5 tips to help you organize the working day
Productivity / / December 23, 2019
1. prioritize
There is a very simple but effective way to distribute their case on the urgency and importance. This scheme, called matrix Eisenhower. She invented Dwight Eisenhower, the US president, General of the US Army and a very productive person.
Dwight D. EisenhowerI have two types of cases: urgent and important. Important rarely urgent and urgent are rarely important.
The Eisenhower matrix divided into four sections. The horizontal axis shows the urgency of the matter, and the vertical - importance. The matrix makes it easy to place all of your tasks into categories: "Non-urgent and unimportant", "urgent but unimportant", "Important and not urgent" or "urgent and important".
Try to distribute priorities the matrix Eisenhower, and you will be surprised how much time is spent on urgent but not important things. For example, the endless messages from colleagues or telephone calls, which only distract you from the urgent tasks.
Spend your time right things. If there is something important and urgent - do it immediately. Important, but not urgent tasks, plan, estimate the approximate time of their performance and decide when you take it. Unimportant but urgent business can be delegated to someone else. Non-urgent and unimportant tasks aside or discard them altogether.
2. Allot time for Deep Work
Venture capitalist Sam Altman once said: "Digital distraction (Digital Distraction) - one of the main psychological problems of our time." Think about it: we check the averageStudy Reveals How Often We Look At Our Phones In A Day our smartphones 50 times a day. And, according to the scientist and writer Cal Newport, this significantly affects our ability to think clearly and creative activity.
In his book "In working with the head. The patterns of success by IT-specialist ", he introduces the concept of" deep work »(Deep Work). This type of work involves complete concentration and immersion in a particular task. No distractions - a maximum effort and concentration. The only way you can really perform complex tasks with due quality.
Newport cites the example of the tactics used by his colleague, Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Adam Grant. He devotes the fall semester of teaching, and the spring and summer - Research and never mix these two tasks. During intense research professor exposes himself completely isolated, so that students do not interfere with him.
It is likely that you can not go the same way and for a few months to escape from a source of irritation. Do not despair: not necessarily sink into the "deep work" for the whole semester. Newport offers make your own schedule, focusing on your personal preferences.
Decide what time you feel most burst of energy and care, and perform the most complex jobs at a time, turning off at the same time abandoning the smartphone and email checks. For example, he begins to Newport to work early in the morning, but never do it after 17.30.
3. Assess the time for meetings
Paul Graham, co-founder of a startup incubator Y Combinator, He speaksThat there are two kinds of work schedules: schedule "Manager" and the schedule of "creator."
The first option - for organizers and chiefs. According to them, working time control easy. It is necessary to divide the day at hourly intervals. And when there is a new task, you simply allot to it a couple of hours, tagging it to the organizer. Thus, if the "manager" to assign time for a business meeting or brainstormingHe looks at his calendar, is unoccupied hour and collects their colleagues.
But for the "creators" such meetings, even planned in advance - a catastrophe. After all, creative people, programmers, writers or artists, do not share your calendar as "managers." To perform the tasks they usually have to use half a day at least, and in one hour they are in the best case, only heated. And when you have to break off and go to a meeting with colleagues, they fall out of his rhythm and then return to the task it is very difficult in the midst of work, "the Creator".
Paul GrahamSchedule "manager" and schedule "creator" by themselves work fine. But when they intersect, the problems begin.
Therefore, if you are a manager, find out in advance from their subordinates, when it is better to organize joint meetings so as not to tear people away from work in the most inopportune moments.
4. Monitor your energy consumption
By Tony Schwartz and Jim Loher in his book "Life is full of power!" Argue that the main resource for the productive worker is not the time and the energy. You can spend a whole day to perform a complex task, but if you do not have enough physical and mental strength, you will stagnate and nothing useful and do not do. But when you have enough internal energy, you will be able to deal with the difficult matter of a few hours, and to dedicate something simpler rest of the day.
Schwartz and Loher are four types of energy: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. And if some of them you will be missed, productivity fall.
- physical energy directly affects your ability to react to the surrounding area and make the right decisions. The lack of this resource is associated with a poor diet, lack of sleep and fatigue.
- emotional energy It affects the ability to properly manage their emotions in stressful situations.
- mental energy It allows you to focus on one task and not be distracted. A man with a large supply of it can focus even in a stressful situation, when all around and strive to distract him.
- spiritual energy It allows you to see the purpose in their work, in order to maintain motivation. It serves as fuel for the enthusiasm, perseverance and commitment.
To support all four indicators at the appropriate level, eat properly, get enough sleep and exercise (exercise stimulates brain activity). And use a simple receptions to replenish energy.
Tony SchwartzLife - this is not a marathon. Life - is a series of sprints.
A good method is to alternate work with full immersion and short breaks - Pomodoro techniqueWhich is ideally placed on the concept of Deep Work Cal Newport. The principle is simple: measured 25 minutes timer and doing one important task all the time with no distractions. Then - a break for 5 minutes. During this time we fill energy. Then repeating the cycle four more times and taking a big break for 20 minutes.
5. Eat frogs for breakfast
All ever happens that you come across any problem that you need to perform, but to do so scary is not desirable. You start it set aside, and as the deadline approached it all stronger hangs over you, distracting from other things and making you feel once again.
Popular writer Brian Tracy call such tasks "frogs." He recommends not to postpone them for later, and carry out as soon as possible.
Mark TwainIf in the morning to eat a frog, the remainder of the day is going to be wonderful, because the worst is over for today.
Getting rid of the complex tasksYou will feel satisfied, get a charge of positive energy for the rest of the day and you can with a clear conscience to the next item on your list.
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see also🧐
- How successful leaders spend time
- Why work for 8 hours does not make sense and how to organize your day
- 50 tips for productive work