Translated from English “time management” - time management. It is clear that in fact it is impossible to manage. This refers to the orderly use of working and personal time, calculated in minutes, hours, days, weeks. Time management is accounting and operational planning.
The philosophy and practice of time management is a relatively new science that gained worldwide popularity only in the 80s of the twentieth century. Around her there are still many myths and misconceptions.
The basics
When trying to implement a time management program in a team of employees, it is important to understand that the system is understandable and not accessible to everyone; accordingly, not everyone will accept and learn it. If a person lives aimlessly, does not strive for anything, and time weighs on him - he and time management are two opposite things. For the sake of productivity, one should decide on the goals pursued by a person who comprehends this science. 4 whales time management:
- time optimization;
- day planning
- time tracking;
- organization of motivation.
Having understood the principles of action of each of them, it will be possible not only to work with maximum efficiency, but also to maintain health, vitality and a bright mind.
Dwight Eisenhower Matrix
For beginner time management courses, trainers recommend using the matrix developed by the 34th President of the United States. Eisenhower considered the ability to quickly navigate and prioritize the indispensable skills of a successful person. Trying to optimize his time in an endless cycle of affairs, the head of state created a matrix that works on the principle: "Not all important matters are urgent, not all urgent matters are important." This is a visual aid to time management for mothers and businessmen, builders and artists, which allows efficiently planning and allocating resources rationally.
Operating principle
The matrix will bear fruit if the goals are real and they are set correctly. Before completing the next task, you must answer two questions:
- It is important?
- This is urgent?
Based on the answer to them, 4 types of cases are distinguished:
- Important urgent.
- Unimportant urgent.
- Non urgent important.
- Unimportant non-urgent.
Urgent affairs life throws up to us constantly. As for the degree of their importance, everyone gives an answer on their own. Speaking of urgency, we can conclude that this criterion is objective in nature. For example, a classmate called with whom you have not seen each other for 5 years, asks to make an appointment with his relative and contribute to finding a job. Important? Urgent? Consistent with your goals? What type to attribute?
Important urgent
Such tasks must be completed immediately. They are vital and directly related to your life goals. All time management exercises are taken from real life, urgent matters arise unscheduled and, often, not your fault. For example, a child in need of care, poor health, difficulty at work, etc.
Possession of task management techniques and competent planning will reduce the number of urgent important matters to a minimum. If the condition is not fulfilled and urgent matters are piling up from nowhere, it is worth once again to revise the goals for the near future and to tighten self-discipline.
Reliability is the main source of important urgent matters. The inability to say no makes of us those on whom other people delegate their important urgent or non-urgent tasks. The reasons for the difficulty in refusal are different, but you need to get together and make a strong-willed decision. Refer to your own urgent matters, ask for a break or specify a time frame suitable for you, offer to appoint another employee (assistant, partner, etc.) to carry out the assignment. Ask the instigator an unexpected question: what can he do? Above all, do not lose sight of your goal. It is important to understand that a constant stay in the execution of urgent and important matters requires maximum concentration and dedication, which in the near future will lead to a deterioration in well-being. We do not have time to stop, rethinking what is happening, evaluating the result, in the end, we just burn out.
Important non-urgent
The described behavior option in time management - time management, contains a list of tasks that can be used to exercise power and reasonableness. You have time to think about every step. This is a great opportunity to put the acquired theoretical planning skills into practice.
Experts say that people who build their business or career on this principle achieve outstanding results. The availability of time allows a thorough and meaningful approach to resolving issues, to carry out full-fledged planning, to evaluate and characterize intermediate results, and to show flexibility.
This group includes cases related to the necessary routine: training, taking care of one's own health (observing the daily regimen, nutrition, disease prevention, etc.). Do not neglect the time, because Important non-urgent matters may become urgent.
Unimportant urgent
According to the rules of extreme time management, they should all be excluded from everyday life, because distract from the implementation of important urgent and non-urgent matters. Common unimportant things: causeless meetings, lengthy telephone conversations, repair / adjustment of equipment. Often the tasks that a person sets for himself at this stage relate to the competence and professionalism of others, so it is advisable to delegate them. For example, the refrigerator has broken down, why sit out for hours on instructions, watch videos to repair it and make unsuccessful attempts to restore its former functionality when you can quickly contact the master and entrust the work to him? Then there will be time to solve real pressing problems that require your attention.
Non-urgent unimportant
The answer to the question in time management, how to do everything, lies in the complete exclusion of such tasks from everyday life. They are merciless devourers of free time. If the situations from the previous square are slightly distracting from the main goals, then non-urgent unimportant matters have a negative efficiency. We are talking about all your favorite social networks Instagram, Facebook, etc. with aimless scrolling of the tape, empty correspondence with friends, lengthy viewing of series, "freezing" in computer games.
Such tasks are easy, non-binding. Their main harm is in imperceptible overlapping of the natural course of performing important tasks.
If the goal is set clearly and has specific deadlines, the fourth type of case should take a minimum of time, or better, be completely excluded. Do not selflessly immerse yourself in work, not giving yourself rest. The rule “business - time, fun - hour” is relevant here.
Eisenhower's matrix is ​​applicable to any sphere of life: whether it is time management for mothers in preparation for the New Year holidays or a specialist from a large corporation implementing a life-long project.
If the goals are set correctly, there is a solid self-confidence, and the motivation for action is strong, difficulties should not arise.
Below is a list of time management time management methods that will help optimize tasks of various priorities.
Learning to say no
Good upbringing and restraint do not allow us to abandon aimless listening to neighboring stories about a stormy weekend, receiving an unplanned visitor, and participating in solving someone else's problem. Extreme time management calls such situations “eaters” of time that could be used more productively. Making a decision to refuse is a responsibility worth taking once and for all. The reward for your efforts will be a large margin of time at your disposal.
The rule of "carts and horses"
Have you ever thought about wasting valuable time on something that has long lost its meaning? Do out of habit work that is no longer required to achieve a result? According to experts, time management for women is built on this issue. The work schedule should be systematically reviewed to remove non-informative reports and more.
For clarity, we suggest imagining a horse carrying a cart. As you move, the cart is filled with new cargo, with each kilometer traveled it becomes more and more. Is it necessary to wait until the animal is exhausted, trying to pull an excessive load? Most people (the overwhelming majority of them are women) are sure that working hard means working hard. They load themselves with more and more tasks, remain after work and do not regret the weekend spent there. The result of such altruism will be a decrease in labor efficiency and “emotional burnout” when what you do becomes meaningless.
It is important to find a delicate balance between personal life and employment. This is the best motivation to learn and practice time management ( time management ) - to strive for self-development and self-improvement.
"Eating an elephant"
The most difficult to accomplish are complex tasks on a global scale. Their main problem is that the result will not be visible soon, but they will have to work hard now. In time management programs, they are metaphorically called "elephants." It will not be possible to figure out in one go with the whole "elephant". To get rid of it, a fractional solution to the problems is proposed - the division of the animal into "steaks". Pieces should have a size optimal for “eating” at a time without discomfort and negative emotions.
An example of time management for women: everyone’s “favorite” spring cleaning can be divided into several smaller events: sorting out the contents of the cabinets today, and window washing postponed until tomorrow. So, with each step, moving forward will be easier.
The main problem is that we are engaged in the cultivation of "elephants" of several tons ourselves. This happens during the postponement of important matters for later. Even if we think about a task, but don’t get down to implementation, the “elephant” is growing.
When there is nothing left but to solve the problem, it turns out that it was not so difficult. The result of prolonged inaction is the wasted potential and the mass of negativity around. And only the complete completion of the work will bring positive and energy to life.
Swiss Cheese Technique
The main difference between “cheese” and the previous time management method in solving the problem is not “from head to tail”, but in an arbitrary order. It is advisable to start with easily accessible sites, the solution of which will give a positive mood and add confidence. Daily “gnawing” of small holes in cheese imperceptibly leads to its complete eating.
A typical example: starting to write an article, the author has studied some aspect more than others or is simply interested in this topic. It is necessary to start expressing thoughts on paper with this topic.
In order to achieve maximum labor efficiency, the described methods should be applied in combination. Their combination will be individual, depending on the goals set and the specifics of the activity.