Learning to plan your time effectively: useful tips and lessons. How to learn to plan your work day: useful tips

How to plan your day correctly to get everything done? What rules should you follow to avoid stress and feelings of dissatisfaction? In this article, you will learn what you need to do to increase your productivity and efficiency.

If you are often late, create blockages at work, forget about important events and are nervous that you don’t have time to do a lot of things, then this article is for you. Where to start to learn how to properly plan your time?

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  1. Keep a diary. Don’t start your day until you write down your plans for the next day in the morning, or even better, in the evening. Making a to-do list is a necessary activity in order to understand what needs to be done and get everything done.
  2. Set reminders for meetings and events on your mobile phone.
  3. If you work on a computer, create a separate document with a to-do list.

How to make a to-do list correctly?

  • A to-do list needs to be written every day, preferably in the evening.
  • Write no more than 7 priority things on your list. It’s not worth it anymore, because it’s impossible to do more in one day.
  • Write down all points in detail. For example: go to a store and buy everything you need according to the list. Write down the list of items you need on a separate piece of paper. Then going to the store will take you much less time.
  • You should put in your to-do list the approximate time it will take you to complete this or that action.
  • The to-do list should always be visible. If you are a young mother who is constantly tugged at by children and the list gets lost, then write several copies.
  • Write a to-do list for the week ahead, this will help you understand which things are particularly urgent and which can wait.

Basic rules on how to plan your day to get everything done

  1. In order to properly plan your day and manage everything, it is very important to train yourself to wake up early. It doesn't matter whether you need to go to work or not. Organize a normal sleep schedule. To feel energetic, you need to sleep 8 hours a day. Therefore, think about what time you need to go to bed so that you can get up early and still get enough sleep.
  2. It is very important to listen to your biological clock . You know better at what time you feel full of strength and energy to quickly get a lot of things done. If you feel energized in the evening, plan your day so that you have important things to do in the evening. The rest of the time, do less important things, set aside time for rest, self-development, meeting with friends, etc.
  3. It is very important to prioritize when planning your day. . First you need to do those things that are the most significant in their priority, and only then proceed to the secondary ones. Never put off important things until later. Otherwise, you will think about them all day and be distracted by your thoughts.
  4. Don't waste a lot of energy and time on things that will bring you little results. . The time spent and the final result must be commensurate.
  5. When planning your time, you should consider all possible options to make your life easier . For example, if cleaning your house takes a lot of time, consider hiring a housekeeper. Or throw away long-needed things, put everything in boxes, and organize it. Then cleaning will take less time.
  6. When doing things, analyze what factors most often distract you and take up your time . Perhaps you are often distracted by social networks, talking on the phone, or thoughts about other things. Very often psychological factors play a role, for example, fear of not being able to complete the work on time, fear of taking on a difficult task, laziness.

What to avoid to keep up with everything

  1. Don't waste time watching TV. You can watch any news or film on the Internet without advertising. This will save you time.
  2. Limit your time on social networks, forums and games . It's a waste of time.
  3. Try to get rid of bad habits . Have you ever wondered how much time you spend on smoking breaks? This not only takes away your time, but also your health. Bad habits are not compatible with success.
  4. Learn to overcome laziness, lack of composure and unpunctuality. Set reminders on your phone and an alarm in advance so you don't be late. Set a time limit for completing all tasks.

David Allen advises organizing your workspace correctly and providing you with all the necessary stationery. Also, keep a file cabinet, create a corresponding folder for each case. Allen also advises writing 4 to-do lists:

  • Make a list of things that need to be done in the near future.
  • Add projects that require an integrated approach to a separate list.
  • Separately, make a list of projects that, for one reason or another, cannot yet be completed.
  • The "someday" list.

To complete work tasks faster, you need to complete similar tasks in a row. The brain gets used to a certain type of work and copes faster each time.

If you have a very difficult task or project, you need to divide it into stages. Then the task becomes more understandable and feasible to complete. Use the principle of “small steps”.

Learn to say “no”, don’t do the work for others, don’t become a tool to achieve other people’s goals.

All successful businessmen plan the most important things in the first half of the day. You can’t put off until later what is your priority. As they say: “You’ve done the job, walk boldly.”

It is very easy to learn how to complete all tasks on time. Most people create their own problems and obstacles in their lives. You just need to put in a little effort and just start planning your life. You must understand that a tired and unhealthy person cannot work productively and live his life fully.

Therefore, it is necessary:

  1. Get enough sleep .
  2. Eat right. Eat as many vegetables and fruits as possible.
  3. Exercising improves immunity , give a boost of energy and have a beneficial effect on brain activity. Memory and concentration improve, and neuronal cells renew faster.
  4. Stick to your to-do list . Write it for every day, for a week and for a year.
  5. Don't be distracted by unnecessary things , useless communication. Don't do the work for others.
  6. When planning your day, do not take on more responsibilities than you can handle. . Adequately evaluate your time and energy.
  7. Keep your home and work place tidy . Every thing should have its place, and every task should have its time. When you stay organized, you spend much less time getting things done. Let order and systematization of things become your habit.
  8. Optimize your work . Try to simplify any task as much as possible and reduce the time it takes to complete it.
  9. Use modern technology . Even at home, a multicooker, microwave, or electric meat grinder will save you a lot of time on cooking.
  10. Always reward yourself for any success . If you have completed an important task on time, allow yourself to rest for 15 minutes and eat something sweet or look into your classmates for 10 minutes.
  11. Don't strive for the ideal, it doesn't exist. If you obsess over doing everything better, you'll end up stalling and driving yourself into hysterics.
  12. Don't accumulate unfinished tasks. Whatever you planned to do today, do it!
  13. Never be afraid to ask for help or distribute certain tasks among employees.

In addition to making a to-do list, there are some other effective planning techniques that are widely used in time management. This is a time management technique that includes rules and principles that help a person properly organize his time and achieve maximum efficiency in any activity.

Basic planning techniques

  1. Pareto's rule or the “80 to 20” principle. Only 20% of your thoughts, conversations and actions lead to 80% of your results. And 80% of other actions lead to 20% results. Therefore, do not try to do everything at once, but do initially those things that will bring you maximum results.
  2. Timing method is that you need to write down all your time, what and where you spend it. Analyzing these records will show you what activities you should stop doing, what distracts you, and what processes you need to speed up.
  3. ABC planning is that you need to distribute things by letter by degree of importance. Category A cases are the most important. They make up 15% of all cases and bring 65% of the results. B – important matters, which make up 20% of all matters and bring 20% ​​of the results. Category C are matters of the least importance, they make up 65% and give a result of 15%.

If you want to learn how to properly plan your day, to be the master of your life, it doesn’t take much. Just have the desire to learn it, put in some effort and start working on yourself. You just have to get into the habit of planning your life, writing a to-do list for every day, developing responsibility, perseverance, and punctuality. Learning to plan properly is one of the ways of self-improvement that can radically change your life for the better. You will learn to set priorities, identify core values, set goals and achieve them within a clearly defined time frame.

PLAN

PLAN 1. 2.

Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935-1940.


See what “PLAN” is in other dictionaries:

    plan- and plan. In meaning “make a plan of action, implementation of something; descend smoothly” plan, plan, plan. Plan work for the quarter. Plan for the nearest airfield. In meaning “arrange, place in accordance with ... ... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

    1. PLAN1, I will plan, you will plan (aviation). Sovereign to plan1. Plan to the airfield. 2. PLAN2, I will plan, you will plan, and (more often) PLAN, I will plan, you will plan.overall. to plan2. Plan construction... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

    Make a plan, arrange, outline, schedule, arrange, calculate, mark out, project, parachute, descend, plan, design Dictionary of Russian synonyms. plan see plan Sl... Dictionary of synonyms

    See plan 1. Ozhegov’s explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

    plan- See Plan... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

    1. PLAN, plan, plan; St. What. 1. Draw up a plan, project for construction, construction, etc. 2. Arrange, arrange, build in accordance with the plan (1 sign). Properly planned streets. S. building, taking into account its purpose, functioning ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

    I owls trans. 1. Put on plan 1. 2. Arrange, arrange, build according to plan [plan 1.]. 3. Organize business, work, etc. in accordance with plan [plan 3.]. 4. decompression Outline according to plan [plan 3.], include in the plan; plan. II... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

    Plan, plan, plan, plan, plan, plan, plan, planning, planned, planned, planned, planned, plan, plan, planned, planned, planned, planned,... ... Forms of words

    Verb., St., used. infrequently Morphology: I will plan, you will plan, he/she/it will plan, we will plan, you will plan, they will plan, plan, plan, planned, planned, planned, planned, planned, planned... ... Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

  • Joomla! -how to plan, create and maintain your website (+ CD-ROM), Jen Kramer. Content management system Joomla! combines power and ease of setup, which has made it incredibly popular. But to unlock this potential, it’s not enough to simply download and install...
  • Joomla!How to Plan, Create and Maintain Your Website, Jen Kramer. Content management system ^oot!a! combines power and ease of setup, which has made it incredibly popular. But to unlock this potential, it’s not enough to just download and install...

Hi all! Today the article will be devoted to a topical and passionately beloved topic of mine: planning. I have long enjoyed planning, but I noted that I still have problems with it. I didn’t always have time to do what needed to be done; I felt stress and tension from choosing what exactly to pay attention to now. The multitude of options for spending time and its inexorable passage deprived me of inner peace and made me less productive.

I wanted to manage everything and at the same time remain calm, relaxed and joyful :) So I decided to look for more information on how to properly plan time, and I found everything I needed! I was attracted to Julia Morgenstern's book on time management because it is designed to help you find your own planning style based on your goals, priorities, lifestyle, and personal characteristics.

In this article, you will learn about common planning mistakes that I have made and many others make, as well as tips for productive time management!

The first and very important step will be change in attitude towards time. We perceive it differently, it even flows differently for us, and this is a scientifically proven fact!

Perception of time

Time is something we can neither see nor touch. It is something formless and intangible. For most people it just flows, or runs, or stands still. In order to better manage this ambiguous substance, it is important to give it clear forms and associate it with something understandable and observable in life.

The mess in the closet is also similar to the disorder in our affairs.

  • It is difficult to find anything - chaos in tasks and affairs.
  • Not enough space - critically short of time.
  • It is problematic to evaluate the content - incorrectly set priorities and difficulty in accomplishing everything planned.

Time should be limited to days, quarters, months and even hours. Understanding clear boundaries and the “capacity” of the chosen period of time will help you be more productive.

“Your activities and tasks become objects that you must place in the space of your time. Each task has its own volume, its own dimensions, and the arrangement of tasks in the daily schedule becomes a mathematical equation for you.
Once you have estimated what you need to do, you begin to calculate the volume, the capacity of each task and then determine whether you can fit them into the space of your time."

Julia Morgenstern

Common mistakes in planning

To understand how to plan time correctly, we will go from the opposite and look at the mistakes that many make. They make it difficult to manage time fully and, accordingly, life.

Below we will discuss 5 common technical errors that I have highlighted. In the book you can also learn about external and psychological obstacles, but in my opinion, the technical aspect will be more useful now.

  1. Lack of specific time to complete tasks. Before you think you can do anything, check your schedule. Check to see if you actually have the ability to do this, and if so, when.
    Set aside a specific time when you will do a task that interests you. Of course, this applies to a greater extent to complex, important and lengthy matters :)
  2. Bad timing. Pay attention to changes in your activity throughout the day and use this when planning your time. You may experience a burst of mental energy in the evening that you need to use. Some people prefer to do basic tasks immediately after waking up, others need to rock out for several hours. Someone can take on important matters only in the afternoon. The more you take into account your characteristics, the faster and more efficiently you will cope with tasks.
  3. Incorrectly calculated time. If you think “this will take five minutes” or “I can do this in an hour,” then take an extra couple of minutes and think about how long it will actually take you to complete it. This will be very useful when creating a daily routine and adding a variety of tasks to your day.
    If you feel that you are bad at timing things, then use a timer for the first time. Estimate how long a task will take and turn on the timer before completing it. Compare values ​​and improve your timing skills: it will be very useful to you.
  4. Complexity of the planned task. If a task seems difficult, then we experience difficulty in starting to complete it. We get distracted by many other “important” things and in the end we either don’t start it at all, or we do it, but not nearly as much as we need.
    The solution is simple: face this challenge head-on and take some time to think through a plan of action. Perhaps you can break the task into several parts, not do something at all, or entrust it to someone else. Twist it this way and that, look for solutions - and it won’t seem so scary. You will also save time on approaching and completing it.
  5. Lack of clear organization of the workspace. Everything should be in its place so that your thoughts are in order, your eyes are not distracted by anything, and you can easily find everything you need. Make your workspace comfortable, convenient and conducive to work. Imagine on this topic, note what you would like to change, and do it! Even some financial investments will pay off with interest, because it will be easier and more pleasant for you to work, and the effectiveness of your activities will be higher.

Convenient planning method

In her book, Julia Morgenstern compares successful time planning with kindergarten, where there are clear zones for each type of activity. These are areas for reading, drawing, modeling, relaxing, and so on.

According to this principle, there should be certain blocks in your plan when you are doing something specific.

For example, from 15:00 to 18:00 you work on a project, from 19:00 to 20:00 you pay attention to physical activity, from 20:00 to 21:00, for example, you cook dinner or do cleaning.

You must have a specific daily plan with such blocks, which includes all the things and areas that are important to you. This way, in a certain period of time, you can completely concentrate on one thing. Everything is thought out and calculated for you, you know that there is also time allotted for any other tasks.

Thanks to this planning, you can avoid many of the mistakes mentioned above, because you:

  • consider the task from different angles and decide how exactly you will perform it;
  • calculate how long it will take;
  • evaluate when it will be more convenient for you to complete it;
  • allocate specific time in your schedule for it.

“A time management plan is a schedule that is divided into “activity zones” that correspond to different areas of your life and include all the tasks on your to-do list.”

Julia Morgenstern

Therefore, it will be very great if you have such a plan and to-do list at hand. I first write down all the things that I would like to do, and based on them I make a plan for the day. Place your tasks in the blocks allocated for such activities and manage your time easily and effectively!

I am sure that this article about how to properly plan time and manage everything was useful for you! Be sure to apply these principles in your life and you will notice that you get more done and feel relaxed and focused.

I read this book about a month ago, it came at a great time for me. Its full name is: “Time management. The art of planning and managing your time and your life."

I wanted to understand the topic so much that I read it, taking breaks only to eat :) Now planning and time management seems easy and understandable to me, I implement the information I received into my life and wonder how such small changes in planning can make life more enjoyable and dynamic!

In the book, Julia Morgenstern tells her story of how she came to the realization that something needed to change in her relationship with time, which then seemed uncontrollable to her, like her life. There are also a lot of stories from different people in which you can easily find yourself or simply better assimilate the information received.

The author founded the company Task Masters, which provides consulting services on planning and time management to both large companies (for example, American Express, Sony Music and Microsoft) and individuals. She conducts seminars and lectures throughout America. And most importantly, it really helps you take control of your life and manage to do everything you need, easily and with pleasure :)

If you want more information about time management, here is a link to the book. Here you can read it or download it in the desired format.

Some people like this movie, some don't. It seems to me that despite some wildness that begins from the very beginning, there is something to think about in it. The film was shot beautifully, the actors played excellently, Jude Law was very reliable, he completely transformed into this shocking and unlucky Dom, the character turned out to be multifaceted. I don’t regret watching it, even though some moments are very specific :)

I am attaching the trailer. Bye everyone! Don't forget to enter your email in the form on the side or below to receive announcements of new articles immediately after they are published. Hugs.

Another week has passed, and there are no fewer planned things to do? This means that you need to reconsider your ability to use time management correctly.

Learning to do everything without getting too tired is not easy, but quite possible. In fact, the secret lies not only in what activities you plan, but it is also important to take into account the day when you would like to perform this or that action. Psychologist Beth Linnell shares the secrets of properly planning things throughout the week, and we have already prepared our diaries and are ready to make a to-do list.

Monday is a hard day

This hackneyed expression was not coined in vain, since on Monday a person’s energy level is almost zero. This happens because the body was in rest mode for two days off and now it is in a state of frustration, it is difficult for it to return to work. Beth Linnell advises not to plan important meetings and negotiations on this day, if possible, since they will not be productive.

On this day it is better to prepare the ground for work in the coming week. Try to collect all the necessary information that will be useful to you on other days, prepare presentations and documents. Also try to go to bed early on Monday to give your body a chance to rest and prepare for the upcoming tasks.

Tuesday - peak energy

Tuesday and Wednesday are considered the most productive days of the week. The psychologist advises on this day to start taking on hard work and large-scale projects.

The body has not yet gotten tired; it has just entered working mode. Fatigue from the work week has not yet had time to accumulate. But the aftertaste of a weekend getaway is still palpable.

It has been scientifically proven that on Tuesday people experience a peak in creative and intellectual energy, so you can safely start big things and develop new strategies.

Wednesday - second energy day

Continue making and executing your plans on Wednesday. Even though this is the meridian of the work week, your energy is still at its peak, even if Tuesday was not the easiest. This day is suitable for brainstorming, teamwork and social activities. This is due to the fact that you have completely entered the work rut and you still have enough strength to complete the assigned tasks.

But already on Wednesday evening, your energy levels begin to drop and you will feel a loss of strength and emotional exhaustion.

Thursday - the beginning of the decline in energy

On Thursday afternoon, fatigue will be quite noticeable. On this day it is already difficult to solve some important issues and concentrate on the tasks at hand. For example, employees at Google, a company that strives to make the most of each employee's productivity, use Thursday to set tasks for the next week and tasks that do not require being in the office.

So if your job allows you to work remotely, take advantage of this opportunity.

When we meet successful multifaceted personalities, we sigh and shrug our shoulders: how do these people manage to do everything? Are they awake? Does their magic clock have twice as many divisions? Perhaps they are just special?

Yes and no. Of course, the idea of ​​a magic clock is science fiction, that’s for sure. But, as a rule, people who organize their day effectively do not really lie in bed for half the day - getting enough sleep for them is a matter of technique, the secret is in the routine. And this regime, hated since school years, or rather, its more flexible and interesting variety - time management- makes them special. Having mastered tricks to help you plan your time, and with the help of self-control and discipline, each of us is capable.

You can't stretch time. So change yourself

We are accustomed to consider time pressure (from the German Zeitnot, “trouble with time”), a constant lack of minutes, hours and days, as synonymous with demand, need, and busyness. I work day and night, I sew myself up, I have absolutely no time, I don’t have time for anything! Admit it, often these words become a kind of screen, a shield, a means of protection from the discomfort of real life. And “time-pressure-aholics” do not expect anything good from her, although they understand perfectly well that it is impossible to withstand a constant workload for a long time; behavior and psyche change irreversibly. And, frankly, “things are not going through the roof.” In order to do something thoughtfully and with soul, you need to stop from time to time and look around. In the daily endless gallop of time pressure, you cannot find a minute for this procedure.

It’s sad but true: today many large companies use the barbaric policy of “burnout” of personnel for their corporate purposes. A fresh employee is loaded at the very least; he remains in place exactly until his work enthusiasm dries up and continuous time pressure dries out his brains. How to recognize such employers and what to do with them is a topic for a separate conversation, but today we sharing the secrets of planning your day. These tricks will allow you to look at your workflow differently and change it for the better.

Start now. And don't stop!

Plan your time to get more done, it's actually not difficult. There are two fundamental postulates, surprisingly banal. The first one is if you want to optimize your day, just start doing it. Try different strategies according to your character, field of activity, circumstances. Some of us need a tight schedule (at least at first), while others only need slight adjustments to their daily routine and habits. The second “open secret” is that time management This is not a pill that you just need to swallow once and cure yourself of carelessness and unpunctuality forever. This is daily painstaking work, the efforts to complete it are directly related to the success of the result. And do not forget that the most interested judge and spectator is judging you - you yourself. Therefore, “netting” will not work.

Time management is a whole philosophy of developing skills and using devices and techniques that allow you to plan your time and use it rationally to achieve goals. Initially, time management was developed by American researchers to improve productivity, but practice has shown that putting things in order on the clock face also benefits your personal life.

Today, hundreds of time management techniques are known and actively used, and this list is constantly expanding. Modern time planning strategies are based on the use of clocks and alarm clocks, all kinds of diaries, “task sheets” and organizers, computer day planner programs, the distribution of priorities and motivations, the use of natural rhythms of human life that interfere with the use of time effectively (the most common of them is withdrawal syndrome, “putting aside”).

Certainly, time management is a whole science, which is not surprising - correcting defects always takes much more time than acquiring them. If you are interested in these techniques, you can study and test them yourself - especially since it is impossible and pointless to talk in one topic about how to learn to plan your day from the point of view of time management. But there are some tricks you can start using right now to make your workday more efficient.

Do you want to learn how to plan your day and stop wasting precious time? Try this first:

Make room for what's important

Any day consists of many things - small and large, important and not so important, urgent and enduring. In order to learn how to plan your time, you need to sharpen your imaginary scalpel to a shine, allowing you to separate priority tasks from non-priority ones. Of course, this does not mean that you can forget about small and less important things - no, they also need to be done, but they deserve attention in proportion to their magnitude. A common mistake is to “for ease” do first what is simpler and... unnecessary. What do we get as a result? Imitation of activity and irrational use of time reserves necessary to complete significant tasks. Be aware of what is happening - assign important and difficult things as priority.

Occam's Razor in reverse

But in order for big and serious things not to scare you away, there is the following trick: in order to properly plan your time, they need to be divided into several smaller ones. Then the “stages of the long journey” can be alternated with less important tasks, while simultaneously getting a lot done.

"Shrink" what you live by

In any list of routine tasks performed automatically, insidious time wasters are hidden. They disguise themselves as innocent and even seemingly important things. Revision required! Think about what your minutes and hours are spent on, remember everything and realize - do you really need this type of employment or leisure? Do you really need to log into Odnoklassniki every hour, does this really give you the necessary break from work? Do you really need and are interested in classes in an embroidery circle? Is it really worth talking to a certain boring colleague for fifty minutes in a row every day, for fear of offending him with a quickly curtailed conversation? This is your day, and there are only 24 hours in it!

Don't lose and don't get lost

According to modern research, a working person spends an average of 150 hours a year searching for lost items. That is, these things did not just mysteriously disappear at the behest of evil forces - they were out of place, and therefore they could not be found. An impressive figure, isn't it? Stop being part of these stupid statistics. Do not throw things, documents, files anywhere. Organize everything once, sign it, remember it, and keep it organized. This will help you plan your day better - because you won’t waste your precious time on the annoying search for “lost items”.

Consider your personality

When learning to plan your day, do not focus on the “average temperature in the hospital.” Be aware that each person has individual periods of efficiency and “uselessness”. Don’t put off work until late in the evening, knowing that after eight in the evening you won’t think anything through. Don't make early morning appointments knowing you'll have to get up two hours earlier than usual and be overwhelmed. Stick to these rules, only then will they make sense - it is impossible to plan your day if you have an irregular daily routine and may unexpectedly go to bed five hours later than usual. You can, of course, in the morning, just for fun, read the horoscope for today and, under the impression, change all your plans, but it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth it. Prepare your new day from the previous evening, or better yet a week in advance for greater efficiency.

Banish perfectionism

And delegate authority more boldly. If you have someone to delegate some of the work to, do it. Attention, we are not talking about shifting your work to innocent people, but if you have assistants, you need to use their help. Just because they are doing something that is not your style is not a reason to take it all on yourself. When planning things, distribute tasks immediately, and not under pressure from circumstances - this will save time and allow you to plan your day effectively.

There is time for business, and time for fun

When drawing up a “task sheet” and a schedule for the day (week, month), plan not only your vacation, but also your rest. Perhaps at first glance this may seem unnatural, but in fact this approach is not only convenient for learning how to plan time, but will also allow you to make your leisure time more varied and see in perspective what kind of entertainment you are missing. // charla.ru