Time is the most valuable commodity we have
It is a limited resource that cannot be bought or manufactured. The truth is that even if it cannot be produced, you can use it more effectively. Simply, if you get more done in less time, you get more time either for yourself, for relaxation or you can spend more time with your family. We live in a fast time, when we have many options and we want to do everything. The number of responsibilities is increasing, but there are still only 24 hours in a day.
Speed is one of the essential attributes of gaining success. Therefore, the key task of everyone who wants to accomplish as much as possible while not losing themselves at the same time is to learn how to manage time management. Unfortunately, in this article you will not learn one guaranteed recipe for that. It’s always a set of multiple rules and habits that help you plan more effectively.
I tried to write down all the recommendations and advice for better setting up time management, which I tested on my daily functioning while managing TITANS freelancers and still use today. For many years I have refined and modified them so that they are simple and help you step by step to make a big change. Top world leaders and managers like Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and others plan their time in the same way, from whom I was inspired by some of the rules.
How to start if I want to be really effective?
Planning is supposed to help and free us from having to keep all the tasks and deadlines in our heads. If there is too much of it, it is a burden on us, on the contrary, if there is not enough of it, we will not be efficient enough. Therefore, the first thing to do is to find the right balance.
1. Plan so that planning takes no more than 10% of your daily time.
That’s about 1 hour a day for work tasks and 1 hour for private tasks. The minimum is very difficult to determine, because it also depends on the nature of your position and the number of tasks. However, follow the rule that I plan everything I have to do during the day and what I must not forget.
2. Don’t plan a task that will take you less than 5 minutes to complete, but do it right away.
But this only applies if you are not currently working on a task where you need maximum concentration and deep focus, then mark the task and return to its execution after finishing what you were working on. When you are deeply focused, don’t let anything distract you.
3. Plan in the online calendar
Experience has taught me that planning in paper diaries is ineffective. Because if you need to reschedule a week that changes regularly, you must first cross out the task and write a new one for the new day. A paper diary does not allow you to share your calendar with colleagues or your wife or family. Creating a regular task in a paper diary means painstakingly writing it down every day.
4. Don’t use multitasking
It does not exist and it is scientifically proven. Most misunderstandings and mistakes arise when multitasking. Research suggests that only about 2% of the population is able to effectively multitask. Other people can’t do it, in fact they just alternate activities. They do not do several things at once, they actually perform the so-called microtasking, i.e. they quickly move from one activity to another and try not to mess anything up. If you don’t finish a task and move on to another task, you consciously lose focus and thus waste time and focus.
