What is the most important question in time management. Time management: concept, basic rules, principles of time management. What is time management or time management

Sow a thought and reap an act; sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character, sow a character and reap a destiny.

W. Thackeray

Time management or time management is a very important skill that every leader, every parent and, in general, every adult who wants to achieve certain results in his life should own.

catastrophic lack of time personal life and family - this is faced by practically those who do not know how to competently dispose of it. In pursuit of achievements, a person is faced with fatigue, stress and apathy. How to manage time? How to correctly structure the day in order to manage not only everything that is necessary, but also everything that you want?

Time management is a method of proper time management that allows you to increase the productivity and productivity of a person. It includes 3 key points:

1. Smart prioritization.
2. Allocation of resources that will be required to achieve the goals.
3. Workflow optimization.

Even thanks to the basics of time management, you can learn to manage not only working time, but also pay attention to your family, do hobbies and self-development, and just stop for a moment and have fun.

Technique allows not only to competently carry out tasks, but also to do what you love.

Time management principles

The ambitions of some people are limitless, but their own resources are always limited. Time management helps to properly organize and plan time, correctly prioritizing, isolating the important and paramount, discarding the non-urgent or optional.

It should be emphasized that in order to apply the basic principles of time management in practice, it is necessary to abandon the illusions about your organization. If only a person believes that he is capable of doing everything in the world, he is doomed to failure. But if he knows how to adequately assess his capabilities and knows that there are only 24 hours in a day (plus he needs time to sleep and rest!) - he will be able to increase his productivity.

Time management and simple ways Time management can be used as an individual or collective skill. To organize teamwork, you first need to figure out your motives and plans, and then help other people do it. But not vice versa!

Proper goal setting

Most people do not know how to properly set a goal. As a result, activity decreases and motivation disappears. Above all, the goal must be clear, time-bound and achievable. Without these criteria, it becomes just a desire of a person and eventually ceases to motivate.

Vilfredo Pareto Principle

The principle of Vilfredo Pareto in time management is to determine life priorities. In other words, this principle is also called the law of 20 to 80. Its meaning is that if a person needs to achieve his goals, then 80% of the result will depend on 20% of actions. What these actions will be, everyone decides for himself.

Rational approach to habits

The principle implies the development of correct and useful habits. They contribute to the implementation of all the tasks planned for the day. Experts have proven that 3 weeks is enough to instill a good habit.

A healthy, fit and strong body is not a whim of rich people, but an urgent need, a tool with which they can cope with high level stress, live in a fast pace and solve really difficult problems.

Tell me what your plan is and I'll tell you who you are

It is simply impossible to competently manage both your work and personal time without daily planning. It should be understood as a list of tasks that need to be done in a day.

To do this, a person needs to make a plan every evening for the next day, and in the evening to sum up. It is also convenient to use weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual planning for work. There are those who like to make plans for the longer term. The traditional tool for effective planning is considered to be a diary, but in addition to it, you can use mobile applications, numerous computer programs or even serifs on the wall of a prison cell.

From the experience of businessmen and managers, we can say that there is no fundamental difference between paper or electronic task planners. But there is a difference between those who can and those who cannot create a realistic plan.

Failure, slowdown in the work process and loss of motivation will certainly be faced by those who are dishonest with themselves. Before including any item in your task schedule, you should carefully listen to yourself and realize your motives. Being at peace with yourself is just as important as being productive.

Time management rules

None of the methods is considered universal, which will suit absolutely everyone, even time management. However, following the rules of time management helps to create your own individual time management system, which will take into account the characteristics and needs of a person.

Basic Rules:

1. Personal time should be planned taking into account not only objective factors, but also subjective ones, such as mood. Having inspiration for any kind of work is important not only for representatives of creative professions, but also for everyone who wants to feel happy, not depressed and devastated.
2. If there are a lot of tasks on the to-do list for the day, it is imperative to prioritize in order to eliminate pangs of conscience as soon as possible. After urgent matters are done, you can either continue to act according to the plan, or transfer the rest to another day. Not a single person is able to be flawless around the clock and not rest.
3. The use of the Pareto principle in life will help a lot in proper time management. It is necessary to find those 20% that are most important.
4. A person who wants to change his life in better side, you should carry a to-do list with you at all times and check it regularly so as not to miss important points.
5. When compiling a to-do list, it is necessary to take into account individual biorhythms, because each person has peaks of activity different time. In general, the endocrine system works in such a way that difficult things are easiest to do before 12 noon. But long-term habits, such as years of experience working at night, also need to be considered.
6. You should never work in fragments, if you take on one thing, it is better to bring it to the end and only then proceed to another. Focusing on several tasks at once is much more difficult than focusing on one.
7. It is necessary to constantly motivate yourself, but in no case do not force it. Motivation must be positive. The promise of pleasure, reward, or relief works better than pressure, coercion, or blackmail.
8. If the task takes no more than 10 minutes to complete, it should be completed immediately, without postponing it for later.
9. All planned activities should be doable and fairly simple. A big task needs to be divided into many simpler and more understandable stages.

All rules must be adjusted according to the situation, considered as useful advice, and not as an axiom. After a while, planning your time will become a pleasant habit.

The to-do list, according to psychologists, is best compiled in the present tense and in the first person. Such a trick will motivate to action.

How does time management affect life?

Time management in life allows you to realize more in a short time creative projects, earn more money and get more satisfaction.

Modern time management techniques are distinguished by flexibility and permission to rest, because specialists have long abandoned the hard motivation of themselves or other people. Permission to rest, paradoxically, increases a person's performance, helps to gain a fresh look at tasks and achieve their goal in a faster and more inventive way.

Applying the rules of time management in life gives more awareness in daily affairs, allows you to see what minutes, days and years are spent on, to sum up some results of your actions.

Using even the basic methods of time management, a person will soon begin to notice how life is changing. In addition, the state of health will improve markedly, as there will be more time for rest.

Conflicting motives

From the point of view of psychology, there are different views on the problem of motivation and organization of time. But all professionals one way or another recommend that you first deal with motivation, and only after that start drawing up a plan.

When embarking on a project or task, it is helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

1. Why do I need it? What exactly do I want from this case? Usually people want simple and understandable things: money, pleasure, increased self-esteem. In addition, they want to take care of other people, their subordinates, colleagues, children and relatives. Understanding the motive will help you prioritize.
2. Is there anything in this task that is difficult for me to do? Is there something that irritates me, embarrasses me, repels me, that causes anger or any other unpleasant feeling? Answering this question, a person will understand what state will sabotage his activities, put spokes in wheels and arrange unpleasant surprises. It is not necessary to do something with the feeling that was discovered, but it is necessary to name it and notice it in oneself.
3. After such a simplified analysis of your motivation, you can draw up a plan in any form, prescribe realistic deadlines, and take action at the appointed time.

Looking at successful people, it's hard to imagine that they, too, are dealing with a conflict between fear and desire, between insecurity and aspiration. It seems that these people are whole and purposeful, and I do not know any doubts and worries.

This is wrong. Anyone who starts doing something challenging, new, or responsible is bound to feel a crisis of motivation at some point. To cope with this, and return to the project, introspection or consultation with a psychologist will help.

Many of our contemporaries strive for hyper-productivity.

Surely, you know people who scurry from task to task, constantly checking e-mail, organizing something, calling somewhere, running errands, etc.

The people who do this often share the notion that "keep busy" means you work hard and become more and more successful.

Such a belief can only be true to a certain extent, and it often leads to mindless “productivity,” that is, a constant need to do something and a tendency to waste time on small tasks. But it's better to take a different approach.

Work smarter, not harder

The old adage says to work smarter, not harder. This statement should be taken as the basis for approaching work of any kind.

Instead of a robotic approach to problem solving, you need to ask yourself what can be done more rationally or completely excluded from the to-do list.

By effectively managing your time, you don't wonder how you can get more tasks done in a day, but you try to simplify and speed up the process in order to avoid overexertion.

It's about making room in your life to relax and have fun.

There are indeed enough hours in the day to do whatever you want, but this time needs to be identified.

We hope this list of 21 tips will nudge you in the right direction.

Remember that there are countless tricks and tricks to plan your time effectively. We find these tips helpful, although you may have your own opinion on the matter.

Let this list serve as a catalyst for you to regularly think about ways to increase your own productivity.

1. The main attention to the main things.

Do the most important tasks first. This Golden Rule time management. Each day, identify two or three tasks that are in priority and do them first.

Once you complete them, the day can already be considered successful. Move on to other things or postpone the rest for another day, because you have already done the most important things.

2. Learn to say no.

Solving a large number of tasks in a limited time can teach you how to juggle various projects and manage your time. And it's excellent.

3. Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.

Some people think sacrificing sleep is good way increase productivity and free up a couple of extra hours in a day. But this is not the case.

Most of us need 7-8 hours of sleep for both body and mind to function optimally. You will feel it, listen to your body. Don't underestimate the importance of sleep.

4. Concentrate fully on the task at hand.

Close all other browser windows. Put your phone in silent mode out of sight. Find a quiet, private place to work, or turn on music if it helps (I sometimes like to listen to classical music or nature sounds, for example).

Concentrate on one single task, immerse yourself in it. Nothing else should exist at this moment.

5. Start early.

Almost all of us suffer from procrastination syndrome. It seems that the task is so simple that you always have time to complete it and end up wasting time.

Get rid of chronic procrastination, as it is much more pleasant to avoid overexertion by completing planned tasks in advance. It's not that difficult, your strong determination is enough.

6. Don't get distracted by minor details.

We often drag out projects by dwelling on small details for too long. This is typical for perfectionists.

But it is much more effective to move forward, to complete a larger scope of the project, discarding the previous desire to constantly go deep into something. It is better to complete everything as soon as possible, and at the end to revise individual points.

7. Make regular tasks a habit.

If you have regular responsibilities (such as writing articles for your own blog, etc.) you can plan them out and make them a habit. Do this daily and don't change your routine, then your brain will be disciplined and the activity will turn into a habit. It becomes quite natural and pleasant. Try it!

8. Control the amount of time spent on TV / Internet / games.

Time spent on social media, gaming or watching TV can and should be monitored. Try to determine for yourself the number of hours spent on the listed activities. As a rule, they distract you much more than you would like.

9. Set a time limit for each task.

Instead of just sitting on a project thinking: “I will sit here until everything is done” try to rephrase: "I will work on this assignment for three hours".

Being limited in time will push you to focus and be more efficient, even if you come back and refine a little later.

10. Leave a time gap between tasks.

As we rush from task to task, it's hard for us to evaluate our actions and stay focused and motivated.

Taking a break between tasks can be a breath of fresh air for our brains. You can take a short walk, meditate, or do something else for mental relief.

11. Don't think about the totality of your to-do list.

One of the surest ways to overwhelm yourself is to think about the enormity of your to-do list. No matter how much you think about it, it will not become shorter.

At a particular moment in time, you need to focus on one thing. This is one and only task. Do everything step by step. Keep calm.

12. Exercise and nutrition.

Numerous studies have linked labor productivity to in a healthy way life. Getting enough sleep, exercising, and eating healthy will boost your energy levels, clear your mind, and make you more focused.

13. Do less.

« Do less" is another way of saying " do what matters most". This tactic again involves focusing on the things that matter most.

Stop, prioritize tasks, and pay attention to them. Do fewer things, but they should be prioritized and of more value than the rest.

14. Use the weekend, but don't overdo it.

If you think about it, you will be surprised to find how much you can reduce the load during the week by working a little on the weekend. Only 2-4 hours a day. Your leisure time will hardly suffer.

15. Systematize the process.

Being organized will save you a lot of time, and you don't have to be the most organized person in the world to do it. Organizing your work is not difficult at all.

Create a system in document registration. Make sure all items are stored properly. Unsubscribe from unwanted emails and unload your email. Optimize, streamline and streamline.

16. Fill free time.

As a rule, everyone has unfilled time. These are the hours spent in waiting rooms, in grocery lines, public transport, on elliptical trainers, etc.
Find things you can do while doing it. Most often, reading will do, and don't forget about audiobooks to listen to while you wait.

17. Isolate yourself.

No distractions, no excuses. Sometimes the only way to do something is to lock yourself in your room. Isolation helps a lot.

18. Stick to a plan of action.

In part, we mentioned this, but it will not be superfluous to repeat. Don't deviate from your plan!

Resolutely stick to the planned cases, be a professional and go to the end. A strong will and steadfastness will lead you to your intended goal.

19. Do related tasks together.

Let's say that over the weekend you need to complete two programming assignments, write three essays, and shoot two videos. Instead of taking on work spontaneously, identify groups of similar tasks and do them sequentially.

Different tasks require different types of thinking, so it makes sense to let your brain keep doing it. typical tasks, and not switch once again to something else.

20. Find time for silence.

IN modern world too many people are constantly on the move and don't take the time to just stop. However, the practice of silence has an amazing effect. Both action and inaction must play a key role in our lives.

Hello, friends! Dmitry Shaposhnikov is in touch.

In my opinion modern successful man inevitably collides with the concept of "time management". Everyone, to one degree or another, felt the lack of time, the pressure of deadlines, experienced stress from the forced haste.

After reading the article, you will learn the most important thing about time management, get acquainted with the basic concepts of successful time management. All this is accompanied by my examples and comments. I hope that studying this topic will be useful, interesting and exciting for you!

Let's start, friends!

1. What is time management - definition and history of occurrence

Direct translation of this term Time Management» from English – « time management". It is clear that in literally time management is impossible: the real function of time management is to use the time of your life with maximum efficiency.

The most accurate definition of time management is:

Time management- this is accounting, distribution and operational planning of own time resources.

Another definition.

Time management- this is a scientific approach to the organization of time and increasing the effect of its use.

The motto of a professional time manager:

Work less, do well more!

People who are able to manage their own time productively live richer and more productive lives. full life do their job with minimal time investment.

By managing our time, we have more living space: it becomes more real to be able to do what we really like.

Considering what an emergency he lives in modern man, the issue of time resource management is becoming increasingly relevant, if not vital. A well-developed time management skill increases personal efficiency at times. I figured this out 12 years ago.

Time management allows you to organize work and personal time during the day (week, month) in order to manage to do all the important and necessary things without being distracted by secondary or extraneous issues and problems.

Effective planning allows you to release colossal resources of time for a rich and fulfilling life. According to professionals, the size of such resources is calculated in years and decades.

History of time management

The scientific approach to the organization of time is not a new problem. The history of time management is rooted in the distant past.

Even 2000 years ago in Ancient Rome the famous thinker Seneca suggested dividing all time into useful, that is, good, bad and useless.

Seneca also began to keep a permanent record of time in writing. The thinker said that while living a certain period of time, it is necessary to evaluate it in terms of occupancy.

In the subsequent history of time management, these ideas formed the basis of such a concept as “personal effectiveness”.

Alberti, a writer and Italian scholar who lived in the 15th century, said that those who know how to manage time usefully will always be successful.

To do this, he proposed to use two rules:

1. Make a to-do list every morning.
2. Arrange things in decreasing order of importance.

For many centuries, all these principles existed only in a theoretical form, and only since the 80s of the last century. this topic began to move from theory to practice.

Time management is necessary not only for executives and business owners: each of us must be able to manage our own assets in order to enjoy the process of life to the fullest.

Of course, not everyone needs time management. If a person has nothing to do in his life, and his main task is to “kill time”, then time management for such a person is an irrelevant and unnecessary discipline.

In other words, you should first decide whether you really do not have enough time and where you would like to put your free minutes, hours and days when they appear.

Time management consists of several components:

• strict timing;
• optimization of time resources;
• planning of the day (week, month or other period of time);
• organization of motivation.

Time management is important not only for work: people who comprehend the art of time management are more cheerful, healthy and successful in their professional and personal lives.

Effective time management allows you to comprehend all your actions and decisions in terms of their expediency for your own development and improvement.

2. Myths about time management - 3 main misconceptions

There are a number of social stereotypes and misconceptions about time management.

Some believe that time management is needed solely for work, that in Russia this discipline is ineffective due to the peculiarities of the national mentality, that life strictly according to plan turns a person into a robot and deprives him of free will.

All these myths are not consistent: below I will try to debunk them completely.

Myth 1. Nobody can control time.

The statement is correct in form, but false in content. Time Management Is Really Impossible (unless, of course, you are the inventor of the time machine). No one is able to slow down its objective course, speed it up or stop it even for a moment.

But one can do the following : manage yourself, your decisions and actions over time, and engage in prioritization. This is what time management practitioners talk about - about managing your own life.

A reasonable and pragmatic approach to your actions is time management: you will be surprised how many minutes and hours are released as soon as you begin to act more deliberately and consciously.

Remember that everything successful people, regardless of the type of their activity, plan their affairs and act with maximum productivity. At the same time, they work about the same as ordinary people but they always manage to do more.

Their secret is that in a unit of time they manage to do large quantity affairs, which ultimately affects their life outcomes.

Myth 2: Time management will make me work harder and harder.

Working hard and getting tired, neglecting rest is a direct path to overwork and depression. It is necessary to constantly strive to reduce the amount of work while increasing efficiency. How to do it? In short, to act strictly according to the plan and be able to separate the secondary from the main.

Effective use of time management methods does not mean doing more or increasing productivity at the expense of the speed of work.

We are talking about increasing personal productivity through the elimination of unnecessary tasks and the elimination of the so-called "time wasters" or "chronophages".

The category of chronophages includes hundreds of meaningless and small things that we do during the day, without even thinking about their expediency: frequent checking of mail, communication and viewing news on social networks, conversations with colleagues devoid of meaning.

A person’s commitment to things that are distracted from the main task is partly due to procrastination - the desire to postpone important and necessary events “until better times”.

However, if you discard reflection and recognize for yourself the importance and significance of current tasks, you will have neither the strength nor the desire to be distracted by extraneous matters.

Myth 3. Using time management will turn me into a robot that will do everything on schedule, deprive me of freedom and choice.

People are afraid to turn into robots, but in fact they are already robots, as well as slaves to their own psycho-emotional habits and behavior patterns.

Time management does not limit our freedom, but rather creates it.

Time management is necessary not only for office workers, executives and managers: managing the main resource of life - your own time - is necessary for everyone who takes himself responsibly and seriously.

A practical criterion for the need to implement the principles of time management in life is the presence 4 or more cases in the plan for the current day (not only professional, but also personal affairs are taken into account). This is necessary for businessmen, and freelance artists, and housewives.

• How and why in time management it is advised to divide cases into “hard” and “flexible”.
• Why do you need to set specific long-term goals?
• How to force yourself to do laborious (big and long) things.
• Working time planning: how to keep your ability to work at the same level.
• What time management program is the CEO of MC-Bauchemie Russia.

Time management can be compared with physical exercises: you need to increase the load gradually, and train constantly. The more regular the classes, the better the physical form. Therefore, the ideal option for introducing a time management program into your life is step by step, day by day, mastering the techniques.

You can often hear from business owners that they are so busy that they simply do not have time to plan time. This creates a certain vicious circle A: no time to manage time. To solve this problem, you need to understand: spending 25 minutes today planning tomorrow is not a waste, but an investment. By planning your day tomorrow, you will be able to set aside time to solve your main tasks, so you don’t need to put off learning time management and wait for a more favorable moment: it is unlikely to come soon.

Time management: program for the week

Working time planning

Planning is the basis of effective work. It is time management (working time planning) that becomes the basis for organizing your affairs. Most people expect many different tasks every day, some of which must be completed in a very short time, while others can wait. Organizing these cases into a convenient and efficient system becomes the basic principle of planning your time.

I recommend on the eve of the working week, on Sunday, to divide the planned cases for Monday into the categories of “hard” and “flexible”. Rigid ones have a certain time reference (for example, a meeting at 14:00), while flexible ones have a deadline (“preparation of a report by Friday”). To organize this scheme, it is better to use the following principle. In your planner or diary, you should divide the page vertically in half - along the line on the left we list our “hard” tasks, on the right side - “flexible”, without linking the latter to a specific time. Thanks to the distribution of your day in this way, it will be possible to see that there is an interval of time between “hard” tasks that can be devoted to “flexible” tasks.

Such time management will allow you to get the whole picture of the upcoming day - a person gains confidence that he adheres to the planned, effective scheme. No need to worry if there are violations in your plan - because life always makes adjustments. You just need to adapt to the circumstances by making the necessary changes to your plan. It is also important to take into account that it is unrealistic to "hard" plan more than 40-60% of working time. The more flexible the day, the better.

I recommend planning your next day the day before - in the evening of the previous day. In the morning you will feel much more comfortable. Be sure to include in your list of "flexible" cases - "make an action plan for the next day."

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Principles of time management and prioritization

After practicing on Monday, in drawing up the technique for planning your “hard” and “flexible” cases, you should move on to new stage time management - given the priority of their plans. Quite often, the compilation of a list of "flexible" cases is quite chaotic - urgent tasks are listed at the end, and secondary plans are placed at the top. This approach is sure to lead to confusion in the implementation of their plans for the next day.

To avoid this problem, list cases based on their importance. Priorities are set based on certain criteria. For example, if the task is set by the owner of the business, it will be necessary to immediately solve it. If the case is not related to their professional duties, then it can wait. The list of such criteria for each person will be individual - you need to think through them first.

On Tuesday morning, we prioritize our “flexible” cases. Various techniques can be used for this. For example, we arrange things on our list in accordance with the priority of tasks, or we color the graphs in different colors that correspond to a certain degree of importance. The most important tasks can be displayed in red, less significant ones in yellow, tasks that can wait in green.

This approach allows you to achieve detailed planning of your day. But it is worth understanding, in detail - does not mean every minute. It’s just that you will know what you have to do tomorrow, where you will need to start, how to finish - the whole day has already been planned.

Goal-setting and "memoir"

Goal setting is an important time management technique in terms of organizing working time and in philosophical terms. After all, life is given once, so it must be devoted to the most important. This requires the ability to plan and set goals. However, some caution is needed - do not get too carried away with fashion trends. For example, at our seminars, many participants noted that in the near future (5-10 years) they set themselves approximately the same goals - a delightful, snow-white office, many subordinates and the best car. Of course, such dreams cannot be called bad, but often a person cannot answer the question - what exactly does he do, which will allow him to achieve such well-being, an office and a car?

Therefore, it is recommended to keep a “memoir” (for example, a separate file on a computer or a notebook, it all depends on personal preferences). Indicate in it every evening the key event of the past day, and at the end of the week - we already determine the keyword of the week, then the month. Only one specific event should be selected - positive or negative, related to work or other areas. The main condition must be really key. You should start your "memoir" from Wednesday. But before that, you need to write down your goals for a certain period - for example, for 1, 2 or 10 years. Then we conduct a periodic analysis of our "memoir". This will help you understand key interests. own life- something that really belongs to the category of importance. Accordingly, it will be possible to assess the correctness of your movement towards the goal. Either it can be revealed that you are only moving away from your goal, or it turned out to be completely unnecessary. In my practice, every day I look at the records that were made on the same day, but in previous years I manage to compare and analyze my own values ​​​​and the changes that have occurred to them.

You will be taught how to effectively manage time and energy.

Time management and long-term goals

When you understand your priorities and your vision for the future, you can talk about your readiness to take the next step - a map of long-term goals. The map shows a person's long-term goals as follows. 2 axes are placed horizontally - years (starting from the current one) and the age of a person. Key areas are indicated vertically (family relations, career, personal development, etc.). You should indicate approximate targets at the intersection of your years and key areas. An important advantage of compiling such a map is the integration of professional and personal goals in a common plan.

Of course, certain changes to your map are periodically possible. However, thanks to it, an approximate sketch of the future is possible, depicting your approximate route for the further path. Therefore, already this Thursday we are drawing our first map of long-term goals.

How to master time management in a week (instruction)

"Elephants" and "frogs"

We already have a plan of action and a list of goals at our disposal, so on Friday we begin to think through the necessary motivation to achieve our goals. To draw up such a plan, we can recommend a fairly simple technique based on the conditional division of your tasks into “frogs” and “elephants”.

"Elephants" - any difficult, voluminous things that still need to be done (conditionally "eat"). Initially, it may seem that “eating such an elephant” is simply impossible. But... the elephant can be cut into pieces to make many small "steaks" for your daily menu. The task is similar with complex, voluminous tasks - which are completely divided into components, which can be dealt with separately. For example, at the end of the year there is a need to draw up an annual report. We have a truly large-scale work ahead - with the search for complex materials, organization of activities, etc. We need to divide the overall complex task into separate parts - for example, write 3 paragraphs daily or describe a separate topic. Thanks to this, it will be possible to cope with the preparation of the report on time without constant worries and stress. Experience confirms that thanks to this approach, it is possible to solve complex problems faster, spending less effort.

The situation is similar with “eating frogs”. The term "frog" implies a small but unpleasant matter. Although there is no choice - it is necessary to fulfill it. Such a “frog” may well become an “elephant” over time, if you do not “eat” it in a timely manner. For example, you need to express dissatisfaction with advance reports or disassemble the bottom drawers of your desk. With proper organization, "frogs" also become delicious "steaks", into which we divided the "elephants". To use this technique in practice, we take the “elephant”, which we divide into parts. Then we indicate the list of "frogs" and draw up all this information in the following table.

On the left side, all the "steaks" and "frogs" for each day are indicated. On the right side, the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of these goals is indicated. If a certain work was not expected that day, leave an empty space. If it was supposed, but it was not possible to fulfill it, you need to put a dash. When fulfilling a specific goal, you need to put a plus or a tick. No need to be upset because of your dashes, but still - if there are a lot of them in a certain column, then you should think about it and get down to business. We place this table in a conspicuous place or in our diary. It is important that you see your chart several times a day - not forgetting your goals and for extra motivation.

Rhythm in rest and resource activities

The work week ends with the weekend. You can relax and get acquainted with more pleasant, suitable time management techniques for the competent and complete organization of your vacation. On Saturday this week, 2 time management techniques can be recommended.

Rhythm in rest. A person cannot concentrate his attention on one subject for more than 40 (rarely 80) minutes. Therefore, you should give yourself a rest for 5 minutes about once an hour. For example, while reading a book or viewing business magazines that have accumulated over this working week, you need to get a rest every hour - being in silence, taking a walk, etc. This experience can be adopted from next week for the workplace.

Resource classes. They are able to revitalize or soothe (switching as much as possible, contributing to a more effective and speedy rest). For example, some prefer to walk up the stairs from the 1st floor to the last and back, others embroider crosses, others take a break while enjoying coffee with rum. Here it is important for a person to decide on a suitable occupation that contributes to the most effective restoration of internal energy. The effectiveness of restoring one's working capacity also depends on the quality of rest. You can devote the whole Saturday to walking and relaxing in the park or a trip to the entertainment center with the whole family. You should consider what resource activities you can include in your work schedule next week.

Treat yourself and the time management system is ready

Sunday is a great day to congratulate yourself on a successful week-long course, thanks to which you managed to set up your time management system. It doesn't hurt to pamper yourself a little. To do this, you can adhere to the technique of intermediate joys. Choose something especially pleasant for yourself - that you love, but you can't afford on a daily basis. For example, supplement your diet with something expensive and tasty by visiting your favorite places, chat with people dear to you, sunbathe, spend time in nature, just giving an hour of idleness, etc. Such joys are established for yourself for a certain amount of work. Use this chart to plan your working day, week, or even year. To do this, you can make a table - indicating the reward for your achievements. There is additional motivation, work becomes much more interesting. At the end of Sunday, you need to make a plan for working time for Monday, based on the time management techniques we have discussed.

• Labor productivity: how to achieve its increase ​

Myths about time management

1. "Time management was not invented for Russians." Time management was invented for business and success - if this is important for Russians, then time planning is necessary.
2. We are not in control of time. Yes, a person cannot manage time, but planning for its use is available to us. Therefore, many managers have been able to appreciate the benefits of time management for planning their lives.
3. When working with time management, you will have to spend your whole life on a schedule, without the right to choose. No, time management is not designed for this - you can always change your plans. Time management and created for freedom, with the ability to choose what to do.
4. Time management is absolutely not suitable for creative individuals. Experience confirms the effectiveness of time management for creative people. For example, until you write music in anticipation of a muse. Instead of planning for the muse to knock on the door tomorrow from 7.30 to 9.30, it's better to plan - compose a few verses within the next 2 weeks or complete the picture before the end of the year.
5. "Time management is very difficult." Yes, there are certain subtleties - but our material is quite simple techniques will allow you to master valuable science - by investing in your success.
6. For success in life, you need not plan, but work, without breaks and days off. To work effectively and pleasantly, you need a good rest. Time management techniques help to free up time for rest and freedom.

CEO speaking

Alexander Mondrus, General Director of MC-BauchemieRussia, St. Petersburg

I was able to master time management quite easily. When he began to engage in these areas, he corresponded with my ideas and plans to find additional time resources. I really needed better time management. In addition, by nature I am a rather systematic person - therefore, I quite normally accepted the idea of ​​keeping timekeeping, cost analysis and drawing up various tables.

It took me about 2 months to master the basic time management techniques - setting priorities and timing. Thanks to them, I was able to understand what time is. I started to feel much better. At that time, he began working as a manager in a new company, so he had every opportunity to practice his skills in a work team. I began to actively involve almost all top managers in the development of this technique, they have already connected their employees. All these factors allowed me to get acquainted with various methods of time management in a complex and harmonious way.

In my business, I actively work with various by electronic means communications. In particular, I plan things using the Microsoft Outlook program - its functionality supports a lot, including prioritization, dividing goals into “hard” and “flexible”, allows you to color things in different colors, etc. My position also involves working with paper media, therefore, to control these tasks, he formed his own system, introducing a number of improvements for the solutions of Gleb Arkhangelsky.

He brought a thick notebook for each leader. During the meeting, I record abstracts, notes, tasks, etc. in this notebook. After the meeting, I pass the notebook to the secretary, who enters the data in the form of tasks or upcoming meetings in Outlook. And already on Outlook, I follow the further progress of work. Convenience of working with a notebook - during the meeting, you can view the entire history of a particular issue (in this regard, electronic media are inconvenient). But Outlook is much more convenient for managing.

Placed in my reception drawers with drawers - they contain documents for signature. They are grouped into transparent flexible folders, each with the name of a specific department. Also, the company has a procedure for preparing for signature - with improvement and addition every six months. The duties of the secretary include control over the submission of all documents in accordance with the approved regulations. And there are incentives for compliance with the regulations, although there were some symbolic punishments. For example, a document not prepared for signing will cost 3 kg. green apples. At the reception, we placed a large vase with apples - indicating the inscription "Today you are treated to such and such." If the established rule is violated, a person will need to hand over money to buy apples.

When planning my day, I try to reserve time for uncertain circumstances. Because there is always something going on anyway. Although planned are 80-90% of the working time. Such a rigid schedule provides me with important advantages, although it is not without its drawbacks. me personally this system to his liking, although he is forced to remain her hostage. If something is set for a specific time (plans are linked to a large number people), making changes to your schedule will be quite problematic. A situation from practice - we are looking for suppliers, but it turned out that two hours of presentation are not enough for us, we need at least two more. But the next “window” is planned only after a month.

Though I manage to decide a large number of various tasks as time becomes available, rather than within fixed deadlines. For example, during a trip around the city, you can also solve other issues by phone - thanks to the driver, I can solve additional problems.

Thanks to time management, there was also time for personal life. When planning my year, I always start with personal plans and family - I set the date of the vacation, which I discuss with my wife, I set aside time for my favorite activities, communication with my son. When drawing up the schedule, I try to take into account work events, the dates of which I know in advance. Therefore, I do not plan my personal affairs for this period. Although the work events that appeared in the future will not take away my planned time for personal purposes and family.

7 rules of time management

1. Imagine that today is your last day. Unusual, but quite appropriate rule. Just ask yourself the question - "what would I do if I knew - today is the last day of my life." You should think about this question before going to bed and in the morning after waking up.
2. Filter information. To avoid oversaturation of the brain with a lot of unnecessary information, without wasting too much time, learn to choose the most useful, necessary, and try to weed out the unnecessary. For example, learn to skim through the information on the site, focusing only on the most important.
3. Eliminate "time wasters" from your life. Probably the very first problem that interferes with full control and efficient use of time. Minimize your time spent on social media, skype or email. For the duration of a useful task, it will be useful to turn off everything that distracts attention. You should also keep a separate diary with an indication of all useless activities that take up your time, but do not bring you closer to your goal.
4. Focus from start to finish on one task. After all, being distracted by several tasks worsens the effectiveness of your task. No need to dissipate attention and effort, switching to a new task before the previous one is completed.
5. Keep your desktop in order. Rich people always work at a clean desk - both comfortably and save time searching for everything you need.
6. Say "NO" more often. You need to learn to refuse certain people, tasks, etc., if they require your time, but are not useful.
7. Work at certain times. By carefully observing yourself, you can determine your appropriate biorhythms during the day when you work most efficiently.

Useful books on time management

1. Lucy Jo Palladino. Maximum concentration. How to maintain efficiency in the era of clip thinking. M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2015. - 336 p. St. Petersburg, 2015. - 288 p.
2. Nikolay Mrochkovsky, Alexey Tolkachev. Extreme time management. 3rd edition. Alpina Publisher, 2015. - 2014 p.

Mistakes of people who seek to manage time

1. Taking on too much. You can and should improve your abilities, but you need to know when to stop. At some point, the number of tasks may be too large, provoking stress and conflict. To prevent this problem, you can:

• ask for help. You need to be able to overpower yourself and ask for help when needed.
• use the 80/20 rule. Determine the list of the main tasks, it is on them that the bulk of the time and effort should fall.

2. Complicate the time management system. Sometimes the time management system is too complicated. If it brings results, great. Otherwise, when inefficient waste of time arises, it is worth considering changes. Consider simplifying and streamlining your time management system so you don't spend half your time managing it.

3. Busy but inefficient. Spending a lot of time on useless, low priority tasks serious problem. Among the ways to deal with this error is to ask the question “Will what I do benefit?”. If the answer is no, you should think about solving more useful tasks. This question is perfect as a screensaver on a computer, or you can print it on paper and place it in a conspicuous place.

4. Don't rest. The human body has a limit, non-stop work will not work. You can, of course, work for a very long time without a break, but there is no point in this - the efficiency is gradually decreasing. If you are tired, then do not forget to take breaks - reward yourself for work with a walk, moments of relaxation or delicious food. To determine when exactly you need a rest, you should experiment. It is important to find a personal balance between leisure and work. And don't be afraid to give yourself the opportunity to rest when you really need it.

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The pace of life of the majority modern people difficult to call measured or calm. This is a constant lack of time and emergency work, a regular stay in a state where it is not clear what work to grab right now. All this negatively affects not only the emotional state, but also personal productivity. Only time management will help solve such problems and organize time in such a way that it becomes possible to live a full life, and not be limited to eternal chores.

According to psychologists, even with a “catastrophic shortage of time”, there is a way out.

Existing time management tools help to understand: the main thing is to have a desire at least a little and reconsider your attitude to personal time. Many can be an example that, when used correctly, time management gives excellent results. After all, each of them knows how not only to make many plans, but also to manage to do a lot.

Application Benefits

Skill rational use time provides a person with many different advantages and can be useful in almost any field of activity. For teenagers and schoolchildren, knowing the laws of time organization and using them helps them learn how to live in such a way that they have enough time not only for studying, but also for relaxing and communicating with friends. For adults, the basics of using time management will help in work, creativity, family relationships, business and other areas.

What specific benefits does a person get when using this system:

• he manages to achieve more goals;
• he is successful in all areas of activity;
• he achieves his goals faster than those who do not know what time management is and do not use it;
• in a short period of time can perform many different tasks;
• a person has much more time for self-improvement, recreation, hobbies and being with loved ones;
• he does not suffer from constant fatigue, is less prone to stress;
  he always has a clear plan of action;
• owns inner freedom and the ability to control his life.

The role of motivation in the ability to organize your time

Before proceeding directly to finding out what time management is, it is necessary to deal with the main causes of lack of time. The first and probably the main reason is the unwillingness to perform certain duties. The second culprit is the lack of interest in the case, and the third is disorganization. The fourth reason for lack of time is too long preparation for any task.

Time management is a technology for organizing time and increasing the efficiency of its use.

For example, if you do not want to do some work, you should look for its advantages. Perhaps it can contribute to an increase in salary, a promotion, give a sense of satisfaction from a job well done, or precede a great vacation.

As one of the most effective time management tools, it should also be used for household chores. After all, if it is not fulfilled, the external and internal atmosphere of comfort will be destroyed in the family. While the fight against chaos will help get rid of internal disorganization and direct energy in the right direction.

Time Analysis

Having decided on the motivation, you should not immediately rush to solve your problems. Since effective time management is based on controlling time and reducing its unproductive costs, it is necessary to start with an analysis of the current structure of the day. For each case, you need to fix the main parameters: start and end time, short description, efficiency, or moments that prevented the task from being completed. It is best to do this in the form of a table.

Of course, you can fix other points. For example, include columns with the division of tasks into personal and work, or indicate all smoke breaks and tea breaks, a distraction to check for updates in in social networks or reading letters from Email. In the future, when using time management, this will help you figure out which tasks should be abandoned in order to have time to complete the main tasks and how to distribute tasks during the day.

Try to eliminate "time wasters" from your life

How effective time management can be can be gauged by looking at how much time a lot of people are killing and stealing from themselves. Unfortunately, spending hours checking email, social networking, or playing computer games for both adults and teens is largely considered the norm.

Having decided to do something really useful, you need to take a break from such activities for a while and concentrate on completing the task. If every day at the same time, use the basics of time management and do important things, after a few months it will form a habit.

It will also be useful to keep a diary and write down in it all the activities that only devour time.

The ability to say “no” will also save a lot of time. Without this, it is impossible to imagine time management, because it is difficult to learn how to organize your own time if you waste it aimlessly on unnecessary tasks. Sometimes it’s worth answering with a firm “no” to specific people who only know how to complain, and also try to do everything so that someone else does their job.

Information filtering

When studying time management tools, it is impossible not to dwell on the ability to filter various data. Many people have a habit of filling their heads with a lot of useless information. For example, before purchasing any household appliances or clothes, they study their characteristics for several days on various sites.

On the one hand, such information seems useful, but it will be effective time management only if you do not read everything in a row, but are able to concentrate on the most important and necessary characteristics. Learn to skim through information and remember only what is really useful. No need to waste precious time and oversaturate the brain with a lot of unnecessary information!

Planning is the key to success

Effective time management is planning, which makes it possible to increase your productivity by 25%.

If not recorded, it does not exist. The list of tasks in this case is a map that will not let you go astray in order to achieve this goal.

Various assistants will help to facilitate the task. For example, you can hang a board in the visible part of the room and divide it in half. The basics of time management in this case can be applied as follows: one half contains all the ideas that you want to complete in the near future.

The second half should be divided into three columns: what is planned, what tasks are in progress, and what has already been completed. Each week, tasks from the first half of the board can be moved to the Scheduled column. If you follow the rules that require time management, by the weekend they will all be in the “Done” column.

You can also use a diary or planning. Or fill out a compact calendar to fix plans for the coming weeks and months. There may be tasks that are most conveniently written in the form of a table.

Choosing a Planning Method

Today there are many methods of planning. The most popular include:

• Method "ABV" (you can also use "ABC"). Its essence is to put a letter next to each task from the list, indicating the priority of execution. When drawing up a plan according to time management, the most important things are indicated by the letter "A". Until they are completed, tasks marked "B" cannot be started.
• Timekeeping is a method that is carried out by measuring and fixing the time required to complete certain goals. What is time management when using timing? This is the development of a sense of time and efficiency of work. To learn this, you need to record all your actions within 2-3 weeks with an accuracy of 5 minutes. This will help to identify the so-called "time sinks" and find reserves to perform important tasks.
• Among the best time management tools in the world to help with planning, it is worth noting the SMART technique. This abbreviation is made up of the first letters of words that characterize the goal. It should be: specific, measurable, achievable, commensurate with other objectives and have a clear time frame.

Do not know how to do more - every morning "eat a frog"

Within the framework that time management offers, this technique is quite simple and effective. Its essence lies in the fact that in the morning (preferably in the morning), perform the necessary, but not very pleasant thing. Such classes are mostly postponed and often not performed at all. It is unlikely that effective time management involves a very large investment of time for the implementation of such goals. In addition, unpleasant things tend to accumulate. In this case, their implementation can stretch for months and years.

In the role of frogs, time management most often determines cases that you don’t know how to approach. It can also be tasks for which some ideal conditions are expected. If such tasks are alternately performed every morning, over time, the number of unfinished tasks will be minimized. The purpose of this technology in time management is to develop a useful habit of focusing on current affairs and doing them faster.

If the goal is large, it can be divided

Many give up when they need to take on a global task, such as a complex project. What time management tools can be used in such a situation? First of all, it is necessary to divide the main task into several auxiliary ones and perform each of them separately. This will help not only faster implementation of the project, but also a better understanding of it.

Among those involved in time management, many make this task easier by drawing a kind of tree. The main task acts as its trunk, and the subtasks are branches. You need to branch until the whole process of achieving the goal becomes clear and extremely simple.

There is a time to work, there is a time to rest

Using time management in your life, we must not forget that each person has his own biological clock. They affect what period of the day will be the greatest peak of activity. For example, if this time is from 6.00 to 10.00, it is for these hours that you should plan the most important things and tasks.

Guided by the principles of time management in this case, you can manage to complete maximum amount assignments. Since at other times the reaction will be slower, and performance will be reduced.

Based on observations of your biological clock, it is also worth allocating time for rest. It should not be overlooked that this largely determines how effective time management will be. During rest, the body's resources are restored, and it can better and faster cope with the goals set for it. If a person falls down from fatigue, the quality of work is unlikely to be good.

Always leave time

First of all, it is worth noting that time management should make life easier and teach you how to use time to good use. However, this is not a reason to make such busy schedules that there is not a single free minute in them. Every day you need to leave a certain margin of time. After all, no matter how thoughtful time management is, it is difficult to accurately determine the time required to complete all tasks.

Therefore, in order not to panic about the fact that it is already necessary to start the next task, it is better to plan a little more time in advance. Even if you do it on time, the remaining time can be used to solve less important issues or to relax.