Yesterday I crossed two borders, completed three current projects with clients, concluded a deal with great prospects, and in the evening had dinner at home with my significant other.
I work 25 hours a week, sleep eight hours a day, don't have a schedule, and still manage to get a lot more things done than when I was glued to an office desk for 60-plus hours a week.
I'm far from superhuman. Everything described above is just a clear example.
You see, being independent and working for myself for over a year has taught me some valuable lessons in efficiency and time management.
Below is a list of life hacks that may seem very simple. However, once you really try them out, you will notice that your tasks take less and less time.
1. Take advantage of the Zeigarnik effect
The brain has an intrusive built-in function to constantly remind you of things you have left unfinished, thus nudging you to finish the task. This is what it is, and it will help you complete the things you have already started.
It doesn't matter if you like the problem you're trying to solve or not, take at least one tiny step towards it.
Are you facing writer's block and can't write? Open a blank file and start typing whatever you like. Need to start planning your wedding? Start by looking for a wedding bouquet. Need to tomorrow develop marketing strategy companies? Videotape a couple of ideas to get started.
In 99% of cases, you will work on the task until the bitter end.
2. Use project management tools (not just work stuff)
Our brains don't like complex tasks. When he is faced with an abstract task, say, “coming up with a monthly marketing campaign,” he immediately becomes discouraged and prefers to do the easy, familiar things.
That's why it's necessary to break down every big undertaking into a few simple, tiny, achievable steps.
Buy project management tools here important. You don't want to miss any important steps, Right?
There are a myriad of both free and paid applications for managing personal projects. What I like best is the visual approach to management in Casual.
What's especially great about this app is that you can structure information the way it comes to you - in the form of relationships, rather than linearly. So, instead of drawing a linear step by step plan you can create a detailed picture of the project with multiple streams of activities happening simultaneously or one after the other. (More about mind mapping and tools for it).
In other words, you draw a visual map that allows you to see the entire project at a glance, plus helps you take small steps leading to your goal.
Here is an example of such a project:
Why this visual approach works great for me (and may work for you too):
- You always know what step should be next, so you don’t even leave yourself a chance to procrastinate.
- You have a big clear picture of your goals, understandable at a glance.
- Planning an entire project is as easy as drawing it on paper (which is what I did before), and using a plan is much more convenient.
- If you work in a team, it will always be clear what has already been done and what is being done now. This means there will be less mistakes and missed deadlines.
Other popular tools I've enjoyed using include Basecamp, Podio, and Microsoft Project.
3. Change your habits
Today it’s easy to find information on how to get everything done, but how many of you put these tips into practice? I was also in this boat.
We all have habits, and changing them is very difficult. However, one clever solution to this problem can be found in Charles Duhigg's book "". The author calls it the cycle of habit. In short, a habit has three components: a stimulus (the “trigger” that precedes the habitual behavior), the habitual behavior (the actual repetition of the action), and the reward (the external and internal reward that you receive for performing the habitual action).
Now bad news- you cannot influence the irritants in any way. Good news- you can change your usual behavior.
The solution is to plan what needs to be done on networks and media the night before. Install for yourself exact time when to do it, and do it every day.
This approach is applicable to any stimuli that leads to negative behavior.
Every time you complete your new habitual action, make sure you reward yourself for it. Come up with a ritual for yourself that will help you anticipate your negative behavior, such as mindlessly surfing the web, spending money or eating sweets, and every time you manage to avoid it, reward yourself with something pleasant.
Repeat for 21 days until new habit won't stick.
About 50 years ago, neuroscientist Nathaniel Kleitman discovered that our body goes from peak to trough every 90 minutes throughout the day. This phenomenon is also known as ultradian rhythm. Simply put, we can only be productive for 90 minutes.
What happens after 90 minutes? We begin to seek additional fuel in the form of caffeine, sugary bars or our own stress hormones: adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol. At this point, we lose focus, stop thinking clearly and seeing the whole picture.
My day yesterday went like this: I got to the airport and worked in a coffee shop for 90 minutes before landing (there was no Wi-Fi), watched a movie during the flight and went back to work on the train from Switzerland to France. When I got home, I quickly checked my inbox, ate dinner, and worked for another 90 minutes.
As a result, in just 4.5 hours I made most work that previously would have taken me an 8-hour day to complete.
5. Prioritize to the last
One Pentagon executive summed up this advice brilliantly:
First, I make a list of priorities: first, second, third, and so on. And then I cross out everything below the third.
This Golden Rule for anyone daily list tasks. Move all tasks after the third to the next day.
Can't decide which tasks are more important?
- Consider whether there are dependencies between tasks. Is it possible to do step A without doing step B? If not, then task B is more important. Choose those tasks that affect your future success.
- Use a decision matrix.
Everything that is on the right top corner, is worth labeling with the “Do it now” label. High-impact tasks that are difficult to do need to be mixed with other, less complex ones. Low-impact tasks that are easy to do are worth delegating.
For me, a super productive place to work is airports and airplanes. In fact, I choose connecting flights more often than direct ones (they're also at least $100 cheaper), and I try to get as much work done on days when I'm traveling rather than when I'm working from home.
Now let me explain.
You have strictly limited time(before departure or before landing) and limited free Wi-Fi. This means you can work in 90-minute sprints to stay at peak productivity.
There's nothing to distract you when you're sitting on a plane: your phone is turned off, and all that's left is clean effective work which must be completed in a limited time. I often try to recreate a similar environment at home: I turn off the Internet and do my work for 90 minutes without being distracted by anything else.
Let's summarize. Here's a plan to get more done and work less:
- Take the first step in your business and let the Zeigarnik effect help you complete it.
- Use project management tools to stay clear on what needs to be done and stay focused.
- Monitor your irritants and transform them into positive habits.
- Prioritize and work on the most important tasks.
- Eliminate everything that distracts you. For example, give yourself an “airport day.”
Steve Pavlina is, of course, a maniac. But it is this frantic workaholic who knows better than anyone what the ability to manage time is and can teach us how to manage a lot of things and how to manage time to get everything done. Three life hacks from the most famous and successful expert on self-development and personal effectiveness.
Do not be distructed
If you do any creative or mental work, then you must set aside a time when you know for sure that you will not be interrupted.
You need a period of time (2-3 hours minimum) without checking email, chats, websites, phone calls, visitors, colleagues, etc. and so on.
Just knowing that no one will interrupt you makes you much more easier process entering a work flow where you can do much more than usual. Any time you get distracted for a couple of minutes or more, you should know that it will take at least 15 minutes to get back into your work flow.
A few seemingly insignificant interruptions throughout the day add up to a huge amount of time wasted each month.
I have to disconnect from the whole world and create conditions where nothing else exists except the topic I am writing about. When I get into the flow, writing an article is effortless. I usually don't even realize that my fingers are typing.
You set your own boundaries, so don't even think about blaming others for your lack of productivity. If other people do not respect your time, you should recognize that this is happening with your tacit consent...If you use your work time That's right, then you will have a lot more free time for your personal life.
Keep track of your time
Write down where your time goes. Starting from the moment you wake up and ending with the moment you go to bed. At the end of the day, review. If you are like most people, then don't be surprised that 50-75% of your time every day is simply wasted on nothing.
You will likely find that you spend a lot of time on unimportant things, you get distracted and switch between tasks very often, and you spend a lot of time on the Internet. Even this simple way of measuring your time can increase your productivity.
Divide your time into blocks
Blocks of time (timeboxing) are great way to complete tasks that would otherwise be put off. With time blocks, you agree to work on a task or project for a fixed amount of time, usually between 30 and 90 minutes. 10-15 minutes is also suitable.
Usually, after 15 minutes, you won’t want to quit what you started.
Timeboxing is a great way to overcome your initial resistance to completing a specific task. You tell yourself, “It's only 30 minutes. It's not so scary. I can do it no problem if it’s only 30 minutes.” But then, after 30 minutes, it is much easier to continue working.
You won't always work harder on a task than you originally planned. And that's okay. You have to give yourself permission to stop. You can always make time later to take it even further. If you keep working on a task a little at a time, at some point (yay!) you will finish it.
Most strategies for improving your self-efficacy are too complex and confusing. More precisely, they are not complicated, but drawn out. This is done intentionally. After all, you won’t be able to sell a book that only has 5 pages. Therefore, the author begins to smear simple principles for dozens of chapters.
There is some paradox in this, because we don’t want to waste time, we want to do more at work and at home, but we are offered several hundred pages of useless reading.
Learn to cope with big amount Everyone can do things. This article suggests three simple advice how to increase your productivity. These are universal principles that you can adapt to your needs and requirements.
1. Plan
You can’t just come up with a plan in your head and then do everything. You must write down concrete actions and be sure to indicate the time in which you want to complete them. It's like making an appointment with an important client. The only client is you. Don't be late.
Your to-do list shouldn't be optional. That is, you should feel obligated to finish it. It shouldn't just be your desires. These are tasks that need to be completed. Be your own strict boss.
2. Increase efficiency
Efficiency means that we complete tasks as quickly as possible. short term. By increasing our efficiency, we will be able to work less and accomplish more.
- First, you need to understand how much time it will take to complete a task.
- Secondly, you need to think about how this time can be reduced. But not at the expense of quality.
You also need to do this not in your head. Write down at least 5 ways you can speed up the completion of something. Then choose those options that will give the maximum effect.
Often you will feel like you can’t speed up anything. Just start writing down ways. Anything that comes to mind, even the strange ones at first glance. Our brain is lazy by nature; it needs to be forced to work. In the end, you will be surprised at your own creativity.
It is much more efficient not to do many things yourself, but rather to delegate them to someone else.
3. Stay focused
The most insidious enemy of our productivity is various distractions and procrastination. Today we are bombarded with a huge amount of information from all sides and it is difficult to resist it. If you fail to cope with this point, then the previous two will be useless.
There are two great ways to stay focused on the things that matter. You've probably heard about them, but still don't use them.
- Get rid of everyone external stimuli. Turn off notifications from social networks, games and other services that this moment you don't need time. Make it a rule not to go into social media and don’t read the news until all the work is done. Put it all off until the evening, or even better, until the end of the week.
- Use a timer. Choose the optimal work and rest interval that suits you. For example, you can work for 90 minutes and then rest for 20 minutes. During these 90 minutes you cannot be distracted by anything other than work. And the time allocated for rest should not be exceeded. Numerous experiments have shown that this approach allows you to deal with concentration problems as effectively as possible.
In order to increase your productivity and get more done several times over, you don’t need to take multi-day courses or read thick books. There are just a few rules to follow (strictly).
In the summer, more than ever, many people are faced with the question: how to get more done in a day . Good weather draws us to the river and the forest, I want to spend more time with the children. And at the same time, work also requires attention, and every blogger has one more concern - their favorite blog. Thus, just in the summer you become acutely aware of how overcrowded the day is with many things to do, plans and goals.
To prevent you from being overwhelmed by a heap of unfinished tasks and not getting into such an unsightly situation, I have prepared for you 5 simple tips on how to simplify your day.
They will show you how to get more done, and most importantly, how to get everything done NEEDED. The last word– key. One of the main secrets of success. There's no point in mastering the principles of promotion if it just means you'll end up doing more unnecessary work.
Tip 1.
Cross it out boldly.
This advice is the simplest and most effective. Anyone who wants to be on time must stop planning too many things. If you are used to writing long lists things you would like to do in a day, then learn to reduce them.
In the beginning you will find it difficult to do this. Therefore, at first, write whatever you want. This way you will be sure that you won’t miss anything important.
Then look through your list, feel free to cross off as many items as possible from it. Try to play with yourself to see if you can cut it so that it is half as long.
But that is not all. When you finish this unusual game, put your list aside for a while. And then come back to it again and try to shorten it further.
You are probably wondering how to correctly cross out what you have already planned in order to leave the main thing. Eat infallible criterion for this. It will help you understand what to keep and what to cross out. The criterion is simple
Keep only what moves you forward
to your goals and dreams.
Tip 2.
Concentrate
on only three targets.
An ideal daily to-do list should include: only three goals. But it should be three things that are for you Most Important. At one time, such advice cost $25,000. Look: even now this is a lot of money, but 100 years ago it was a fortune!
Imagine how highly wealthy people appreciated this idea! They know exactly what to spend money on, and they are looking only for what can increase their well-being. So do you really think that you are cooler and smarter than them if you don’t benefit from their experience?
Even if this is not usual for you, try to develop such a necessary habit. It will help you focus your efforts on what matters most. You will value your time and will always know where to better spend it.
This approach will ensure that you manage to do what you planned during the day. And you will have nothing to postpone until tomorrow.
Focus on what's important
allows you to move forward every day.
Tip 3.
Unite
trifles and routine.
The ability to properly organize your process helps a lot speed up getting things done. This way you will have time to do more of them. It is especially important to organize various little things. Monitor yourself - how often you are distracted by all sorts of irritants and small matters.
The simplest example is the arrival of new letters. Modern email services are configured so that they automatically deliver letters to your computer and immediately notify you about it. You have just delved into a task or started doing something, and then there is a signal that a new letter has arrived. You naturally looked away to see who it was from.
Likewise, all sorts of instant messengers (SMS, Skype, regular phone) distract. But our brain takes time for that, to switch from one to another. You got distracted and lost time. Then they returned to their task - they lost it again while they got ready. So count how much time you you're wasting your time.
Simplest A way to save time is to collect all the small tasks in one time period and deal with them only at this time. For example, you determine for yourself that you will look at your email during the day and in the evening. For example, I love it very much; I base my everyday life on it. And I complete all the small tasks during these 15 minutes of respite between the main tasks.
Consolidation of small cases
will make your day more efficient.
Tip 4.
Eliminate
superfluous and unnecessary.
A lot of our time is stolen by things that, in fact, do not advance us anywhere. Especially many of these “enticements” are related to the computer. You've probably noticed that you go somewhere for what seems like 5 minutes, but end up stuck there for an hour. Since I have covered various computer clues quite deeply, I will not dwell on this now.
Smoking rooms take up a lot of time at work. Okay, let's not even talk about how much harm this habit can bring to your health. But smoking rooms are often seen as social factor– a place where you can chat with colleagues. And even those who don’t smoke “communicate” there. Consider whether you really need these conversations. In general, are they constructive or just gossip?
This group also includes television and the yellow press. Is it really so important to know which stars are getting divorced or getting married? Isn't it this information will make you more successful? Become a gourmet in consuming information - take only what you really need or what gives you pleasure.
Someone who values his time
always thinks about what he spends it on.
Tip 5.
Forget all the “miracle recipes”
And finally, the most unexpected advice for you is to stop looking for a miracle recipe on how to get more done.
Such a recipe simply does not exist. Physically no one can do everything in time. There are always some things left that you didn’t do, even though you wanted to. Any attempt to increase your speed will only lead you to energy exhaustion or even depression.
Believe me, success is achieved only by those who know what needs to be done Firstly. Therefore, once again carefully re-read all the advice given above.
Of course, they do not exhaust all the tricks that help a person become more effective. If you want to dig deeper, then carefully study how else you can.
For example, the desire to “do more” may hide low self-esteem. Such a person tries to prove to himself and others that he is worth something by the number of things he does. And when he doesn’t succeed, he is not happy with himself. Therefore, he constantly scolds and punishes himself.
Or a person tries to “spin” because he is afraid of stopping. It seems to him that his life will end here, he will lose his strength and energy. As a rule, these are complete people who do not know how to rest at all.
And if your reasons are from this category, then before increasing your productivity, you need take care of yourself, with your self-development. Stop paying attention to other people's opinions, increase your self-confidence and, most importantly, learn to notice all your successes, both big and small. Then you will understand that you can always achieve your goal. To do this, it is not at all necessary to move mountains, because
It is not the one who achieves success
who strives to SUCCEED WITH EVERYTHING.
Assessment test
your productivity
Many people find it difficult to assess their ability to organize the work process. And this is natural. The necessary skills are not given to us from birth. You need to develop them within yourself. But for this you need to know what skills you lack. Then it will be easier to find techniques that will help develop the necessary qualities.
The excellent test “Do you know how to organize your work” will help you with this. This is an 8-page brochure, which, in addition to the test, contains keys to decipher it, as well as an explanation of the results obtained.
This test will allow you to better understand what is preventing you from achieving success, what needs to be changed and what to develop in yourself for this. He
- will show how effectively you can act to solve the assigned tasks;
- will help you determine what you need to do to get better results.
This test is free of charge. I prepared it as a return gift for monetary support of this site. I am constantly asked how people can express gratitude for my work. Just. Buy me a cup of coffee. I love it very much and have a lot of fun. And in return I will thank you with this test.
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Hello everyone, this is Dmitry Pelin, author of the blog “On the Edge”! I can give very simple advice to those people who are puzzled by the problem of how much to accomplish in a day. Today's article will be about time management, although I am not a big proponent of strict time planning. I believe that in life there should be a place for improvisation and some spontaneity. But if you want to know how you can get more things done in a day, read the article below.
But first, I’ll tell you my little story.
How to get more done in a day? This question worries many!
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I conducted a small experiment - for a week I painstakingly wrote down where my time was going. That is, I was interested in resolving the issue “how to get more done in a day?” and I decided to approach his decision pragmatically.
That is, I got up in the morning and did exercises - wrote it down, had breakfast - wrote it down, wrote an article for the website - wrote it down. And so on, with all stops for seven days. After the week was over, I sat down and took stock. Overall, I was pleased with the use of my time, except for two things: I spent a lot of time on social networks, and it took me a long time to collect my thoughts when answering emails.
After such analytics were carried out, I slightly rethought my approach to work processes.
And I came to some conclusions, which will be discussed in this article.
Currently, in the morning I try to do the most important matters today, and I leave work with (social networks and answering emails) for the second half of the day.
When you get up in the morning, your brain is fresh and alert, which means it can solve your most important problems in the most creative and effective way. If you "merge" this is amazing efficiency morning hours in general, useless sitting in contact or Facebook, then in the second half working day, you will have to say to yourself for a long time phrases like “get yourself together, you rag” and hit yourself on the cheeks with flippers. Why do you need it?
Be sure to make a to-do list for tomorrow from the evening of the previous day!
Make it a rule
from the evening of the previous day, make a to-do list for tomorrow, highlighting the most important thing on this list. Let it be one, but one that, having completed it, you will tell yourself that the day was not lived in vain.
And the next day, getting up in the morning, get down to this task. Having completed it, you will feel that the joy of life and energy fills you, you are great, and you can do everything. In a word, this is simple advice -
PS There is also a possibility that your work is related to social media. networks and by email and you need to start your day with just this - there are also subtleties here, we’ll talk about this later.
I hope this short article on the issue helped you “How much can you accomplish in a day?”.
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