Time management is a popular topic right now, when the amount of information received is huge, and 24 hours a day is frankly not enough to process it. In this article, we have collected the most effective tools that will allow you to plan your time and keep up with not only work, but also rest.
Everyone is spinning in their own way as best they can and sometimes does not even notice that some take much more time than he would like. Sound familiar? Then it is necessary to build a system for working with tasks, and for this our world is full of tools. Here are the most effective ones.
Tool # 1. All in a heap
Someone prefers to use a gadget in the planning process, someone is on friendly terms with paper. Whoever you are, take / open a blank sheet and write on it all, all your affairs and tasks. The list will include both those that need to be completed urgently, and those for which the deadline (deadline) is not coming soon. However, they should all be written down.
Tool # 2. Parsing by "boxes"
Of course, a huge to-do list can drive anyone into depression. But don't despair! The first thing to do with the ready-made list of tasks is to disassemble it into "boxes", the name of each of which will bear the name of the field of your activity (for example, "home, family", "work", "freelance", "summer residence", etc.) etc.). The distributed thematic list no longer looks so huge. In addition, now it makes no sense, while performing "work" tasks, to think about "family" ones, which will have a beneficial effect on the nervous system and relieve unnecessary stress.
Tool number 3. Determination of terms
Each group of tasks has urgent and long-term ones, it is also worth considering. Something needs to be done before tomorrow, and something will become relevant in a couple of months. Get organized by defining a different deadline for each task. It is best to distribute things on a calendar - desktop or electronic (if you use a gadget when planning). For the last option, set an alert - definitely don't miss anything.
Tool number 4. Scale estimation
In urgent task groups, you will most likely have large-scale tasks that contain so-called “subtasks”. Some time management experts advise breaking down all your affairs into smaller steps so that the implementation does not seem so difficult. And if small plans can not be "dissected", then it is strongly recommended to do it with large ones.
Tool number 5. Find regular
It so happens that scheduling regular tasks is one of the hardest steps in making time for yourself. From one task "take out the trash" seven of the same grow at once and settle in your calendar, frightening with their number. This cognitive bias should not be taken lightly - it is necessary to pay attention not to the quantity, but to the amount of resources spent on the task. So, taking out the trash is not always a separate event; it can be done on the way to or from work.
Tool number 6. Delegation
In most cases, your affairs and tasks are not only yours - even in a family you work on something with your relatives. Determine who you can connect to a particular task to make your work more productive. The main thing here is to set exact deadlines, as well as to entrust joint tasks only to responsible people who will definitely not let you down.
Tool # 7. Mandatory rest
If all the other tools are applied correctly, and the priorities are set correctly, you will have such a period of time every day that is not filled with anything. It is something that should be dedicated to yourself to your beloved. Maybe there will be several such intervals and a short duration, in this case, look for a way to arrange things in such a way that the "rest time" increases and rises for that period of the day when it is convenient for you. Do not seek to fill the supposedly "empty" space with other things - always leave time for yourself.
