In this world there are two eternal things that all are missing. This time and money. And the first is easily converted into the second. We are becoming more and more like Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, who was always in a hurry and was always late.
Is that instead of the clock in your pocket we have a mobile phone, which we hurriedly talk on the run, and instead of a vest – jackets with a zipper, so that the dressing process is not delayed. We go by cars, use microwave ovens to save this damn time. And it still does not suffice!
For a modern woman, the topic of lack of time becomes more and more relevant. “Double” life – at home and at work – does not add free minutes. And so much you want to have time! But it is desirable not to fall asleep on the run from fatigue.
In fact, people left out of time in ancient times. “Time takes all …” – sadly stated Publius Virgil. “Among the unknown in the surrounding nature is the most unknown time, for no one knows what time is and how to manage it,” Aristotle said doomedly.
To some extent, he was right, because time management implies self-management, and not zombie shooters on the clock. So, you are tired of being torn between work and personal life, remembering what had to be done a month ago and dreaming about at least one free minute for yourself? Then you need to do the following.
1. Diary of observations
How do you know what you are spending your time and energy on? What prevents you from moving up the career ladder? Be of good cheer. There is only one way to find answers to these questions – to keep a diary of time. Someone is involved in the work instantly, as soon as they sit down in a working chair, someone half a day swings and becomes active towards evening. This happens for various reasons: individual characteristics, the presence of distractions, stress or discomfort.
Of course, filling out the diary is not the funniest thing in this life. Laying out “kerchiefs” and gatherings in the smoking-room – it’s more fun. But the results are worth it. Probably, you will be, to put it mildly, surprised (and frankly, just shocked), seeing how much time is wasted.
In your diary there should be four columns: time, activity, duration and result. Make even “minute business” there: checking mail, chatting with colleagues, drinking tea. It is enough to observe a couple of days – and you can tell exactly when you work most effectively when you try to get away from work and what you spend “free” time. Now this information needs to be analyzed and taken:
The way of the owl. Distribute all the cases, taking into account their own characteristics. If, for example, you are an owl, the most difficult and responsible appoint in the afternoon. Study what you are doing – perhaps you have taken over the work of the whole department, and some of the heavy burden can be distributed to others?
• Five minutes. Wear handcuffs and chained to an office chair is not worth it. It is much more effective to find natural substitutes-five minutes. Disassemble the rubble in your drawer, take the papers that have long been piled up on your desk, ask the boss a couple of questions about the current work, in the end, make a list of the products you need to buy in the evening.
Temporary Vampires. There are some activities that just devour your time. To temporary vampires are all kinds of chats, ICQ, communicators, mail programs and LJ. Give yourself time when you can take your mind off non-working calls and reading blogs. It is advisable to do this not to the detriment of work, so take a look at your observations and choose a time when you have not “switched on” or “already switched off”. Take for yourself the rule of opening the mail twice a day – in the morning and in the evening. By the way, in the same treacherous way you can do with LJ, looking there once in a couple of days.
Paper mole. If you spend 30 seconds every 5 minutes trying to find something on your littered desk, your time loss per week is several hours. Carefully lay out all the documents on the folders, and instead of swearing and rummaging in papers like a mole, you can visit the nearest store.
2. Whitelist
So, you already know for sure that you need to buy boots for the winter, tomatoes for dinner, finish the project at work, sew a button to your coat, arrange repair of the washing machine and go to the hairdresser. It is advisable at the same time to learn English, lose weight by 2 kg and release one day off for the trip to the parents. All this can be kept in mind, but it is much more effective to write down your plans. For convenience, you can divide the cases into categories: for example, work, home, shopping, etc. Large projects are divided into small ones that require no more than one or two hours to complete. In the planning process, your modest list can double. It is very important not to take on a heavy load. Otherwise, having seen that 22 points remained unfinished, you will be disappointed and in general give up this disastrous affair.
Set priorities – tasks that require immediate resolution, label with the letter “A”. The letter “B” is less important items that can wait, and so on. Too many points? Get rid of those that are at the bottom. Thus, before you will be a plan to eliminate the problems in your life. If you have a large, but non-urgent work task, you can allocate for its implementation for 15 minutes a day. Then at the right time, almost everything will be ready, and your loved ones will be deprived of joy to watch you walk around the apartment shouting “I have a job! ”.
3. Schedule of classes
The next step is scheduling. Take yourself for the rule of working only at work. To come home, you are busy preparing salad and clothes for tomorrow, and not pulling up workers “tails. ”If you isolate temporary vampires and ask your colleague to postpone the conversation until the evening, you will not only not have “tails”, but you will also find a bonus – extra time.
Sunbathing with the idea of planning, I really want to stick in one day as many cases as possible, painting it literally by the minute. Full submission to the schedule generates longing and disappointment. Do not include trivia in your list – prepare temporary gaps for them, because you can not take into account absolutely everything, and it is not necessary.
And further…
When was the last time you lounged in a bath, completely disconnected from the outside world? Most often after a busy day and a lot of domestic things to dip into a bath with bubbles – the last thing that comes to the female head. This is unfair! Be sure to include “Hour for yourself” in your plan. Let it not be a daily item of your program, but at this time you can do what YOU WANT. Eat a piece of forbidden cake, shedding tears over melodrama, lying on the couch with a book, luxuriate in a treasured bath or raise a cross. The main thing is to do what pleases you.
“The wisest man is the one most irritated by the loss of time,” Dante Alighieri said. I wish you do not get irritated. And let the absence of irritation be associated with the availability of time!
