Master your time, or How to properly plan your work day
There's a lot to do? At such moments, I wish there were not 24 hours in a day, but at least 48. But there is a way out! In this articleDWThe secret of time management is revealed.
Are you familiar with this situation: the phone rings off the hook, email box full of messages marked “urgent”, and by tomorrow’s meeting you still need to read three reports and prepare your own? And most importantly, it’s not clear where to start, what to grab first?! And then there’s a colleague from the next department who manages to drink coffee, do all the work, and go home on time.
Time in a person's service
Time pressure at work is, in principle, a common phenomenon - at the end of the year, at the final stage of a project, during the holidays... But if a state of emergency becomes the norm, then there is reason to think about it. After all, time pressure often arises due to improper planning of working time and incorrect prioritization: instead of concentrating on the main thing, we waste time on trifles.
Where to begin? Set your priorities! “Time is money,” people say. The message is clear: use your time as carefully as you spend the contents of your wallet. You wouldn't spend your last money on a new DVD if you have nothing in your refrigerator, would you? Time management (from English time-management) will help you properly manage 8 hours of working time - a set of techniques and methods that allow you to use our time resources more efficiently.
The theory of “time management” - this is how the word “time-management” is most often translated into Russian - appeared in the 60s of the last century in Western countries as a consequence of economic progress. The workload of managers has increased so much that they began to experience a chronic lack of time - not only in their professional but also in their personal lives. To combat time pressure, a number of methods have been developed to organize time and increase the efficiency of its use.
Begin with yourself
However, not everyone agrees with the concept of “time management”. “Each of us has 24 hours a day, no more, no less. Therefore, we have to manage and organize, first of all, not time, but ourselves,” says career counselor psychologist Helen Hannerfeldt from Berlin. Hannerfeldt).
And then he brings up another argument. “Dozens of books have been written about time management technologies. If you wish, you can attend seminars on this topic. But in order to really apply new knowledge in practice, everyone must take care of themselves,” she says. “Therefore, it is more correct than “time management” , in my opinion, is the concept of “self-organization” - from the English “self-management”.
Make a to-do list, then you will definitely not forget anything! So, you need to start with yourself. Helen Hannerfeldt recommends observing yourself to determine what hours you work most effectively, and planning your work day accordingly. For planning, it is best to use a to-do-list, which is recommended to be compiled not on a computer, but by hand. In general, task lists are one of the most famous time management tools. It is believed that they not only allow you to better organize yourself, but also have a positive psychological effect. Once we finish something and cross it off our list, we motivate ourselves to “keep up the good work.”
In addition, one of the time management methods recommends not only writing down all the activities planned for the day, but also approximately calculating the time you plan to spend on them. “You need to learn to estimate how much time it will take you to complete a particular task, and draw up your work schedule in accordance with this. And at the end of the day, it is advisable to do a small audit and see how much you managed, where you miscalculated, and where, on the contrary, “We got it done faster than expected,” explains Berlin time management coach Helen Hannerfeldt.
Important, no matter…
Very often, having entered into a working rhythm, we begin to complete tasks as they arrive, as they say, “automatically.” And it often happens that, having spent half a day on less important things, by the end of the work we suddenly realize that there is no time to write the report that the boss is expecting by tomorrow morning. To set priorities correctly and not grab onto everything, experts recommend using the so-called Eisenhower method.
Its essence lies in the fact that all tasks are divided into four categories - “urgent and important”, “urgent but unimportant”, “important but not urgent”, “unimportant and not urgent” - and are carried out in exactly that sequence. It is believed that this approach to work was invented and successfully used by American President Dwight Eisenhower, after whom the method is named.
“Of course, there is a danger of overdoing it and putting too many things in the category of “urgent and important,” which again provokes stress. But in general, this method is very good at helping you concentrate on what is important,” says consulting psychologist Helen Hannerfeldt. In addition, she said, experience shows that cases that fall into the latter category - “unimportant and not urgent” - very often resolve themselves.
Responsibilities and Goals
To people with a developed sense of responsibility, any work seems important. However, do not forget that you, like any employee, have a list of tasks clearly stated in employment contract. Therefore, with a light heart, you can leave everything that is not directly included in your responsibilities “for later” or ignore it altogether.
Don't forget about personal goals. Experts recommend focusing on tasks that enrich your professional experience and help you advance your career. Well, routine work - that ballast that you have to drag with you willy-nilly - should be optimized if possible or entrusted to another performer.
Day after day, you chronically fail to accomplish anything. You try to do all the things you set out to do, but every time you fail. One thing will happen, then another, something is constantly preventing you from solving all the problems in a timely manner. As a result, your affairs accumulate like a snowball, and you admit your defeat in complete powerlessness.
It’s as if you hear a voice inside yourself: “I’ll do it tomorrow,” “later,” “just not now,” “I don’t want to do this,” “not today, I’m so tired,” and so on. Thus, your subconscious does not want you to leave your comfort zone and begin to improve and strain yourself once again. Therefore, it resists with all its might attempts to develop self-discipline and willpower.
Success largely depends on strong-willed qualities and strong character. However, knowledge of the basics of self-management plays an important role in achieving results.
Self-management or time management is a technique for using time correctly
Self-management helps to do work at lower costs, organize work better (and therefore get top scores), reduce workload and, as a result, reduce haste and stress.
Self-management is the consistent and purposeful use of effective methods work in everyday practice, with optimal use their resources to achieve their own goals.
Interestingly, 95 percent efficient organization The daily routine depends on you and only 5 percent on objective circumstances.
In a calm environment, analyze your daily activities, then make a list of necessary things to do for tomorrow.
Your to-do list should reflect your real problems for tomorrow. Now arrange the things on the list according to the time they are completed.
To properly organize your daily routine, if possible, rearrange your schedule so that it more harmoniously matches the time and one thing does not overlap with another.
Set priorities based on criteria such as urgency and importance of the matter. Divide all matters into 4 groups:
1) urgent (important matters) - they need to be completed tomorrow;
2) urgent but less important matters;
3) less urgent, but no less important tasks;
44) those things that can be done last.
Once you have identified the tasks and set priorities, you need to think through a competent route.
Imagine your tomorrow in detail
For proper organization working day, correlate each process with the time spent on its implementation. Go over the entire daily routine in your head several times.
Progress gradually according to your plan. Try not to change your planned tasks during the day. There is no need to exclude items or add new ones. You need to adhere optimal algorithm your daily routine, and unnecessary changes for which you did not prepare for you do not do anything.
Basic rules of time planning
Ratio (60:40)
Experience shows that it is best to plan only for a certain part of the working time (about 60%)
Leave a certain percentage of time as reserve for unexpected cases or as a result of underestimating the duration of other tasks.
Plan only the amount of tasks that you can realistically handle.
It is better to fill in the lost time as soon as possible, for example, it is better to work longer in the evening than to make up for what was lost the day before over the next whole working day.
To avoid procrastination and postponing, you need to set precise deadlines for all activities.
How to organize your working day correctly?
The organization of your working day should correspond to the basic principle: “Work should obey me, and not vice versa.” Try to start your working day with a positive attitude - this will contribute to the successful resolution of all planned matters.
Start work at the same time whenever possible
Act without delay and swing. Just give yourself time to prepare for certain actions. Moreover, it is better if you first devote time to complex and important matters. Throughout your workday, try to avoid unplanned impulsive actions.
And keep a steady pace.
Complete small, homogeneous tasks in a series. Thanks to this continuity and concentration on the process, time savings are achieved.
Organizing your workday in this way will allow you to use unplanned time intervals for preparatory or routine work, as well as find quiet time to recuperate.
Finish the task so you don’t waste time doing it tomorrow. At the end of the working day, it will be effective to complete small tasks started.
Monitor the results and make a plan for the next day. Working with a to-do list on the first day increases productivity by 25%. In the evening, prepare a list of tasks that need to be done tomorrow. When you come to work, you will always know where to start your day.
Thanks to such self-organization, you will not only be able to solve your daily tasks with ease, but will also find the time you previously lacked for rest and entertainment. If possible, get good rest and recharge yourself with positive emotions.
It will be much easier to progress according to the plan if you praise yourself for each completed item. This will be a good motivation on the path to self-discipline, as well as the culmination of a properly organized working day.
Make it a habit to regularly make a plan for the next day, week, month, and so on. The more you plan, the better prepared you will be for life's future events.
Organizing your workday correctly means that you will not only complete the intended tasks, but also try to systematize them, organize a competent route between them, eliminating unnecessary actions. Perhaps, as a result of proper organization, you will even be able to combine some actions or find a more rational option for their implementation; everything will be clearly planned and executed.
Effective organization of your workday is 60% of the success, with the help of which you can develop self-discipline and character.
The Village, with the help of experts, continues to find answers to operational questions. This time we learned how to plan your working day in order to get more done, but not stay in the office until late.
Nikolai Dobrovolsky
Vice President of Parallels
Every day I have quite a lot of all kinds of meetings. In addition, it takes time to sign various documents and deal with incoming mail. In order not to sit in the office until the night, I adopted a few simple rules.
Firstly, I try to automate routine tasks. If I have to do something of the same type several times, for example, fill out reports in Excel, exchange data with colleagues, enter some daily information into management reporting, being a programmer, it’s easier for me to write a simple script that allows me to do this automatically. Secondly, I try to respond to incoming emails as soon as possible. If I cannot respond promptly, then in any case I do so within 24 hours. This allows you to avoid creating “tails”, which subsequently take up additional time and concentration. In addition, a personal assistant helps me save my time. She keeps track of my schedule, helps with organizing trips and other paperwork.
Georgy Soloviev
CEO online English schools Skyeng
The principle is very simple: it is important to learn to focus in the right directions. The main thing is to understand that what you spend time on during the day moves forward, and accordingly, what you don’t have enough time for does not move. You need to at least start thinking in the direction you are interested in.
When I founded the online school and it began to actively develop, I was still a student at a technical university (MIPT). Accordingly, I had to learn everything quickly and, as they say, in the fields. I realized that in order to learn how to manage your time, you don’t need to invent anything special, since there are management gurus, such as, for example, Drucker: you just take his book and see what he writes. And he writes that you need to log time, analyze at the end of the week what you spent your hours on, compare the plan with the fact. It’s difficult and routine, but you need to learn how to do it, and regularly.
At first, I had a lot of notebooks/leaflets where I carefully wrote everything down so as not to forget anything. Of course, I soon gained some experience; now I can understand in advance what needs to be done and at what point, and what is not worth wasting time on. In addition, there is now a large number of a variety of applications that help you make the most of 24 hours of the day. From banal methods of speed reading (at one time I took such courses, which greatly helps me study large volumes of literature in limited period) to special sleep trackers that analyze the quality and timing of your sleep, helping you wake up easier and feel better. I know about 10–20 applications that free up a few seconds of time, but all together they give a pretty good result.
Igor Shulinin,
Director of Workki in Russia
The problem of planning working time is quite acute for every business person, regardless of his position: be it an ordinary manager or the CEO of a corporation. As usual, if there is a problem, they immediately appear on the market ready-made solutions. So, now you can undergo all kinds of training on time management, install special applications - assistants on any gadget and much more to optimize your work.
I chose the most accessible tool that is always at hand - a diary. To avoid turning this process into a chore, I use high-quality, weighty diaries with pleasant-to-touch paper and prefer a black rollerball in combination with colored markers to add accents and add liveliness to lists and notes. Also in the diary, I note the observance of daily “rituals”: sports, sleep, reading books, meditation, self-education, and so on. Every time before going to bed, I plan the next day, making a list of tasks in order of priority, and also assessing how successfully I have dealt with previous tasks and what I will have to catch up on.
In order not to keep a lot of pop-up tasks in my head, I create a to do list - a kind of draft on a separate sheet, where I add new tasks as soon as they appear. This allows you to clear your mind and relieve anxiety. In general, I try to record everything, so I keep several lists at once: in my diary, on my phone, and on separate sheets of paper.
Another useful way plan time and switch between tasks - the Pomodoro method, the idea of which is to divide all tasks into 25-minute intervals, after which a five-minute timeout is taken. When a large task needs to be completed, it can be broken down into several components. For example, if we're talking about about preparing a large report, then in the first 25 minutes you can create a plan and collect the necessary data. Two or three more “pomodoros” will be needed to write the text, and one or two to proofread it and finalize it. In between work rounds, you can also do something useful, for example, discuss current issues with subordinates or drink coffee, giving your eyes a break from the monitor. Pomodoro really helps increase productivity.
Nikita Rogozin
Executive Director of the Stakhanovets employee action monitoring system
There are always more tasks than can be completed, so do not forget about the principle of random synchronization from Murphy’s law: tasks arrive in a random order, but most often simultaneously. Methods for managing this problem vary depending on whether the person is a leader or an implementer.
If a manager has subordinates, then he needs to learn control and proper delegation of responsibilities: he cannot cope with all the tasks on his own. But in order for this to work, the team needs to trust their superiors and understand that he is transferring tasks to them for a reason, but because the organization needs it. At the same time, do not forget about control: familiar and familiar relations with employees can negatively affect their effectiveness.
If there are no subordinates, then the person needs to learn to refuse tasks, but in such a way as not to irritate the manager. In this case best strategy- transparency and ability to prioritize. It is better to discuss a task for which there is objectively not enough time with management. During the conversation, the employee should mention that now he is faced with tasks A, B, C, D with certain deadlines and priority, so he will not have enough strength or resources to complete another one. Here it would be correct to clarify which of the tasks is the most urgent, so that you can take on it first and ask to postpone the deadlines for the rest. This approach has very big strategic advantages, including promotion: management will see in the employee a person who knows how to plan his work and assess the priority of tasks.
Think about your biggest failures in life. Quarrels, misunderstandings that changed your whole life in a negative way. Failed exams, job interviews, etc. The reasons for such failures are similar, as a rule, they are the result of poor preparation and rash actions. Below we will look at how to manage everything and plan the day/week.
What happens if an athlete stops training a month before the Olympics - his skills and muscle strength will weaken significantly and he will take one of the last places. As in sports, in any business you need good preparation, without which the chances of success drop greatly.
The key factor in preparation is planning. There is "6 P rule": Proper planning prevents productivity loss.
Below I will give 7 ways to manage everything with the help of proper planning of the day and week.
Method 1: Make a list of tasks for the day
What is a task list for?
First, let's look at how our brain works. It was found that we can keep no more than 7+-2 things or important thoughts under control in our heads. To make sure of this, count how many circles are shown in the pictures:
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| Rice. 1 | Rice. 2 | Rice. 3 |
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| Rice. 4 | Rice. 5 |
Most likely, one glance is enough to determine the number of objects in Figures 1, 3 and 4.
And for drawings 2 and 5, one glance was not enough; it was necessary to count separately. The fewer objects, the easier it is to manage them. The brain reaches its limit when the number becomes more than 7+-2.
The same is true with thoughts; at the same time we can store no more than 7+-2 tasks in our head, the rest is forgotten.
Let's imagine a real life situation
You get up in the morning and go to work, on the way you remember that:You need to buy a gift for a loved one's birthday;
- Pay for the Internet before it’s turned off.
When you arrived at work:
Find out that you need to prepare a report today;
- I came in and a colleague asked me to send him a contract template;
- After the morning planning meeting, the boss asked me to do 3 things.
Your head is already full, but time does not stop; a client, a loved one, a colleague may call you, an unforeseen situation may happen, etc. What happens in this case? We forget something. If we forget to buy groceries in the store, then nothing bad will happen, of course, but we can forget something more important: not coming to an important meeting, taking medications, etc.
In addition, the more things we have in our heads, the worse our analytical abilities become, since energy is spent on memorizing information.
Benefits of a notebook
Notebook - eliminates all the problems described above and has the following advantages compared to working from memory:
1) Writing down is always faster than remembering. For example, write cellular telephone 10-100 times faster than remembering. Same with business.
2) Energy Saving. In order not to forget important things, we often remember, which wastes energy. A notebook solves this problem.
3) Reliability. What is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an axe. Any task can be forgotten due to fatigue, emotions or other matters. But if you write down tasks, it is much more difficult to forget.
You can keep a list of tasks on a regular sheet of paper, a notepad, but it’s better if it’s Notebook, because it has a calendar. The list of tasks for the day can be on a computer or paper. The most important thing is that you have it because it is the basis for planning, like the foundation of a house. If the house does not have a foundation, then the maximum that can be built is a small one-story structure without heating made of plastic or plywood. Also in planning, of course, you can do without a list of tasks for the day or a notebook, but you will be very limited in your capabilities.
The most important thing in a task list or notebook is a list of things that need to be done during the day. The second most important part is the calendar, in it you can see the tasks that need to be completed on a given day. Therefore, a notebook is preferable to a regular list because it has a calendar.
Method 2: Work with your task list every day
The most important thing when working with a time organizer or notebook is to work in accordance with the previously drawn up plan. To do this, regularly review your notebook to find out if you have done everything you planned for today. You can view the list after you complete the current task. It is very important to list important things that need to be done today in your organizer.
Method 3: First write it down, then do it
If a new task arrives and it is not urgent, then write it down in your notebook first and start only when it comes to it. Any new tasks seem very important and we begin to take on everything: checking mail, making phone calls, etc. But as soon as you first begin to write down all incoming tasks in a notebook, you will find that next to this entry there are more important tasks.
All movements of the right side of the body are controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for logic. When we write a new task right hand, then we activate the left hemisphere of our brain, which is responsible for logic. Activating logic when writing with our right hand will help us make better decisions.
By writing everything down in a notebook before you start work, you'll be able to get the most important things done during the day and be able to combat the unimportant tasks that constantly distract you.
4 way. First important, then urgent tasks
All planned tasks should be completed in order of their importance, and then in order of execution time. Starting with the most important ones and gradually moving on to the less important ones. Write things down in your plan for today in order of their importance, then sort them by urgency and start working on the highest priorities.
For example, an acquaintance called you to chat. A phone call, an urgent matter, because the phone is ringing right now, but it may not be important. If you have more significant tasks, say, preparing a work report, then it is better to first complete all the more important tasks, in particular the report, and then, if you have time, call back and talk with a friend. But not vice versa, otherwise, due to an insignificant call, you may not have time to do a more important thing.
Importance takes precedence over urgency. You should take on urgent matters only if you are in control of the situation and are confident that you will manage all the more important ones.
Method 5: Electronic organizer
Exists great amount electronic notebooks. The electronic diary has undeniable advantages before paper ones:
A. Time saving. With an electronic diary, you do not need to re-write tasks from the last day to the current one, and you can also work with it both on a computer and on a phone or tablet, synchronizing data on all devices.
B. Volumes and speed: You can very quickly copy a large amount of information into an electronic diary for further work. For example: You want to bake a banana cake in the evening and you need to write down the necessary ingredients before you go to the store. If you have an electronic organizer, then you can quickly copy the entire recipe from the Internet into your diary, literally in a matter of seconds. At the same time, it will take you more time to write down just the ingredients on a piece of paper by hand than it would take to write the entire recipe. in electronic format. And in the store it will be enough to turn on the diary on your phone to quickly understand what to buy.
B. Convenience. An ordinary notebook is inconvenient to use in transport, a store, or on vacation; in these places it is difficult to write down and look at notes because the paper diary is large and you need 2 hands to open it. But the electronic notebook on your phone will always be with you, no matter where you are: Transport, store, street. You can quickly take notes on your computer and then sync so those notes appear on your phone in seconds.
Method 6: Plan your next day in the evening
Make an action plan for the next day in advance, best time- this is the end of the working day, before you go home. This simple action will help you get a better night's sleep, because often the cause of insomnia is that in the evening we go through all the important things that we need to do tomorrow so as not to forget them in the morning. And it is these thoughts that prevent us from relaxing and falling asleep peacefully, but if you write down all your plans, you will not only ensure restful sleep, but also evening.
In addition, when you make a plan in advance, your subconscious mind will constantly work all night on how best to do what you planned. The solution to complex problems may come to you at breakfast, on the way to work, or even in the middle of the night. It is in the morning that new ideas most often come and you will use this time with maximum benefit, you just need to write a to-do list for the next day in advance.
By the way, if you have questions that you want answered, then before you fall asleep and close your eyes, ask them to yourself, preferably out loud, and immediately fall asleep. And in the morning, get ready to immediately write down all the thoughts that may appear the moment you wake up or later.
Method 7: Plan complex tasks at the peak of your activity
Make a plan for the day so that work that requires a lot of energy comes at the peak of your activity, when you have a lot of energy and are most productive. As a rule, the peak of activity begins in the morning, because after sleep you have a lot of energy and fresh head, but it happens that the peak of activity can occur during the daytime and even evening hours.
The most energy-consuming activities are those for which there is no talent.. As a rule, these are the ones activities you most don't want to do. These tasks are called frogs in time management because these tasks are unpleasant to start doing. There is a rule in time management - start the day with a frog., i.e. from an unpleasant matter. This rule will allow you to work more efficiently, because usually it is in the morning that you have the most strength, and these forces are extremely important to do the most unpleasant work.
I’ll give an example from life, I have a technical mindset, so exact sciences such as: Physics and mathematics are easy for me, but the humanities are more difficult, so when I was at school, I often prepared for a test in English language in the morning. I got up 1-2 hours before school and studied English. It was in the morning that I had the most energy, so at this time it was easier for me to complete a complex task for which I had the least talent. The results of the preparation exceeded all my expectations, I received excellent or good results in a subject that I did not like.
Plan the most unpleasant tasks for peak activity, for example, in the morning, and you will see how you will get more done and your personal efficiency will increase.
P.S. If you have difficulties or questions about the article you read, as well as about the topics: Psychology (bad habits, experiences, etc.), sales, business, time management, etc. ask them to me, I will try to help. Consultation via Skype is also possible.
P.P.S. You can also take the online training “How to get 1 hour of extra time.” Write comments and your additions;)
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Hello! In this article we will talk about planning your working day.
Today you will learn:
- Why plan your working day;
- Who needs it?
- How to plan your working day correctly.
Planning your working day
In the 21st century, the rhythm of life has noticeably accelerated and continues to gain momentum. If previously, in order to be successful, you needed to do one amount of work, now you need to do much more to achieve success. And people begin to face a lack of time. If we are chasing all the daily tasks that life throws at us every day, there is no time left at all.
Working day planning is a tool that helps not only to effectively use work time, but also shorten it. This is not a trivial to-do list that needs to be completed in strict order. Planning is the ability to choose what needs to be done, why and when.
That’s why proper planning not only structures everything you do during the day, but also frees up your time. First of all, you need to do the most important things - this is the main rule. It is useful for every person who has free time at work and does not have a clear schedule to distribute their time correctly.
What does planning include?
Working time planning includes:
- Setting priorities.
- Selecting important tasks.
- Finding the best ways to solve them.
- Finding employment in your free time.
Prioritization helps you understand what needs attention, what can resolve itself, and what issue should simply be ignored. Time and information have become much more valuable than before, and getting excited about something that does not produce results is pointless.
Selecting important tasks- almost the same as prioritization, only within the framework of one working day. You choose what will bring an important result, what needs to be done urgently, and what can be postponed.
Finding better ways to solve problems- a very important point. When planning, you must consider not only what you will do, but also how best to do it. At the same time, it is important not just to save time, but to do everything as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Working with free time should also be included in the work plan. Do you have 2 hours freed up a day that you can spend on something? You can tell your boss about this, and he will load you with work, you can educate yourself, or you can put effort into developing your own project.
Why is it important to plan your work day?
Anyone who has ever encountered freelancing, business, or “work at will” (like a taxi) understands perfectly the importance of organizing tasks throughout the day. But, for example, most office workers do not consider it necessary to plan their working day.
In fact, main reason planning the working day - increasing your own efficiency. If you listen to your own body, you can understand that some things work better for you at one time, and others at another. For example, it is more convenient for you to make calls to other companies after lunch, since you have already woken up, but are not yet tired, and monotonous work is completed faster in the evening, so it is better to postpone entering information into the database until 5 - 6 hours.
Working day planning takes into account not only basic elements problem solving, but also the personal preferences of each person. Time management was not designed to impose the same pattern of highly efficient work on everyone. You must adapt your tasks to the characteristics of your body.
Organizing and planning your workday allows you to do more in less time, leaving time to do the things you enjoy.
Who should plan their working day?
Every person should be able to plan their working day. This way you can save time and work more efficiently. But there are 3 categories of people who simply must engage in personal planning.
. The most undisciplined worker is a freelancer. He doesn’t have a clear schedule, and only the deadline reminds him that it’s time to sit down to do something. That is why it is very important for freelancers who work with several clients to plan their working day. It often turns out that new orders appear with a difference of one or two days, and if you wait until the last minute, you may not have time to work on two projects.
Businessmen. Everything here is almost the same as in freelancing. Especially if it's an online business. On the one hand, you can relax at home while your employees are working, but on the other hand, this approach will inevitably fail. In the West, the cult of workaholism flourishes among businessmen. They believe that if you don't work 60 hours a week, it means you're lazy and have nothing to do in business.
Managers. A leader will not always be a businessman. The owner of the company may not take an active part in the affairs of his company, but its director takes responsibility for the operation of the whole mechanism. This is why leaders of middle and large companies must use their time effectively, because the future of the company depends on their decisions long term. Planning a manager’s working day is a way to most effectively distribute your time between strategically important tasks.
Working day planning methods
There can be many methods for properly planning your workday. But one of the most effective is Eisenhower Matrix. Its essence is as follows.
There are 4 squares:
- Square A - Urgent and important matters.
- Square B - non-urgent and important matters.
- Square C - urgent and unimportant matters.
- Square D - non-urgent and unimportant matters.
Square A should almost always remain empty. With proper planning, all important tasks should settle in square B and be completed as they approach A.
Square B are important things that will help you achieve your goal. This includes all tasks that need to be completed within 1 business day.
Square C means urgent and unimportant tasks that need to be delegated to others. A striking example of urgent but unimportant matters is to call potential client. An employee can do this, you better focus on other things.
Square D, means that there are non-urgent and unimportant things that do not bring you closer to your goal, do not give positive emotions and, in principle, are not needed. All useless ideas should be written down in this square.
This division of tasks according to their importance and urgency allows you to understand what you need to pay attention to during the working day, and what you can safely forget about. The matrix helps not only in work processes, but also in Everyday life. If you want to learn English, it is interesting to you and will help you in your career - this is square B. But if you want to learn Spanish just for the sake of knowing it, this is D, and you can safely forget about it.
Rules for planning working hours
There are several rules for how to effectively conduct your workday. For convenience, we will divide the day into 3 parts:
- The begining of the work day.
- Basic workflow.
- Completion.
Morning is the most important stage. Depending on how much sleep you got, how you got up and what you did, your mood, psychological attitude and performance will depend.
The principles of a “correct” morning include the following:
- Positive attitude. If you wake up every day thinking that you hate your job, your productivity will decrease. Try to start your morning with pleasant thoughts.
- Try not to "sway". Have you noticed that after you get up in the morning, you need another 30 - 40 minutes to finally come to your senses? This is time that is not worth wasting. Immediately after waking up, take a shower, brew some coffee, and instead of spending half an hour going nowhere, you can have breakfast in peace.
- A leisurely breakfast and the way to work. Starting the day without rush is very important. When you are in a hurry, your body spends extra energy and nerves that could be used for more productive work. If you can’t afford a hearty breakfast and a leisurely trip, go to bed later and get up earlier.
- Key tasks. Most successful businessmen tend to say that the most important tasks should be completed in the morning. As the saying goes, “If you want to do everything, eat a frog for breakfast.” The role of a frog is a task that you do not want to take on at all. Do it in the morning, and the positive mood from the fact that the “frog has been eaten” will last throughout the day.
The main workflow consists of the following tasks:
- Solve urgent problems. It is important to understand that if some urgent matter comes your way during the working day, you do not need to turn all your attention exclusively to it. First you need to understand whether it is important or not. If it’s important, then you need to start working on it immediately. If not, transfer responsibility for its implementation to another person.
- Meet deadlines. Every day you should set yourself approximate deadlines within which you must cope with the entire volume of tasks. It is important that it is not “Do everything before 18 o’clock”, but “At 14:00 - start making a plan, at 15:00 - analyze the indicators, at 16:00 - make a report,” etc.
- Order in the workplace. This is an implicit but very important point. If your desk is a mess, your eyes will constantly be lost among it. And if there is some foreign document at your workplace, you can start studying it and just lose 20 - 30 minutes.
- Don't follow impulses. It's the most important. There are some triggers that make you shift your attention from work to something less important. Call a friend while you're reviewing your sales plan? It’s better not to do this, then you will lose concentration and can easily lose the working spirit.
- Group your routine. It is very important. If you need to make 60 phone calls during the day, then it is better to divide them into several small groups, 10 - 15 at a time. After you have made the call, you can perform another task. By constantly switching from routine to active activity, you can get much more done.
The end of the working day is based on the following principles:
- Finish what is needed. There is a group of things that fall into the “important but not urgent” square. It is best to complete them during the working day, and always keep the “important and urgent” square empty.
- Check your results against your plan. Everything you did during the day needs to be compared with what you planned. If you have just started planning your work day, then small deviations from the plan will be in order. Try to keep them as few as possible.
- Make a plan for the next day. It is best to do this at the end of the previous working day. This way you will maintain a working spirit and, at the same time, it is important to draw up a real program of affairs.
If you are a manager, then during the working day you must work closely with your secretary.
Remember that all this general tips. They don't take yours into account individual characteristics. If it’s more convenient for you to do urgent work in the afternoon rather than in the morning, that’s your right. If you prefer to do a big, difficult task last, and it doesn't affect your mood for one day, do it last.
Planning your working day should be individual.
Basic mistakes when planning your workday
Despite the fact that the practice of time management is firmly established in our lives, most people commit typical mistakes when planning your working day. Here are a few of them.
Mistake 1. Wrong prioritization.
The Eisenhower Matrix tells us that we need to do important things. But many people can easily get confused about what is important to them. Square A, which should remain empty and is responsible for urgent and important matters, is often confused with Square C, where unimportant matters that require immediate attention have accumulated.
It is important to remember that you should spend your energy exclusively on what is important to you. this moment time. You should work for the future when things can be put aside and planned wisely.
Mistake 2: Spending too much time on little things.
In order to explain why it is necessary to do the “basic” first, and only then the little things, we will use the Pareto Law. It says that 20% of effort produces 80% of results. That is, when you work on something important, you spend 20% of the effort and achieve 80% of the result. When you work on the little things, you get 4 times less results and spend 4 times more effort.
Let's look at a small example. You need to launch an advertising campaign. If you create 10 creatives, match them keywords and phrases, and launch on prepared sites, then this will be 20% of the work, which will give 80% of the result. But if you spend time editing fonts and images, selecting and polishing phrases, and searching for additional platforms for advertising, you will spend much more effort. All this will need to be done, but after the start advertising campaign, when you achieve the first result.
Mistake 3. Lack of time for personal matters.
Every person should have personal life and freedom of choice of occupation. If you have a lot to do and you don’t find one or two hours to do your hobby, then this is poor planning of your day. Planning your working time is important not only because it allows you to get more done. It gives you the opportunity to do what you like without haste.