about managing your own life.
Taking a smart and pragmatic approach to your actions is time management: you'll be surprised how many minutes and hours free up once you start to act more deliberately and consciously.
Remember that all successful people, regardless of their type of activity, plan their affairs and act with maximum productivity. At the same time, they work approximately the same as ordinary people, but they always manage to do more.
Their secret is that in a unit of time they manage to do large quantity affairs, which ultimately affects their life outcomes.
Myth 2: Time management will make me work harder and harder.
Working hard and getting tired, neglecting rest is a direct path to overwork and depression. It is necessary to constantly strive to reduce the amount of work while increasing productivity. How to do it? In short, act strictly according to plan and be able to separate the secondary from the main.
Using time management techniques effectively does not mean doing more or increasing productivity by getting things done faster.
It's about improving personal performance through elimination. unnecessary tasks and eliminating the so-called “time eaters” or “chronophages”.
The category of chronophages includes hundreds of meaningless and small things that we do during the day, without even thinking about their expediency: frequently checking email, communicating and viewing news on social networks, meaningless conversations with colleagues.
A person’s commitment to matters distracted from the main task is partly explained by procrastination - the desire to postpone important and necessary events “until better times.”
However, if you discard reflection and recognize for yourself the importance and significance of your current tasks, you will have neither the strength nor the desire to be distracted by extraneous matters.
Myth 3. Using time management will turn me into a robot who will do everything according to a schedule, depriving me of freedom and choice.
People are afraid of turning into robots, but in fact they are already them, and also slaves of their own psycho-emotional habits and behavior patterns.
Time management does not limit our freedom, but, on the contrary, creates it.
Time management is necessary not only for office workers, executives and managers: managing the main resource of life - one’s own time - is necessary for everyone who takes themselves responsibly and seriously.
A practical criterion for the need to implement time management principles in life is the presence 4 or more cases in the plan for the current day (not only professional, but also personal matters are taken into account). Businessmen, freelance artists, and housewives need this.
Example
If you need to finish a project at work, talk to your boss about it, go to a phone repair shop after work, and finally pick up your baby from kindergarten, then smart time management is your absolute necessity.
Planning and allocating resources helps you achieve important goals faster and free up time for rest, recuperation, and communication with friends and family. Time control allows you to achieve results faster and at lower costs.
As for life according to a schedule, a reasonable organization of work and rest has never harmed anyone. And there is always a place for spontaneity and creativity (if any) in any work.
3. How to manage time - 7 main principles of time management
Now let’s move on to practice and find out how to manage time correctly, where to start controlling and planning your actions, what difficulties usually arise along this path and how to overcome them. Below I have described the basic principles and rules.
Principle 1: Plan your actions
Planning things for the next day (or the next week) has practical significance in any job. It doesn’t matter whether you are sitting in an office, standing at a conveyor belt, or working as a courier in your free time from studying - a clear action plan will always bring real benefits in the form of increased productivity (personal and professional).
Even if your actions are strictly regulated by your job description, you should always have a plan drawn up in advance - this will help you cope with your work more efficiently and quickly.
Remember that all successful people plan their lives.
Remember some of the most important axioms of time management:
- Record your goals in writing. If your goal is not indicated on paper (or in an electronic diary), then it does not exist.
- Plan your day. A pre-compiled list of tasks and actions increases the productivity of any type of activity by 25%.
- Break down big tasks. Time-consuming tasks should always be divided into several small subtasks - do not take on a large-scale project without thinking through the sequence of actions in advance.
You need to make planning second nature: make it a habit to make a plan for tomorrow before you go to bed. In the morning at work, you will already know exactly where to start, how to continue and how to finish.
Always leave a certain reserve of time for “force majeure” - unforeseen circumstances.
Remember that the few minutes that you spend on drawing up a plan will more than pay off in the future: you will appreciate the results of competent planning already in the first week of implementation.
Principle 2. Formulate the desired result into specific goals and objectives
Strategic and effective planning impossible without competent goal setting. More to the point in simple language, you must be able to clearly formulate the main goal and be able to break it down into more specific and local tasks.
In management theory, this skill is called "decomposition of goals". The main way to implement this concept in practice, it is a transition from the general to the specific.
Exists professional tool(or principle) for formulating and setting local goals in time management and goal setting.
It is called SMART principle .
According to this principle, the goal should be:
- specific(Specific);
- measurable(Measurable);
- achievable for a certain period (Attainable);
- relevant or true - it is necessary to understand in advance whether this task will help in achieving the goal (Relevant);
- limited in time(Time-bound).
The main criterion for the usefulness and effectiveness of a local task is its specificity. Starting towards a big goal by completing sequential tasks significantly reduces the time it takes to complete the work.
Consistency and focus on specific points is the key to future success.
Even the greatest creators did not create their works entirely at once - they first made a plan, and then carried it out point by point. One of the secrets to successful time management is the ability to focus on current tasks without losing the overall direction.
Principle 3. Fix your plan of action.
The need to necessarily record an action plan has already been mentioned above. Here we will look at how best to do this. There are several working and effective tools that allow you to make your plans and tasks more visual and specific.
One of these methods is called. Let me explain what this looks like in practice.
Example
Let's say your goal is to build a house. To begin with, you should divide the task into several stages: clear the site, dig and lay the foundation, carry out above-ground work, finish the premises, carry out communications and do landscaping.
The Grant diagram indicates all the tasks of the current large-scale project along with the timing of their implementation, duration in time and priority of implementation.
Tasks of the same type can be grouped into one item, and larger tasks should be divided into several sequential tasks.
Visually drawing up a plan not only saves your time, but also allows other employees involved in the project to quickly understand the state of affairs and get involved in the work from the right stage.
Principle 4: Prioritize
Timely and clearly defining the main goal is necessary and correct. But the main task is to move towards achieving this goal, consistently completing current tasks varying degrees difficulties.
To prioritize your daily planning, a simple method called "ABVGD Method".
ABCD method
"A" is the most important thing current day, “B” is less important, “C” is a task of medium importance, etc.
The first thing on the list should be done first. Usually this task is the most time-consuming and difficult. Sometimes a person feels afraid or is lazy to start the day with the main task, but the secret is that the effectiveness of your current activities depends on its completion.
A specialist in practical time management advises to resolve this issue firmly and unambiguously. His method is called “eat a frog for breakfast.” “Frog” is the most difficult and unpleasant task of the day. You constantly postpone it to the “afternoon”, to the evening, or even to tomorrow.
But the point is that this creates constant emotional stress, which prevents you from doing everything else productively. Tracy says that you should start the day with the most difficult thing, then all the other tasks will be completed almost by themselves.
The logical continuation of Brian Tracy's method here is the Pareto law or principle.
Pareto's Law
20% of our efforts bring us 80% of the results, and the remaining 80% of our efforts bring us only 20% of the results.
Thus, our task is to identify these 20% of our most effective actions and concentrate on them.
Another tool for effective prioritization is called "Eisenhower Matrix". Political and military leader, US President Dwyatt Eisenhower was a practical and very successful man.
He came up with the idea of dividing all current affairs into 4 categories:
- urgent and important;
- important but not urgent;
- urgent, but not very important;
- unimportant and not urgent.
First category : urgent and important - these are the primary tasks that must be completed today and now: postponing them will certainly create unnecessary difficulties in the future. There is no point in entrusting them to subordinates - you need to do it yourself and immediately.
This sector of the matrix is called differently "Fire sector" being in which for a long time is fraught with adverse consequences, primarily for one’s own health.
My time management secret is to be in the sector « Important - Not urgent » .
This is the most efficient sector of the matrix. Here you are calm, here you plan, think, act competently and carefully, here you do what is truly important.
Do not allow important matters to flow into the urgent sector!
Cases from 4th category (non-urgent and unimportant) can be safely crossed off from the daily list.
You can make a table like this every day, based on the Eisenhower Matrix.
Don't be lazy and implement this a simple table into your day planning system.
Principle 5: Focus on what matters most
I have already said how important it is to achieve your goals, in this paragraph I will tell you how to do this as efficiently as possible.
The ability to focus on the main thing, without being distracted by extraneous things, is the most important practical skill, having mastered which, you will solve the most priority tasks productive time management.
Time is a non-renewable resource, and the most valuable of all. We can spend 10,000 rubles and earn them again, but we are not able to get back the second we have lived.
We are also not able to extend the day to 25 hours, but we can free up our own space for those activities that are truly important to us.
To prevent unimportant tasks from affecting your personal productivity, you need to master specific time management techniques.
One of the most effective techniques for freeing up time is delegation. It would be more accurate to say that delegation is a component of classical management.
Delegation- This is a way to entrust some of our affairs to other people.
The most basic examples: you can not wash your car yourself, but take it to a car wash, or else: you can fix a leaking faucet in the bathroom yourself or call a professional plumber.
Remember
Any tasks that are more expedient (from a financial and time perspective) to be left to others should be left to others.
The higher the value of your personal time, the more minor and not very important tasks can be delegated.
Less important things can be done during “non-resource time.”
We are talking about that part of the day when you are no longer at your peak mentally and physical strength, for example, at the end of the day, when there is fatigue.
Also, for example, while in transport or in a queue, you can combine waiting with learning - listening to audiobooks on professional skills or developing one of the personal effectiveness skills.
Another important skill for real time saving: the ability to say “no”.
Do not think that you need to refuse everyone indiscriminately.
The ability to say “no” applies primarily to those people and affairs that deprive you of your energy and time resources without giving anything in return.
Say “no” to a chatty neighbor or employee, reading the tabloid press, Internet surfing on social networks and entertainment resources, and watching TV.
Remember that even a small unplanned break, when someone or something distracts you from your task, can cause plans to be disrupted.
Principle 6. Analyze your experience and create your own time management rules
Periodically, it is worth looking back and drawing pragmatic conclusions from your time management experiences. Study your mistakes and be sure to take measures to correct them.
Be sure to analyze situations in which you lost personal resources especially intensely.
You should always remain aware and look from the outside at what exactly is happening in your life - in what direction and at what speed it is moving.
If you feel like you've lost control and are too deep into solving a problem without thinking about the time spent, it's time to stop, take a break and try to optimize your own actions.
In the end, create your own time management rules, your own tricks. Your whole life, your activity is unique.
Principle 7. Plan your vacation
In pursuit of success and personal productivity, never neglect rest, I will say more than that - plan your rest, just like your business tasks! To manage time, take proper rest - essential element success.
An example from the life of Radislav Gandapas
The famous Russian business coach and speaker Radislav Gandapas, as he said at one of his trainings, plans days in his work schedule to visit the golf club. This is an important hobby in his life.
He highlights these days in red as events highest degree important items that cannot be transferred.
Otherwise, Radislav says, he cannot play golf at all, since there are always more important things to do.
You can only remain at the peak of your psychophysiological capabilities through regular recuperation.
You can’t save on sleep, your own weekends and communication with loved ones - these are the same important factors effective time management like planning and goal setting.
4. Review of popular books and trainings on time management and increasing personal effectiveness
There is a lot of useful literature on time management. Separate publications are devoted to time management for women (young mothers, housewives), students, schoolchildren, and managers.
Seminars, conferences, master classes and trainings on time management are held.
In my opinion, the most informative and accessible books on this topic are the works of Gleb Arkhangelsky, Evgeny Popov and Brian Tracy.
Evgeniy Popov– author of the “Master of Time” course, creator of video lessons on this topic, practitioner successful business in the Internet. Has a personal network resource where anyone can purchase the author’s intellectual products.
If you want to quickly master the basics of practical time management, be sure to study Evgeniy Popov’s course “”.
Gleb Arkhangelsky– leading Russian specialist on time management. Head of his own corporate projects to introduce time management into the practice of the largest domestic companies - RAO UES, Wimm-Bill-Dann and others. Creator of bestsellers: “Time Management” and “Time Drive”.
Brian Tracy- The world's leading expert on personal effectiveness, management consultant, writer, speaker.
Other books on this topic: “Time Management by Pomodoro” (Staffan Nötheberg), “Hard Time Management” (Dan Kennedy), “Maximum Concentration” (Lucy Paladino).
5. Conclusion
Let's sum it up, friends! I personally try to use the following elements of time management:
- planning the day;
- prioritization (ABVGD);
- working with a list of tasks.
In practice, I am convinced that time planning simplifies life and helps you get more done.
The main thing is that it becomes a habit for you. A habit is formed in 20-30 days. You will need to hold on for just a little while to get used to doing the right things, and then the system of habits and time management will work for you.
Time is national wealth, the same as the subsoil, forest, lakes. It can be used wisely, and it can be destroyed. It’s so easy to let it slip, sleep through it, spend it on fruitless expectations, chasing fashion, drinking, you never know. Sooner or later, our schools will begin to teach children how to “use time.” The author is convinced that from childhood it is necessary to cultivate a love of nature and a love of time. And teach how to save time, how to find it, how to get it. The most important thing is to teach how to report on time.
Daniil Granin
Russian writer and public figure
Introduction
It was this quote that gave me the idea - to write a material on time management, to reflect in it such fundamentals and rules that, firstly, will be convenient and pleasant to use, and secondly, they will bring significant benefits if you start applying them in life. In this material we will talk not only about such a science as time management, but in general we will try to build a vision of life that should help maximum number people, and especially the younger generation. Before we get started, I’ll ask you a question: “How do you feel about having your money stolen?” I guess you don't see anything good in this. But time is an even greater value than money; you need to understand this as quickly as possible. This value is irreplaceable. By learning to take care of your time, you will learn to take care of other people's. Yes, you need to start with yourself. You need to cultivate this quality in yourself.
Chapter 1. Reasons for lack of time
In this chapter, you need to list all the main reasons why you cannot do more and find a solution for them.
Dream
Getting ready for school
Studies
You have 9 hours left to do your homework, your hobbies, communicate with friends, all your chores and responsibilities! This is truly a wealth that many adults who spend significant time at work dream of.
Andrey Belousov, a student of grade 9 “A” in 2009 wrote research work on the topic: “Time for a high school student. How to manage it." In his work, after conducting a survey, he identified the following reasons for the lack of time among guys like him. The results were as follows (I combined some because they were similar): 1. I take too long to do my homework. 2. Internet and TV take up a lot of time. 3. I don’t plan my day in advance. From here I shift things to later, and there is no clear picture of what needs to be done. 4. I am easily distracted from important matters by unrelated matters. 5. I don’t finish what I started. 6. I do everything very slowly and generally rock for a long time at the beginning of the day. I believe that each of you has found yourself in these problems that prevent you from living and learning fully. If I’m mistaken and everything is fine with you, then you can close the work. And for those who want to solve these problems for themselves, I advise you to continue reading. Next, I will try to go through these “time wasters” problems in detail.
Reason #1 I take too long homework. How to do homework effectively?
The information highlighted below is truly not for the faint of heart; if you are the type of overly impressionable person, then I strongly recommend skipping it:
Important
Do your homework in the morning. To do this, you need to get up 2 hours earlier, and, of course, go to bed too. For most, productivity in the morning is exactly 2 times higher than in the evening. For example, if you do your homework in the evening for 4 hours, then in the morning the same work will take you only 2 hours. Plus, you will absorb information much better. Not only will you reduce your work time, but the quality of your morning classes will be higher. In addition, by the first lesson at school, your brain, unlike your classmates, will be in full combat readiness, it will think faster, while your classmates, as a rule, yawn throughout the entire first lesson and do not understand what’s what.
Nowadays, the tendency to spend almost everything on social networks is quite firmly rooted. free time, communicating and viewing pictures from famous public pages. However, in the morning, almost no one will be able to distract you from work, because there will simply be no one. Your classmates will be asleep. And in the evening, unlike them, you can do what you love. How you spend the two hours you gain from doing homework in the morning is up to you.
Reason No. 2 Internet and TV take up a lot of time
This technology, whose task was to give a person the opportunity to do more in less time, for many, on the contrary, has become a real cauldron in which thousands of hours are burned. At one time, this “cauldron” also consumed a significant part of my time. I decided that this problem could only be solved in a radical way.
1. Give the opportunity to write personal messages on VKontakte to only a few people. For example, I only got 3, these are the people with whom it is not possible to communicate live. They are far from me.
2. Remove from the news feed public posts that do not develop me in any way and do not provide anything useful. Now I only receive news from my study group. Filter out everything unnecessary.
3. Deleted accounts on Twitter, Instagram. At first they were offended at me and asked, “Why can’t I write to you on VKontakte?” Over time, the majority finally realized that they could call me on very important matters. And what do you think, the flow of meaningless communication “for the sake of communication” has stopped.
TV
Think about what will happen to you if you don’t watch TV? Yes, NOTHING will happen to you! 99.9% of the information you receive from newspapers, TV or the Internet is not related to you in any way at all. Why worry needlessly about “where the world is heading”?
Another way to rid yourself of unnecessary communication on social networks, without blocking access from everyone, is to connect yourself to notifications from VKontakte about new personal messages by mail. That is, you will receive text messages directly to your inbox. It’s immediately clear whether it makes sense to go there and respond, or not, whether someone’s message requires an immediate response, or whether it will wait. It very often happens that a person who wrote to you about a “very urgent and important matter” that no one else can handle except you, resolves the issue not later. a large number of time on your own. Statistics show that this figure is close to 100% in some cases.
Go to Settings – Alerts – Alerts by e-mail, check the box next to personal messages.
Reason #3 I don't plan my day
… Even the simplest plan, if designed correctly, will give you much more freedom and much more time for those activities that you really like and enjoy.
Diana De Lonzor
« The easy way stop being late"
Brian Tracy, famous American author large number bestsellers on the topic of self-development, motivation, sales, quite often advises the following: “Think on paper.” “By formulating a task in writing, you sharpen it and give it tangible tangibility; you create something that you can touch and see. Until a goal is written down, it remains just a wish or a fantasy. There is no energy in it. Unfixed goals lead to confusion, uncertainty, misdirection and many mistakes.” “Having a goal on paper and an organized action plan will make you much more productive. Your achievements will compare favorably with those who keep their intentions in mind.”
Small portions
Don't try to cover a large area of work at once. In order for the work to proceed, and you have the desire to return to it, and not put it off, you need to break it down into a large number of small points. You will not have the same fear of facing one big task, which you were previously afraid of because you did not know which way to approach it. Let's say you need to study the work of A.P. Chekhov. Read his key works, which are present in the school literature course. First, we will find biographical information. We will see that in the writer’s work, researchers distinguish 3 periods. Let's immediately break down our work into subsections.
I. The first, associated with short humorous stories.
1. Read the criticism of the stories.
2. Read the story “Chameleon”.
3. Read the story “The Man in the Case.”
4. Read the story “The Death of an Official.”
II. The second is long stories and novellas with a “novel” beginning.
1. Take a quick look at Sakhalin Island.
2. Review the plays “The Seagull”, “Three Sisters”
As we see, our work in studying creativity has already become more specific. After reading the stories of the first period, we will turn to criticism and study the opinions of researchers. What, in fact, is the novelty and strength of these stories. Then we will gradually proceed to the next stage and finally complete the work.
BUT! Making a to-do list is one thing, but completing them is another. Put deadlines next to each item. The work of studying Chekhov's work can be divided into a week, maybe less. In any case, it depends on the setting of your goals: how fully you need to approach this issue so that we can ultimately be satisfied with the result.
Important
The task of time management is not to load your day with activities as much as possible, but to unload it from unnecessary ones. Perform the most important and most responsible tasks more efficiently
When to make a to-do list?
Set aside time for this activity about an hour before bed. Find out what subjects you have homework for in the morning, highlight the most important one in order of importance, then the one that is less important, etc. Start with the most difficult task first, because having completed it, you will receive an emotional impulse, satisfaction from having completed it, and with even greater desire to begin completing the remaining work. Arrange your to-do list in order of importance. Do the most important ones first, because even the most difficult tasks will not become easier to complete, no matter how much you put them off.
Grid of the day
The first half of the day, as a rule, is quite clearly scheduled for most schoolchildren. The lesson gives way to a break, then another lesson, etc. And the second half, from about 14:00, is your personal time. Someone is visiting extracurricular activities, goes to clubs, sections, thus freeing up time even later. But let's try to think about how our uncontrolled time, the second half of the day, can be curbed.
1. Isn't it time to bring back quiet time? If you feel tired after returning from school, a club or a section, rest. And you need to do this not by sitting in front of a computer or TV, but by disconnecting from all means of communication and getting some sleep. In order not to go into deep sleep, into the slow-wave sleep phase, a short 30-minute nap will be enough for you. Your strength will be restored once or twice. The brain will be ready to be absorbed new information. When you wake up, resist the temptation to pick up your phone or turn on your computer. Take on the important task that needs to be done. Do it immediately!
2. Change activities every hour. IN famous phrase V.V. Mayakovsky “Comrade, remember the simple rule: if you work while sitting, rest while standing!” there is a lot of truth. Read it again. Also, alternate between less enjoyable activities and more enjoyable ones. Diana De Lonzor in her book “The Easy Way to Stop Being Late” confirms this idea: First, we put off and put off starting something, and then, having started it, we postpone stopping it. The inability to stop halfway is partly explained by the desire to have fun and the desire to avoid unpleasant experiences. Changing activities is often accompanied by some discomfort. ...And it can be especially difficult to interrupt if you have delayed the start. For example, you tidy up your room or read a book and feel quite good - until the time comes to stop this activity. But after you strengthen your willpower, you will be able to not only start things on time. But also stop them at the right time.
3. Record the time. I divided each notebook page into 2 columns. In one I write down what I spend it on. Time up to 5 minutes may not be recorded. Especially keep track of the afternoons when there are no classes. When we keep such records, then on a subconscious level we begin to reproach ourselves for the fact that another hour has passed and you have done nothing. A notepad will greatly help you with this.
4. Figure it out, how long it will take to complete this or that task in order to complete the key ones first. If you don’t have enough time, then move minor matters to tomorrow. At first, you will overestimate your abilities, setting insufficient time for execution, so I recommend immediately setting aside an additional 20-30% of time to complete the task.
5. Get ready in the evening. Decide in the evening what you will wear in the morning, especially for girls, because for this reason many are late, spend a long time rummaging through their underwear and don’t know what to choose. If you follow the advice to do your homework in the morning, and I strongly recommend this, then prepare all the necessary textbooks and notebooks on your desk in the evening. Yes, tidy it up so there are no distractions.
Don't overwork yourself!
Let's sum it up: don't overwork yourself. If you feel that your brain is tired, give it a rest. Arrange tasks in a notebook by importance and start completing them immediately. Keep track of time and track how much you need for certain tasks.
Scum of time
Quite a lot of time is spent on the road, waiting for the turn to come, when to come the right person. Therefore, now I will list some tips on how to spend your time profitably. Waiting time.
1. Read on the go. A.A. Lyubishchev, around the 30s of the 20th century, noted the following: “What are the advantages of reading on the road? Firstly, you don’t feel any inconveniences on the road, you can easily put up with them; Secondly, the nervous system is in better condition than in other conditions.” For example, I always have a Nook Simple Touch e-reader in my inner pocket. Firstly, it is small in size and lightweight. Secondly, the round trip alone gives me a whole hour of reading. Yes, perhaps not exactly the same conditions, but in this way you can develop the ability to concentrate, despite the noise and extraneous conversations.
2. Audiobooks, audio courses. If you get to school on foot, or the roads do not allow you to concentrate at least a little on the text and hold the book in your hands, then download the necessary audiobooks or audio courses. For example, on the road you can learn poems that are read by an announcer. Good announcers take the right pauses, and at the same time learn how professionals read them with feeling.
3. Insignificant matters. If you have tasks on your daily to-do list that are not a priority, why not spend your time waiting in queues getting them done? For example, check your email, think about how to spend the coming weekend, who to meet, where to go, what to read.
Reason #4 I am easily distracted from important matters by unrelated things
When you have taken on some important task, working on your homework, solving a test or writing an essay, it is important not to be distracted, otherwise you will lose your thoughts, lose concentration and it will take much more time to work.
We create favorable conditions for work and reading
1. Find a secluded place. At school, you can go to the library or an empty classroom to read or do something useful.
2. Let technology work for you. Turn off the sound on your phone and all notifications that come to your phone, you can even set it to “Airplane” mode and no one will be able to reach you at this time. And get into the habit of checking your email or messages from social networks Scheduled. If you are often distracted, then first set a goal to check them no more than 5 times a day. Then you can reduce this figure.
3. Let others work for you. It’s no wonder you have time to do everything. Yes, and this is not necessary. When you are at home, simply ask them to answer your parents' calls and not to be distracted.
4. Listen to Mozart. There is an assumption that Mozart's works, like any other classical music, help improve concentration and memorization while reading and memorizing text. As you work, let it play in the background to help you focus on what you're doing. If you don't like Mozart, just listen to music without words or any soothing melody. Something in the New Age style with piano and guitar is perfect. Make sure that the selected ringtones do not bother you.
5. Sit in right place . If you want to increase your chances of learning to concentrate and understand and remember text better, sit down desk or at your desk, since these are the places your brain is accustomed to associate with work.
6. Turn off the TV. If you are going to engage in serious reading and set certain goals and objectives for yourself, the accompaniment played by the turned on TV will only get in the way.
7. Read during your most productive hours of the day. If you know that you work better in the morning, find an opportunity to read during this time. Schedule your reading according to your body's natural rhythm.
8. If you are going to read a lot(or work a lot) and you have a lot of different things on your mind, write down what you are thinking about. If you are worried that you might forget to call someone, write yourself a reminder (keep a notepad with you at all times).
9. Set yourself a time frame. Set aside the time for reading that you can actually spend on it. When I write this material, I have a stopwatch in front of me, which allows me to work faster. You begin to feel time running inexorably.
10. Take breaks. Every schoolchild or student should read a lot. But reading for hours without rest can not only leave you exhausted and tired, but it will also bring up unpleasant memories in the future, which can cause you to lose interest in reading. 45 minutes is not a figure made up out of thin air. Allow yourself to take a break from reading every 45 minutes. The longer you work, the longer your stops should be. If you set yourself the task of devoting 3 hours to reading, then for the first break you can allocate 5 minutes, after the second forty-five minutes 10, after the third - 15. Then, of course, it will be useful to do physical labor.
Teaching yourself to say “No”
One of the reasons why we are so often distracted from important matters by unrelated ones is that we simply do not know how to refuse people. They ask us, sometimes, for completely basic things that we could definitely handle, but a mechanism turns on in our heads that caustically tells us: “help if you don’t want the relationship to deteriorate.” As Jana Frank once noted in her book The Muse and the Beast, “99 percent of the reasons people come to you for are not really urgent at all.” So is it worth it to instantly respond to someone’s request to the detriment of your own business? Just imagine how much you could get done if you weren’t distracted every time!
In addition, if you do not respond to a request immediately, but after 15 minutes, then you will be surprised that the supposedly “problem that cannot be solved without you” has already been solved! Learn to say no. “No” is a solution, “maybe” is the worst answer you can imagine. When we say “no” to a person, we make him think. First of all, think about how to try to resolve the issue yourself. And since over time we teach those around us to shift even the smallest issues and responsibilities onto our shoulders, it is no wonder that a person simply stops thinking about the problem. His task from now on is to find you as quickly as possible and foist his problem on you.
Be cool. Say your steadfast “no” or “yes”. But still, “no” is better than “yes.” Don't be afraid to ask people to wait, to leave, to call back in 15 minutes or half an hour. Believe me, nothing incredible will happen in their lives during this time. Because people come to you when it is most convenient for them. And since they need you, it’s their business to wait until it’s convenient for you.
If someone asks you to do something for them, ask: “Wait, what do you actually need and where can I find it?” This way, you leave it to him to solve the problem himself. So always ask questions before you habitually say, “Okay, I’ll handle it myself.” And take into account the following phrases:
Sorry, but I already have too many things to do and responsibilities.
Thank you for the offer, but I have to refuse.
Thank you for remembering me, but I have other plans.
Indeed, in most cases, simply saying “no” is enough for the person to stop asking you to do something.
Reason #5: I don’t finish what I started.
This reason often follows from the previous one. We get distracted, put off work in every possible way, devote too little time, set it after completing unimportant ones, etc., and as a result, we move away from achieving priority goals.
« A goal is the constant pursuit of a worthy object until its achievement" Let's take a closer look at each word in this sentence. “Constant” is the performance of a specific action that requires time. The word “persecution”, I believe, in this case means that certain difficulties and barriers will have to be overcome. “A worthy object,” that is, our time spent and the amount of effort spent are needed in order to get something really good and necessary, useful. And the last phrase “until achievement” first of all suggests that you will never stop until you reach it - the goal.
The goal should be exclusively yours, you decide what you want to achieve, what you want to achieve and what kind of life you want to have. Don't let others set your goals for you.
Before you start writing down your goals, ask yourself 3 simple questions:
1. What is really important to me?
2. What am I willing to give up for this?
3. What will I win? Be more specific when setting goals.
The goal of “doing well in exams” is not a goal, but just a dream. The goal should be specific and motivate action, for example: “I want the amount three exams score *** points. For this I will prepare for at least an hour a day, except Sunday.” Your goal should be clear and understandable. Now write down on a piece of paper right now 12 goals that you would like to achieve during the year. Then choose one, the most important one, and write it down on a separate piece of paper. Make a schedule, a plan of your actions. Even though the work to achieve the goal can be changed, you should not force yourself into a framework and engage in routine all the time. As part of achieving this goal, one can find different types activities that will bring it closer to its implementation.
Before you start having problems with motivation, selectively share it with your inner circle, let them support you in difficult times.
Lastly, write down one or more key reasons why you need to achieve your goal within the required time frame, because reasons are the driving force that will keep you on your toes even in the most difficult times
Reason #6 I do everything slowly and generally rock for a long time at the beginning of the day.
After we learned how to make to-do lists. To form a vision of what we have to do today, tomorrow and the whole next week, all that remains is to overcome our laziness and get down to business.
1. In addition, you must clearly understand that you need to start the day and perform your duties with the most difficult and most important task, which will bring you closer to achieving your goal. If the goal is not written, not recorded on paper, then it is just a dream that does not stimulate you to work normally.
2. Set artificial time frames. Set a timer, let it be in front of your eyes, then you will work much faster.
3. Reward yourself for successes, even the smallest ones. It is not so important how you stimulate yourself, it is important to feel the result of your changes, your work.
4. Stop scolding yourself with or without reason. Praise yourself. Let others scold you, but you will always have time for yourself. Encourage yourself kind words It’s still better than letting your inner voice laugh at you in every possible way.
5. Don't take on too many tasks and responsibilities. Your daily grid should have enough free zones for relaxation, time to think, to escape from everything. Then you will work more concentrated and move on to a new task faster. Remember, our physical and mental capabilities are not limitless.
Chapter 2
A little more action
How can I wake up?
“The hardest thing is getting up in the morning!” – many will exclaim. It's difficult, no doubt about it. In fact, the theory that a person needs to sleep 8 hours a day is somewhat misleading. During sleep, a person alternates between slow and fast sleep phases. On average, one phase of REM sleep lasts about 20 minutes, and slow sleep lasts about 2 hours.
Sleep begins with the REM sleep phase, followed by the slow-wave sleep phase, then REM sleep again, and so on. That is, if we want to feel good after waking up, we need to get up before the slow-wave sleep phase begins, otherwise you will curse everything in the world and never want to get up unless someone showers you cold water. You will feel more alert if you sleep: 2:20 minutes, 4:40 minutes, 7 hours, 9:20 minutes, 11:40. Of course, 2 options will be acceptable for us in this case - 7 hours or 9:20 minutes. As you can see, there is no 8 o'clock here.
If you fall asleep quickly enough, then still give yourself a small head start so that your sleep is approximately 7 hours. For example, I don’t fall asleep right away; on average it takes from 20 to 30 minutes. Therefore, I add these additional minutes to 7 o’clock. Keep track of your phases, some will have slightly different indicators.
Relax. The benefits of short sleep.
Quite often, after working or reading for a long time, your head begins to ache a little. The brain says it is tired and urgently needs a break. I believe that in almost any school library there are far corners where you can “catch” silence. Sit comfortably in a chair and better chair, put on headphones and turn on relaxing music quietly. For example, I also have a special sleep mask, which really helps eliminate such an irritant as bright light. So, having made yourself comfortable, give yourself the opportunity to forget about everything for 15 minutes, and even try to fall asleep. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to set the alarm clock.
After such a rest, your brain will thank you and reward you with the opportunity to work productively again.
Keep records
How do you like this idea: when applying for a job, they will look not only at your diploma, if one is needed, but also ask for a list of books you have read in the required specialty?
I confess that writing this manual would have been impossible if I had not previously begun to take notes from books and write down from them the most interesting things that I encountered during the reading process. I enter all data into OneNote. Ibid. full list works that have been read over the past year, and a list of books that are awaiting reading.
Be sure to challenge yourself to read a certain amount each month. It is not known which of them will have the strongest impression on you, but the search must be continuous, because the more you have time to read, the more likely it is that you will stumble upon the very book that will allow you to reconsider your life...
Let’s say, if a year ago a very small 10x15 notebook was enough for me, now I use a fairly large one - an A5 spring notebook. The setting of tasks and their control have also undergone a slight transformation. Somewhere on Saturday evening I sit down and sum up the results of the week, see which tasks were completed and which were not. If there is something small left, then I have Sunday to finish them off, if not, then I proceed to the second step.
The second step is that I make a list on one sheet of paper of all the tasks that need to be completed in a week, including those that I did not have time to complete. If these are really important things, then I set them to be completed no later than Wednesday. Otherwise, such tasks tend to be shifted further and further. When the complete list is compiled, I begin to scatter them by day. As a rule, I don’t touch Saturday and Sunday at all.
For every day there is a “frog”, a task that requires its speedy completion. And the most difficult thing, the one I’ve been working towards for so long, that I started and then gave up after some time, is a diary. It’s hard to call it a diary, because before going to bed I just write down my thoughts and feelings, the memories that I realized during the day. I use the same notepad for this. I turn it over (I don’t turn it to the end, but just turn it over, since the notebook is spring-loaded, the pages are covered with writing on all sides). Simple, at first glance, notes are very helpful in freeing yourself from many sad thoughts, putting your brain in order, and giving it a rest at night.
1. Formulated tasks.
2. Tasks in progress.
3. Completed tasks.
I like the mechanics that are implemented there. You simply move task cards across columns. A kind of gameplay when you work on a task with the thoughts “I’ll finally finish this task and drag it to “completed”!”
For tasks (you can give descriptions and comments), you write down links to the materials you used, so that later, after a while, when you need to repeat something, everything will be at hand.
Over time, when a lot of these cards accumulate, they can be sorted into other columns, for example, by time, or by author. As you prefer.
I also actively use the wunderlist.com application. Everything is the same - cross-platform, the ability to work together from any device, etc. Only it is more tailored to small tasks, some ideas that arose suddenly. And since your phone is always with you, you can quickly record them.
That's probably all. Nothing else seems to have changed dramatically. Don't forget to share your life hacks, young life hackers!
CONCLUSION
I hope that as you read, you were able to ask yourself questions that helped you deal with some life's difficulties. I understand that this material for some will seem too far from the truth and from the possibility practical application, because it is not provided with the necessary number of examples illustrating certain theses and advice.
Still, I hope that by applying at least some of the tips outlined above, you will realize that your work was not in vain. As the great industrialist H. Ford said, “everything can be done better than it has been done before.” The desire to change your habits, to make them useful not only for yourself, but also for those around you, is a great thing.
This is still only the first attempt to combine the small accumulated experience of time management, so now my goal was also to understand how useful this work would be. I really need your feedback. Any criticism and feedback, your stories.
I hope that the work will continue, and in the future it will be replenished with ideas on how to improve your life, change habits and start managing time. Your stories will be a good inspiration for peers like you.
Time management, time management, time organization- these are identical concepts that imply technologies for organizing working and personal time and increasing the efficiency of its use.
Corporate training "Time management. Working time management" designed for the company's management team to effectively coordinate and control the actions of employees, and the company employees themselves who want to effectively use working time to achieve maximum results.
Program
- Time management concept.
- Focus and purposefulness.
- The Six Ps: Proper pre-planning prevents poor performance.
- The most important thing is to determine what is most important.
- The action of the Pareto principle in time management.
- Law of forced efficiency.
- Trash can.
- The principle of balance.
- Creative laziness.
- “Time wasters”, identification and elimination.
Format corporate training "Time management. Working time management":
- intensive training based on practical training of skills and abilities;
- individual approach;
- role-playing games;
- group and individual exercises;
- theoretical and methodological materials;
- use of audio and video equipment.
As a result corporate training "Time management. Working time management" You and your employees:
- learn to understand what is important and necessary to achieve your goals;
- will have a clear and precise work plan;
- you will become more organized, reduce the amount of working time spent on trifles and distracting matters;
- you can better focus on what matters most important issues, increase the effectiveness of your decisions;
- you will achieve more in less time, and use the saved time to achieve other goals;
- You will be able to implement new ideas and areas of activity, since you will free up enough time for this.
Greetings to all! In previous articles, I talked in detail about what it is and how you can learn it. Today I propose to practice managing your time, and time management training exercises will help us with this.
Before you start doing the exercises, I advise you to understand the very essence of the system. After all, only internal motivation and the awareness that you really need to change something in your life now will help you learn how to correctly perform these time management exercises .
First, let's highlight the basic rules of the system.
4 golden rules on the path to effective time management
- Realize what's important.
- Throw away everything unnecessary.
- Learn to refuse.
- Accept help from others.
Exercise No. 1 “Learning to set priorities correctly”
The basic rule of effective time management is to isolate the most important from all the unnecessary. Only this helps you realize how important this point is for you and how much effort you are willing to spend on its implementation. Therefore, the time management exercise is carried out as follows.
We take 10 blank cards and write 10 vital values on them.
For example: career, wealth, children's health, own health, interesting trips and travel, a good car, learning a foreign language, sports, hobbies, own house(repair).
After you have filled out all the cards, place them in exactly the same order as each item is important to you. Now ask the question: “Is wealth really more important to me than my own health?”
If the answer is positive, leave the cards in their places; if negative, swap them. Ideally, the picture should look in such a way that you honestly answer all questions: “Yes!”
This exercise can be done at time management training sessions, or you can do it with yourself at home. It helps you identify your true values and understand what you should spend your time and effort on and what you shouldn’t.
Many may object to how you can write in one column material values(home, repairs, cars) and spiritual (health, study, travel). But in fact, behind any spiritual desire and value is our time, expenses, and resources.
This is what we are sometimes willing to spend to go on a trip. As for health, think about how often you sacrificed a trip to the south, fruits, vitamins in order to quickly finish repairs or buy household appliances.
Here's your answer. It's all about values and priorities. They are different for everyone and this exercise will help you identify them.
Exercise No. 2. "Antilenta"
Again, I repeat that the exercise can be carried out at a seminar or training master class, or you can sit down and figure it out on your own. Each of us is full of unfulfilled desires and unachieved goals.
For example, I dream of going fishing. You need to sit down and write a short essay in reverse order. “I didn’t go fishing because I don’t have money. I don't have money because I spent it on TV. I bought a TV, so I decided not to go on vacation, etc.)
Take your life apart. This way you will get to the bottom and understand where the failure occurs that does not allow the plan to come true.
Exercise No. 3. "Learn to feel time"
This is a very important skill that allows us to properly manage our time resources. How often have we looked at the clock and could not understand where half an hour, an hour, or even two went? Train your “temporal intuition.” During the day, try to guess what time it is without even looking at the clock.
What does this time management exercise do? It teaches punctuality and a sense of time.
Exercise No. 4. "Timekeeping of the day"
Many who work in offices are familiar with the concept of “working day photography.” This was especially popular in the Soviet Union at large enterprises, where the personnel department rationed the working hours of specialists, trying to determine efficiency and productivity.
But if, during such a check, people often underestimate or overestimate the time spent, then be honest with yourself here. Try to record the time you spend on each activity throughout the day. For example:
Watching TV – 2 hours.
Talking with a friend on the phone – 40 minutes.
Food preparation - 1.5 hours.
Taking a shower - 30 minutes, etc.
What does this time management exercise do? You will learn to automatically identify time spent “usefully” and “wasted.” You will become more disciplined and organized.
Exercise No. 5 “What am I doing”
Try throughout the day (not every 10 minutes, of course) to ask yourself the question: “What am I doing now and why am I doing this?” This will make you realize how important matters Are you currently studying and are you wasting your time?
Time cannot be accumulated, it can only be spent
Successful time management consultants say that many people who take only their very first steps in this system do not fully understand the importance and essence. But time is a resource that you cannot accumulate. You can only spend it. Let's say you spent a thousand rubles in a restaurant yesterday! This is not scary, because you know that you will work well today and earn this money.
If only everything were so simple over time. In fact, we are allotted a specific number of hours and how to manage them depends on ourselves. In this regard, I want to recommend you the excellent film “Time” (with J. Timberlake in leading role), which shows an interesting look at time as our vital resource.
If you want to become a real time management guru, be sure to visit website , where in a simple form you will be given the knowledge that we unfortunately did not receive at school, completely free of charge.
If you know other effective and interesting time management exercises, don’t be shy! Share in the comments and via! Readers will enjoy practicing the art of time management!
Loading...
