Basic planning tools and ways to implement them
I read a lot of books on planning / time management and tried out a lot of applications to implement these techniques (list at the end). And for general review I’m carrying out the planning tools I’m pulling out of them. The very essence of time management is to take a list of your affairs, do something with them, and then get a gain in time (my opinion).
Under the tool of time management, I mean some actions with their tasks that lead to an increase in free time or a reduction in the time for a task (that the essence is the same thing = release of time).
I even dare to suggest a visual inequality:
')
Time spent on the task> time spent on the task - saving time from the planning tool.
And an example for clarity:
shopping for napkins + shopping for groceries> shopping for napkins and groceries - time for a separate shopping for groceries
In this case, the planning tool is task grouping. As you can see from the example, we save time on dressing + on the road to the store, hence the amount of time spent on this task is really reduced. I began to look for and implement such tools in my life.
A place where you can write down all your tasks so as not to forget them. The more your good ideas you keep in storage, the greater the chance that they will not disappear from your head and be realized.
Examples: writing on paper, notepad, organizer, electronic organizer.
The increase in time due to timely preparation for cases, by reducing the number of forgotten cases and the associated stresses.
When we wrote down all our tasks, in fact, we just received a dump. The distribution of tasks into categories allows you to understand how to handle a particular task due to the fact that we understand the context in which it takes place.
Examples: division by spheres of life (fate wheel), division by place (home / work), division by one-step / multi-step and topical / irrelevant (Getting Things Done).
The increase in time due to the understanding in which context the task is solved, which facilitates the comprehension of the task. It is worth explaining, our brain solves any problem in the context of the phenomena surrounding this task, and if the context is clear, then the solution is clear, and if not, then the brain has to re-generate this context each time, which lengthens thinking (and sometimes it doesn’t cause do). Example: “make a project”. Immediately there are questions - “What project?” “By what time?”, “Why do they need to deal with me at all?”, Etc. In fact, I don’t want to do this task, because it requires a brain effort before it can be started.
Most of the desired results we want are multi-step, with the steps to be carried out consistently, in order to achieve first intermediate goals, and only at the end of the main goal. Hierarchical assignment of tasks allows you to see the main steps and their interrelation, in order to properly allocate resources and time to achieve each sub-goal.
Examples: logical tree, folder and subfolder structure of the operating system, task structure in an electronic organizer.
The increase in time is due to the ejection from life of unrealistic projects or the timely reworking of existing ones, because thanks to the hierarchy, even at the stage of prescribing major steps, you can see the unrealistic project, saving time for detailed planning and even more so for practical attempts to bring it to life.
As practice shows, it is possible to prescribe the goal of a project on SMART, it is possible to hierarchically set tasks, but only detailing on specific actions allows you to realistically estimate the amount of work and required resources that are necessary for project success. Detailing is complicated by the fact that over time comes the new information on the project and specific actions change.
Examples: setting a task for meaningful actions, for specific actions, for possible steps.
The increase in time due to the cut-off of projects that consume too many resources or by reducing the priority of such projects. An increase in time during detailing is due to timely preparation, for example, having detailed the order, you understand that the materials spent on manufacturing + time will not cover the amount offered to you, although at the negotiation stage this amount seemed huge to you.
As soon as we have specified our tasks in detail, an understanding comes that everything is not in time. How to understand what to do first? It is necessary to set priorities so that profitable projects get our strength and attention first and foremost, and activities that waste our money and time end up in the bottom of the list.
Examples: the choice of priorities based on the value of results, life values, urgency, convenience of a place or environment.
The increase in time due to investing in projects that will bring more money / status / resources, which in turn will increase the release of time. For example, by purchasing the services of a nanny, speeding up transactions in connection with status, etc.
It is more convenient to do tasks if they are similar or physically close by, grouping tasks in this way, you can go shopping, buy everything you need right away, or start working at the computer immediately to work on the documents, parse the mail and clean the Windows without being distracted by other things. Grouping saves time and effort.
Examples: by place of implementation, by the situation in which they need to be done, by the person with whom these tasks need to be performed, by the similarity of the work that needs to be done. The increase in time by reducing the cost of travel / psychological adjustment to work / person.
Some tasks can be performed together with others, most often it refers to reading, watching and listening to something that allows you to learn "on the go." Not to be confused with multitasking, which involves the execution of several cases at once. In creation, one of the tasks is “empty” or “not complete”, so the second complements the first, and does not replace it.
Examples: reading a book while waiting in a hospital, an audiobook while on the way to work, an exercise bike while watching a movie.
The increase in time due to the implementation of 2 tasks simultaneously.
It is always useful to think about which tasks and how you can pass on to others, as this can save a lot of time later. It is important to remember that you still need to control all delegated tasks.
Examples: hiring assistants, transferring part of the work to colleagues, failure to perform tasks that they will still do without you.
The increase in time due to the implementation of these tasks by other people (provided that they will be executed no worse than yours).
Any plan must correspond to life, otherwise it not only does not contribute, but also interferes with the person. Therefore, a periodic review of your tasks allows you to adjust them to reflect the changes. This simple method allows you to keep up to date your plan, if you do not, then any long-term plan is doomed to failure.
Examples: traveling to nature with life comprehension, reading your plans written on paper with an assessment of their realism and relevance, the task in an electronic organizer, prompting you to retire and overestimate the importance of your tasks.
The increase in time due to the removal of irrelevant plans that you would have fulfilled without really need for it. It is also an increase due to the timely introduction of tasks, without which a number of current projects would be suspended.
When you do something, your brain adjusts to it, starting to do it better and faster, but if you do something else in parallel, this effect disappears.
Actually, multitasking harms the efficiency of thinking, and focusing helps to solve problems faster and, more importantly, versatile.
Examples: set a timer for a specific task, turn off the phones while a certain task is being performed, tell colleagues not to distract you at a certain time.
The increase in time due to the acceleration of the task, due to the use of brain resources to the full without crushing this resource for distractions.
In our life there are enough events, about which it is better not to forget, ranging from appointments to the birthday of a spouse. In order not to be in an awkward situation and plan your employment, it is better to record all the tasks with hard dates and times in one easily accessible place.
Examples: paper with notes, cardboard calendar on the wall, calendar on the smartphone.
The increase in time due to the absence of loss of time / reputation due to preparation for important dates in advance.
When it is a lot of events and affairs in your life, it is difficult to hold all this in a head. This often leads to the feeling that you constantly do not have time, which translates into self-flagellation and self-humiliation. At times it is more convenient to understand what you need to do today in order to accomplish everything that is really possible, taking into account rest and time for yourself. If you have such a list for every day, then very soon you begin to realistically evaluate what you can expect from yourself, and what is not worth it and how much work per day you really can do.
Examples: a list in the head, a list on paper, a filter in an electronic organizer.
The increase in time due to internal peace and one place in which you need to look in order to assess the volume of tasks. The growth is also achieved by taking into account the list of cases of overdue tasks that should have been completed.
Our brain does not cope with the amount of everything that needs to be remembered and, sometimes, it's not a bad memory, but the fact that you are simply focused on what you are doing now, which is also good. A reminder will allow you not to forget an important thing, especially if it is related to a specific time.
Examples: a reminder from a friend, a sticker with a record, a reminder on the phone.
The increase in time due to the timely completion of the task, the delay in which threatens to waste time / resources / reputation.
This is a complete list of tools that I found for myself in time management. If you can offer something else on the content, then I will be happy to complement the article and, of course, I will answer your comment.
It seems to me that the first principle of implementation is a convenience. If something is not convenient, it is not possible to get used to it, which means to embed it in life too.
For the development of habits, I rely on the knowledge gained from the book “The Power of Habit” by Charles Dahigg and for 2 years of self-education in the neurophysiology and biochemistry of the brain.
I try to create a “sign - habitual actions - reward” relationship, where a sign is always an external stimulus, habitual actions - what I directly do, a reward - something that gives me pleasant emotions.
For the implementation of all the above time-management tools in life, applications are best suited, since they allow you to expand the capabilities of the brain, which always have a lot to spend.
As a result, I stopped at one application (I will not name it, since the article is not for the sake of advertising), which allowed me to implement all the tools at once. The most difficult task to apply
applications to connect the brain and the program. According to my surveys for many, planning is writing on a piece of paper and if you ask yourself the question “Why isn’t a clever application?”, The answer is simple “it is unusual!”. Therefore, I divided the work with the application into 2 stages:
When planning:
Sign: there is inspiration (the desire to plan is quite clearly felt as an internal state)
Action: Introduce tasks to your projects.
Reward: in the to-do list there are clear tasks that you want to do and the results you want to get.
Sign: in the morning turning on the phone - on the widget to-do list.
Action: start doing things.
Reward: a pleasant sound of a completed task / awareness of your productivity.
I also used a long-tried trick: I boasted to everyone about how I use the application (when people cheer you back, this is the strongest way to consolidate the habit, provided that you boast real measurable results. But if you don’t have them, you not praise).
As a result, a month later he began to wonder - “How have other people not yet used such abrupt opportunities to manage their lives?”. What for me is an indicator of a formed habit. I have been using the 4th month already - normal flight.
I will also be grateful if you tell me your ways of implementing time management technologies. Your experience is very interesting to me!
Sincerely, Holeschihin NA
1. Gleb Arkhangelsk "Time Drive"
2. David Allen “Getting Things Done”
3. Staffan Noteberg “Tomato Time Management”
4. Alexey Tolkachev “Extreme Time Management”
+ A huge number of articles
Applications:
1. Mylifeorganized
2. To do list
3. Doit.im
4. Time-master
5. Wunderlist
+ about 10 more applications.
Full or partial copying only with the consent of the author.
Under the tool of time management, I mean some actions with their tasks that lead to an increase in free time or a reduction in the time for a task (that the essence is the same thing = release of time).
I even dare to suggest a visual inequality:
')
Time spent on the task> time spent on the task - saving time from the planning tool.
And an example for clarity:
shopping for napkins + shopping for groceries> shopping for napkins and groceries - time for a separate shopping for groceries
In this case, the planning tool is task grouping. As you can see from the example, we save time on dressing + on the road to the store, hence the amount of time spent on this task is really reduced. I began to look for and implement such tools in my life.
I offer you my list of tools:
1. Task repository
A place where you can write down all your tasks so as not to forget them. The more your good ideas you keep in storage, the greater the chance that they will not disappear from your head and be realized.
Examples: writing on paper, notepad, organizer, electronic organizer.
The increase in time due to timely preparation for cases, by reducing the number of forgotten cases and the associated stresses.
2. Distribution of tasks
When we wrote down all our tasks, in fact, we just received a dump. The distribution of tasks into categories allows you to understand how to handle a particular task due to the fact that we understand the context in which it takes place.
Examples: division by spheres of life (fate wheel), division by place (home / work), division by one-step / multi-step and topical / irrelevant (Getting Things Done).
The increase in time due to the understanding in which context the task is solved, which facilitates the comprehension of the task. It is worth explaining, our brain solves any problem in the context of the phenomena surrounding this task, and if the context is clear, then the solution is clear, and if not, then the brain has to re-generate this context each time, which lengthens thinking (and sometimes it doesn’t cause do). Example: “make a project”. Immediately there are questions - “What project?” “By what time?”, “Why do they need to deal with me at all?”, Etc. In fact, I don’t want to do this task, because it requires a brain effort before it can be started.
3. Task hierarchy
Most of the desired results we want are multi-step, with the steps to be carried out consistently, in order to achieve first intermediate goals, and only at the end of the main goal. Hierarchical assignment of tasks allows you to see the main steps and their interrelation, in order to properly allocate resources and time to achieve each sub-goal.
Examples: logical tree, folder and subfolder structure of the operating system, task structure in an electronic organizer.
The increase in time is due to the ejection from life of unrealistic projects or the timely reworking of existing ones, because thanks to the hierarchy, even at the stage of prescribing major steps, you can see the unrealistic project, saving time for detailed planning and even more so for practical attempts to bring it to life.
4. Detailing tasks
As practice shows, it is possible to prescribe the goal of a project on SMART, it is possible to hierarchically set tasks, but only detailing on specific actions allows you to realistically estimate the amount of work and required resources that are necessary for project success. Detailing is complicated by the fact that over time comes the new information on the project and specific actions change.
Examples: setting a task for meaningful actions, for specific actions, for possible steps.
The increase in time due to the cut-off of projects that consume too many resources or by reducing the priority of such projects. An increase in time during detailing is due to timely preparation, for example, having detailed the order, you understand that the materials spent on manufacturing + time will not cover the amount offered to you, although at the negotiation stage this amount seemed huge to you.
5. Task prioritization
As soon as we have specified our tasks in detail, an understanding comes that everything is not in time. How to understand what to do first? It is necessary to set priorities so that profitable projects get our strength and attention first and foremost, and activities that waste our money and time end up in the bottom of the list.
Examples: the choice of priorities based on the value of results, life values, urgency, convenience of a place or environment.
The increase in time due to investing in projects that will bring more money / status / resources, which in turn will increase the release of time. For example, by purchasing the services of a nanny, speeding up transactions in connection with status, etc.
6. Grouping tasks.
It is more convenient to do tasks if they are similar or physically close by, grouping tasks in this way, you can go shopping, buy everything you need right away, or start working at the computer immediately to work on the documents, parse the mail and clean the Windows without being distracted by other things. Grouping saves time and effort.
Examples: by place of implementation, by the situation in which they need to be done, by the person with whom these tasks need to be performed, by the similarity of the work that needs to be done. The increase in time by reducing the cost of travel / psychological adjustment to work / person.
7. Sozadachnost
Some tasks can be performed together with others, most often it refers to reading, watching and listening to something that allows you to learn "on the go." Not to be confused with multitasking, which involves the execution of several cases at once. In creation, one of the tasks is “empty” or “not complete”, so the second complements the first, and does not replace it.
Examples: reading a book while waiting in a hospital, an audiobook while on the way to work, an exercise bike while watching a movie.
The increase in time due to the implementation of 2 tasks simultaneously.
8. Delegation of tasks
It is always useful to think about which tasks and how you can pass on to others, as this can save a lot of time later. It is important to remember that you still need to control all delegated tasks.
Examples: hiring assistants, transferring part of the work to colleagues, failure to perform tasks that they will still do without you.
The increase in time due to the implementation of these tasks by other people (provided that they will be executed no worse than yours).
9. Review of tasks
Any plan must correspond to life, otherwise it not only does not contribute, but also interferes with the person. Therefore, a periodic review of your tasks allows you to adjust them to reflect the changes. This simple method allows you to keep up to date your plan, if you do not, then any long-term plan is doomed to failure.
Examples: traveling to nature with life comprehension, reading your plans written on paper with an assessment of their realism and relevance, the task in an electronic organizer, prompting you to retire and overestimate the importance of your tasks.
The increase in time due to the removal of irrelevant plans that you would have fulfilled without really need for it. It is also an increase due to the timely introduction of tasks, without which a number of current projects would be suspended.
10. Focusing on the task
When you do something, your brain adjusts to it, starting to do it better and faster, but if you do something else in parallel, this effect disappears.
Actually, multitasking harms the efficiency of thinking, and focusing helps to solve problems faster and, more importantly, versatile.
Examples: set a timer for a specific task, turn off the phones while a certain task is being performed, tell colleagues not to distract you at a certain time.
The increase in time due to the acceleration of the task, due to the use of brain resources to the full without crushing this resource for distractions.
11. Calendar of events
In our life there are enough events, about which it is better not to forget, ranging from appointments to the birthday of a spouse. In order not to be in an awkward situation and plan your employment, it is better to record all the tasks with hard dates and times in one easily accessible place.
Examples: paper with notes, cardboard calendar on the wall, calendar on the smartphone.
The increase in time due to the absence of loss of time / reputation due to preparation for important dates in advance.
12. Daily to-do list
When it is a lot of events and affairs in your life, it is difficult to hold all this in a head. This often leads to the feeling that you constantly do not have time, which translates into self-flagellation and self-humiliation. At times it is more convenient to understand what you need to do today in order to accomplish everything that is really possible, taking into account rest and time for yourself. If you have such a list for every day, then very soon you begin to realistically evaluate what you can expect from yourself, and what is not worth it and how much work per day you really can do.
Examples: a list in the head, a list on paper, a filter in an electronic organizer.
The increase in time due to internal peace and one place in which you need to look in order to assess the volume of tasks. The growth is also achieved by taking into account the list of cases of overdue tasks that should have been completed.
13. Reminders
Our brain does not cope with the amount of everything that needs to be remembered and, sometimes, it's not a bad memory, but the fact that you are simply focused on what you are doing now, which is also good. A reminder will allow you not to forget an important thing, especially if it is related to a specific time.
Examples: a reminder from a friend, a sticker with a record, a reminder on the phone.
The increase in time due to the timely completion of the task, the delay in which threatens to waste time / resources / reputation.
This is a complete list of tools that I found for myself in time management. If you can offer something else on the content, then I will be happy to complement the article and, of course, I will answer your comment.
Introduction to life
It seems to me that the first principle of implementation is a convenience. If something is not convenient, it is not possible to get used to it, which means to embed it in life too.
For the development of habits, I rely on the knowledge gained from the book “The Power of Habit” by Charles Dahigg and for 2 years of self-education in the neurophysiology and biochemistry of the brain.
I try to create a “sign - habitual actions - reward” relationship, where a sign is always an external stimulus, habitual actions - what I directly do, a reward - something that gives me pleasant emotions.
For the implementation of all the above time-management tools in life, applications are best suited, since they allow you to expand the capabilities of the brain, which always have a lot to spend.
As a result, I stopped at one application (I will not name it, since the article is not for the sake of advertising), which allowed me to implement all the tools at once. The most difficult task to apply
applications to connect the brain and the program. According to my surveys for many, planning is writing on a piece of paper and if you ask yourself the question “Why isn’t a clever application?”, The answer is simple “it is unusual!”. Therefore, I divided the work with the application into 2 stages:
1. Planning
When planning:
Sign: there is inspiration (the desire to plan is quite clearly felt as an internal state)
Action: Introduce tasks to your projects.
Reward: in the to-do list there are clear tasks that you want to do and the results you want to get.
2. Execution
Sign: in the morning turning on the phone - on the widget to-do list.
Action: start doing things.
Reward: a pleasant sound of a completed task / awareness of your productivity.
I also used a long-tried trick: I boasted to everyone about how I use the application (when people cheer you back, this is the strongest way to consolidate the habit, provided that you boast real measurable results. But if you don’t have them, you not praise).
As a result, a month later he began to wonder - “How have other people not yet used such abrupt opportunities to manage their lives?”. What for me is an indicator of a formed habit. I have been using the 4th month already - normal flight.
I will also be grateful if you tell me your ways of implementing time management technologies. Your experience is very interesting to me!
Sincerely, Holeschihin NA
List of books:
1. Gleb Arkhangelsk "Time Drive"
2. David Allen “Getting Things Done”
3. Staffan Noteberg “Tomato Time Management”
4. Alexey Tolkachev “Extreme Time Management”
+ A huge number of articles
Applications:
1. Mylifeorganized
2. To do list
3. Doit.im
4. Time-master
5. Wunderlist
+ about 10 more applications.
Full or partial copying only with the consent of the author.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/320240/
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