“I don’t have time for anything”, “I’m spinning like a squirrel in a wheel”, “only yesterday was Monday, it’s already Friday”. Each of us has periods when it seems like life is flying at cosmic speed and you don’t meet any deadlines. How do you learn to manage your time wisely and get more done in less time? The editors of INC-News spoke with a business coach, founder of the International Academy of Business Coaching 2WIN, author of the Holistic Influence methodology Katerina Akman and found out her opinion on this issue.
“Time is our main resource. And it is limited. Lost minutes cannot be recovered. You can’t rewind the day, so you won’t be late for an important meeting. It’s hard to hide your annoyance if you didn’t complete the task or forgot to wish a loved one a happy birthday. Usually we remember when we want to do something, but we don’t have time,” Akman said.
The business coach suggested four effective ways out of the situation.
Set clear priorities
When you feel like you don’t have enough time, it’s important to calm your emotions and approach the problem rationally. This will help answer the questions: “What do I want to achieve? Why do I need it? What should I do to achieve my goals? What resources do I have for this?
You need to break the goal down into specific steps and write them down in any convenient diary, for example, the Google calendar. When we understand that we have allocated time for the task and have the resources to complete it, the desired result is more likely to be achieved.
“It is impossible to do everything, because “everything” seems very abstract. But you can do what’s really important to us when we make it clear,” Akman said.
We delegate some of the responsibilities
There is a category of people who are used to doing everything by themselves. It is very difficult for them to trust and delegate tasks to others, because the attitude “no one will do it better than me” works. As a result, there is often not enough time.
Answer the questions: “Do I have to do everything I do now? Which part of the cases and to whom can I transfer?
“You don’t have to be a leader to delegate. You can share some tasks with co-workers, a spouse, adult children, parents, friends and helpers,” Ackman explained.
Using the Pomodoro Method
How many times during the day are we distracted by other things? Effective time management depends on our discipline and ability to focus. One of the popular techniques that helps maintain attention is the Pomodoro method, developed by Italian Francesco Cirillo.
Its essence is as follows. The first step is to make a to-do list for the day. At the start of a task, follow the rule: 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off. A half-hour time frame is jokingly called a “tomato”. After several such periods, it is advisable to take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. When the task is fully completed, it is removed from the plan. After a day or a week, you can calculate how many “tomatoes” it took for this or that.
It is important for the manager and employees to monitor discipline and focus of attention, noted the business coach. The overall result depends on it.
Balance between strict planning and freedom
Of course, we are not robots. Everyone is looking for a happy medium between work and leisure, a clear to-do list and a free life. It is a creative process. Here it is important to learn to listen to yourself, to distinguish the need for recovery (this aspect must also be planned) from laziness, procrastination, indiscipline.
“If a person wants to feel free, not to be tied to a schedule and tasks, you have to understand that such an approach entails certain risks. Freedom is little controlled. When you don’t plan anything, you have to be ready to any result,” explained the business coach.
In order to manage time effectively and accomplish more in less time, it is important to learn how to set goals, understand why we want to achieve them, break big tasks into small steps, be able to delegate and stay focused. That way, you can better manage life’s most precious resource and get exactly the results you want, Ackman concluded.
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