Hello! With you Ekaterina Kalmykova. Surely, you will agree with me that the most valuable thing we have is our time. We very often spend it in vain, not realizing that there is not so much of it.

Being distracted by extraneous matters, we lose our time, and then we are surprised that we do not have time to do anything. We try to fulfill all the goals set, we begin to work in conditions of “multi-tasking”, we are torn between planned tasks. As a result, there is irritability, nervous breakdowns, overwork. Are you familiar with this condition?

In my opinion, people who know how to properly allocate time can rightfully be considered successful. In the modern world, it is quite difficult to combine work, study, childcare and personal life. I, like any woman, also dream of combining all spheres of life so that there is enough time for everything. Therefore, I set out to study and have already written several articles on this topic.

Here is a small selection:

If you also want to learn how to effectively manage your time, and spend your free time to good use and not feel like a "driven horse", then read on. I will share some tips on how to properly allocate your time.

So how do you allocate time to get everything done? The most effective method is to make a to-do list. It is necessary to distribute the things that need to be done first and second. It will be good if you mark important and unimportant things, for example, with different colors. I wrote about this in detail in the article "". You can also try using .

It will definitely be more pleasant for you to plan your time if you start a beautiful notebook or diary.

Tip #1: How to rationally use your time? Do not load your diary with fictitious things.

If you have a free day or hour ahead, then think: “How to allocate time?”. But there is no need to try to have time to complete all the cases in chaotic snatches. As they say, all at once. It is better to spend such freed time for your own benefit, for example, enjoy a trip to the spa or hanging out with a friend.

Tip #2: how to use your time productively? Try to use every minute to your advantage.

If you still can’t manage your time correctly, then try dividing things into groups:

1. the first group - cases with the first priority, important matters;
2. the second group - important things that can wait;
3. the third group - things that need to be done urgently, but they are not priority;
4. the fourth group - minor and not urgent matters.

As you can see, you should first complete the tasks from the first and second groups, then from the third group, and only then, if you have time, proceed to the tasks from the fourth group. How to manage your time? Of course, this is not done the first time, but practice works wonders. By learning how to make groups of cases, set tasks and perform them sequentially, you will see how much free time you will have. And you will immediately realize that you are correctly allocating your time.

It is very important to make better use of your time in order to have a successful life. Willpower plays an important role here.

Whether you are a schoolboy, a student or a blogger, you must learn to resist everything that "eats" your time, the so-called time wasters. As a rule, these are social networks. Instagram, Vkontakte, Facebook - all this wastes your time if you do not use them as a working tool.

Of course, it is very interesting to see what Masha, Dasha or Petya posted. But, after analyzing how long it takes you to read the tape, you will definitely be horrified. Yes, I did some time-keeping here the other day. I just felt sorry for the lost hours. But time goes nowhere, although it could be spent on something useful. That is why it is so important to be able to manage your time wisely.

Tip #3: reduce the time spent on social networks and you will be surprised how much free time you have.

Jobs and responsibilities go hand in hand

Tip #4: How to effectively use working time? Remember that you have tasks and responsibilities. They are different and you need to be able to distinguish between them.

Duties at work are what you get paid for. Things can only be indirectly related to work, or they can relate to another area in your life. Many women strive to appear successful and start multitasking. I was the same 🙂

As a result of doing several things at once, they do them either halfway, or poorly, or inattentively and may miss important details. As a result, you spend much more time on one thing than it's worth.

Tip #5: how to use working hours? Solve one problem at a time, without spraying yourself with several tasks at once.

Doing a hundred things, you will not show your best side. Most likely, you will forget something important and your boss will not like it. Do only one thing, you will do it better and faster, which means you will have more time for everything else.

The rich use their time wisely. They find special use for their talent in work, being able to completely immerse themselves in the task. Many people have many small things to do.

Well, if they are somehow related to the main task, you can switch between cases without leaving your thoughts on the main thing. It will be great if small things are mechanical in nature, so you can not be distracted by extraneous things.

Analysis and relaxation as two sides of the same coin

Tip #6: analyze your time, both work and personal.

Rational use of working time will help the analysis of your time. You need to understand what is taking up a lot of your time and cut it down. For example, if you spend a lot of time talking with colleagues about non-work topics, try to cut down on conversations and limit yourself to discussing the news over lunch.

The same applies to the distribution of personal time. If you spend a lot of time watching TV, try to limit your time to 30 minutes a day. Do not cook in front of the TV or work in front of it. It will constantly distract your attention. Surely, you know what to eat while watching it is also not recommended, because you can eat much more than your portion 🙂

Remember that you cannot do everything in one day and make all the money in the world.

Tip #7: rest.

Include in your routine sleep and rest for at least 8 hours a day. Eight hours of sleep is the basis of good health and a fresh head. If you can get some sleep, great. Let yourself lie in bed for a while without taking responsibility for anything.

With new forces, you can accomplish much more than with circles under the eyes.

We call for help technique and order

It will be easier for you to keep track of everything if you have a good punctual assistant, namely a smartphone. Modern phones have programs installed that remind you of meetings, calls, shopping trips, etc. Use this great opportunity to have a free assistant remind you of important things.

Tip #8: use a timer.

The timer on the phone is also designed to help busy people. Set a timer for one hour and try to do at least three small things or one big thing during this time. The timer can be used for sports, smart reading and self-development, etc.

Tip #9: put and be sure to maintain order in the workplace.

Are you a creative clutter lover? Think about how long it takes you to find the right papers, folders, books. If the process takes more than 3 minutes, it's time to clean up the desktop and inside it. The process of searching for the necessary things should take a maximum of three minutes.

Tip #10: study here this cool course.

If you still do not understand how to rationally use your time, we recommend that you turn to this course for help. It will discuss ways to manage your own and other people's time. The main reason why I advise him is that the technique was tested by the author himself and it brought him more than generous results.

From the course you will gain knowledge that is not found in textbooks, in university manuals, on Internet resources. Unique information is collected on one disc and is waiting for another lucky person. Those who decide to study will have to learn a lot of interesting things from the field of time management. Secrets will be revealed on how to plan your working day so that you can do everything at home, how to monetize your time in front of the computer, how to rationally use your free time and much more.

Have you decided? Then don't delay. Purchase well , learn the secret of success and become the most successful person!

Friends, this concludes our conversation. I am sure that if you listen and take my advice into account, you will learn how to rationally and effectively manage your work and free time, because you already know how to properly allocate your time.

Time management is indeed an interesting science. Therefore, I will return to this topic more than once.

Until we meet again

There are only 24 hours in a day and it's time to get used to it. Time is not at all interested in helping us, however, if the time is correctly distributed, then instead of the main enemy, we will get a very beneficial ally.

On a day, a modern person needs to have time to do as many things as our ancestors mastered in just a week, so it is extremely important for us to get at least a couple of extra hours or minutes. And you can do it in 6 simple ways.

Get up earlier

No one obliges you to get up with roosters, getting up even half an hour earlier than usual will give you 30 minutes of extra time. Most successful people prefer to wake up early, as this is the time when the human brain is at its most productive.

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Therefore, it is recommended to devote early hours to mental work. And do not be afraid that you will have to sacrifice sleep - the human body adapts perfectly to everything, so in a month you will have a great sleep even without these 30 minutes.

Using the 30 minute rule

Its meaning is both simple and ingenious: give each task a day for only half an hour and then move on to the next thing. So you will increase your productivity at times, and every day you will cover the full range of tasks facing you.

There is only one caveat: you spend all 30 minutes on one thing and only on it. No social networks, smoke breaks and so on. Using this principle, you will also get rid of the burden of unsolved problems that you didn’t have time to get to before.

Are planning

In the morning you have planned a bunch of things, but the trouble is in the evening you didn’t do half of them. This situation is familiar to everyone, and in order to avoid it, it is necessary to make clear and realistic plans for the day. Assess your capabilities and draw up, albeit a modest, but adequate plan of affairs for the day. Then at the end of the day you will not fall into depression from the fact that you do not have time to do anything, but, on the contrary, you will be proud of your quickness.

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We use "suspended" time

“Hanging” time is forced idleness (travel from/to work, queues, and so on). This time can and should be used wisely. For example, to expand your horizons, modern gadgets allow this. Read books, learn new languages, write down ideas, but don't waste those precious minutes.

Know how to rest

Yes, yes, the ability to properly and well rest also saves time. Compare: spend the whole weekend in pajamas watching TV or go for a walk, ride a bike, go to an exhibition and go to a cozy cafe. Find for yourself those activities with which you relax mentally and physically and fill your rest hours with them. In this case, you will rest much faster and better than if you lie in a semi-comatose state under the covers.

Prioritize

Not all things are equally necessary and important, so a lot depends on setting the right priorities. Divide all daily tasks according to the Eisenhower principle into:

Urgent and important activities;
important but not urgent matters;
urgent but not very important activities;
not urgent or important matters.

Now you can in good conscience take on the cases of the first and second points, carefully consider the cases of the third, and refuse some of the cases of the fourth point.
In the hustle and bustle of the day, we often devote more time to just unnecessary things, while the most important tasks await our attention.

Using all of these methods in combination, you will not only gain a sufficient amount of time, but also increase your efficiency. Therefore, do not waste time now, but start allocating time for the day (and do not forget to prioritize).

Nowadays, time has become one of the most important resources. With the advent of devices that help us to constantly maintain contact with friends, relatives, and even complete strangers, we have become increasingly distracted by trifles from work and solving pressing problems.

If you are a modern person, then most likely you constantly do not have enough time to complete all the things you have started and planned. In this article, we will explain to you how to avoid wasting time and always do everything on time.

Steps

Then write a list of things you need to complete. However, in order to successfully allocate your time, you need to figure out what exactly you need to streamline. A to-do list sorted by urgency and importance will help you with this.

Determine the level of urgency and importance for each case.

Urgency 1: finish today by 6pm.

Urgency 2: finish by 6pm tomorrow.

Urgency 3: finish by the end of the week.

Urgency 4: finish next week.

With a large number of cases, you can break these groups into subgroups. For example, an urgency of 1 would mean that the task needs to be completed right now, and an urgency of 1.5 would mean that you have time before the end of the working day.

If you need to finish a project before the end of the week, work on it a little each day, starting with the most important and urgent tasks.

• Complete the tasks scheduled for the day. Concentrate on what is needed and don't get distracted by trifles. When you finish one thing, move on to the next. Once you've finished all your tasks for that day, move on to the next day's activities.
• When you're done with tomorrow's tasks, move on to those that need to be done before the end of the week, and when you finish them, move on to plans for the beginning of next week. Thus, breaking one big project into many component tasks will help you manage your time more effectively, deal with stress and not overwork.
• The last task you complete each day should be making a to-do list for tomorrow. This will help you stay on track.

3. Try to distribute cases, taking into account your own individual activity during the day.

Someone works better in the morning, and someone in the afternoon. Whichever group you belong to, plan things with your own productivity in mind.

4. Compete against the clock throughout the work day.

• Work in 15, 30 or 60 minute intervals. Scientists have proven that it is best to interrupt every 45 minutes of work with 10 minutes of rest.
• Set a goal to complete part of a task or the entire task in each gap.

They are necessary to refresh and give the brain the necessary rest, and then "rush into battle" with renewed vigor.

Determine the duration of the break in advance, from 5 to 15 minutes, and do not waste more than the allotted time. Such breaks will be perceived by your body as a reward for the work done.

Cross out completed tasks.

Having finished everything planned for the day, you will feel relieved and pleasantly tired after work. Moreover, this will be connected, not only with the fact that you have done all the things, but also with the fact that you have achieved something during this day, and this will certainly spur your motivation.

Scheduled tasks from time to time and their priorities.

• Add new tasks. They should appear almost every day, especially at first, when you are just getting used to self-discipline.
• Delete or reduce the urgency of completed tasks, or tasks that have lost their importance.
• Distribute tasks among your colleagues or subordinates. Contrary to popular belief, there is no need to do everything yourself. In fact, thoughtful distribution of work leads to an increase in the efficiency of its implementation.
• Use modern technologies as virtual assistants. They will help you get things done faster, more accurately, and more efficiently. Today, there are a huge variety of applications for mobile devices designed to help you do your job.

As the proverb says, it's time for business, and an hour for fun. Indeed, sometimes work requires us to exert all the forces of the body and limit concentration. That is why it is necessary to allow yourself to relax from time to time. By the way, it is useful not only for the brain, but also for the rest of the body. It is not necessary to devote too much time to entertainment, the main thing is to do it regularly.

A healthy routine will keep you alert, energetic, and clear. Accordingly, your productivity will be at a high level.

Instruments

To manage your time, you may need a simple schedule written on a piece of paper, or you may need complex schemes with tables and a calendar. Therefore, the set of tools you need will be dictated by the method you choose.

• Pencil.
• Pen.
• Paper.
• Eraser.
• Marker.
• Computer or laptop.
• Smartphone or tablet computer.
• To-do list, calendar, or computer programs for managing cases.

• Make good use of the time you normally waste. It could be time spent commuting on the subway, or mindlessly wandering around the house before work (if you get up too early). The main thing is to try to occupy yourself at this time with something useful, and thus add this segment to your asset.
• You should not fill the day too much with various tasks, thus creating a schedule suitable only for a robot.
• Spend a couple of minutes between tasks on some distraction: a phone call, a small snack, or something else of your choice.
• Get rid of concepts like “I should have finished yesterday” to set realistic goals for yourself.
• Write down the subject and purpose of the task, not the order in which the actions are performed. After writing down all the topics, determine how much you should spend on each one.
• Reward yourself for the work you've done. This keeps you motivated. Allow yourself to receive a small reward for doing a certain piece of work. However, be careful: if you relax too much, you can lose focus and do nothing else for the day.
• Establish criteria for evaluating the work done.
• Use your chess clock to measure time and keep track of your productivity. Set yourself a goal to complete a task on time. The clock will serve as a reminder that you need to meet a certain time period and not a minute later.

___________________________________________________________

Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin Franklin) was the son of a soap maker, but thanks to self-organization and discipline, he excelled in many areas: in politics, diplomacy, science, journalism. He is one of the founding fathers of the United States of America - he participated in the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the country's constitution.

Franklin's portrait is placed on the hundred dollar bill, although he was never president of the United States. He is credited with the authorship of such catchphrases as "Time is money" and "Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today."

• "Frogs". Everyone has boring tasks that are constantly put off until later. These unpleasant things are piling up and psychologically pressing. But if you start every morning with “eating a frog”, that is, first of all, perform some uninteresting task, and then move on to the rest, then gradually things will be in order.
• "Anchors". These are material attachments (music, color, movement) associated with a certain emotional state. "Anchors" are necessary in order to tune in to the solution of a particular task. For example, you can train yourself to work with mail to classical music, and whenever you feel too lazy to unload the inbox, you just need to turn on Mozart or Beethoven to catch the right psychological wave.
• Elephant steak. The larger the task (writing a dissertation, learning a foreign language, and so on) and the tougher the deadline, the more difficult it is to start its implementation. It is the scale that frightens: it is not clear where to start, whether there will be enough strength. Such tasks are called "elephants". The only way to “eat an elephant” is to cook “steaks” from it, that is, to break a big deal into several small ones.

It is noteworthy that Gleb Arkhangelsky pays great attention not only to the rationalization of work processes, but also to rest (the full title of his bestseller is “Time Drive: How to Live and Work in Time”). He is convinced that without a good rest, including healthy sleep and physical activity, it is impossible to be productive.

Conclusion

Plan your every day. Todoist, Wunderlist, TickTick and other similar programs and services will help you with this. Divide complex large-scale tasks into simple small ones. Do the most unpleasant work in the morning so that the rest of the time you can do only what you like. Develop triggers to help you deal with laziness, and don't forget to include rest in your schedule.

Francesco Cirillo method

You may not be familiar with the name Francesco Cirillo, but you must have heard of Pomodoro. Cirillo is the author of this famous time management technique. At one time, Francesco had problems with his studies: the young man could not concentrate in any way, he was distracted all the time. A simple tomato-shaped kitchen timer came to the rescue.

Conclusion

At the beginning of the day, make a to-do list and get it done by measuring time with “pomodoros”. If you have been distracted for 25 minutes, put the symbol ' in front of the task. If the time has expired, but the task has not yet been completed, put a + and dedicate the next “pomodoro” to it. During a five-minute break, switch completely from work to rest: take a walk, listen to music, drink coffee.

So, here are five basic time management systems with which you can organize your day. You can study them in more detail and become an apologist for one of the methods, or you can develop your own by combining various methods and techniques.

GTD - an alternative to time management

David Allen, creator of the GTD methodology, is one of the most famous personal effectiveness theorists. His book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity was named the best business book of the decade by Time magazine.

The term Getting Things Done is a well-known term, and many mistakenly identify it with time management. But even Allen himself calls GTD "a technique for increasing personal effectiveness».

Here's how an expert on the subject explained the difference between time management and GTD.

This is not time management. Time management is impossible. Everyone has the same number of hours in a day. What matters is not the amount of time, but what you fill it with. You need to be able to process large flows of incoming information, determine what actions are needed to achieve goals, and, of course, act. GTD is about that. It is a certain way of thinking and living. GTD is also about the state of flow and the reduction of psychological stress.

Vyacheslav Sukhomlinov

Ready to argue? Welcome to the comments. What do you think is more about GTD - time management or personal efficiency? Also tell us what techniques help you organize your day.