How to get everything done: tips and tricks for managing your time

How to organize your working day

If you don’t have a tactical plan for every day and a strategic plan for the month, get ready for blockages at work. When endless fatigue and nervousness have become constant partners, try changing your approach to the distribution of working time.

10 main principles of planning

Take 10 minutes to plan daily. Successful people do this every evening, so their day goes by without fuss and psychosis.
Plan based on your actual capabilities. Don't overload your day or week, the point is to distribute tasks evenly and work without stress.
Choose suitable work and rest cycles. For example:
90 min. work and 15 min. break.

Scientists have found that short breaks from work allow the brain to restore its ability to concentrate. By the way, we already wrote an article about why you get tired at work. A prerequisite for a “reboot” is physical activity and a change in activity.

IMPORTANT! Step away from the computer, don’t use social networks on your smartphone, it’s better to walk around the office and stretch your muscles.

There is no point in lumping everything together. Write down urgent, important, similar, long-term, short-term tasks in separate columns. It is more convenient to immediately plan for a week or month.
Plan the most difficult tasks that require a lot of concentration for the first half of the day so that you can complete them while you are fresh and full of energy. Break a large task into parts, maintaining the execution logic. If by the middle of the day you are overwhelmed with new work, include it in your existing plan, taking into account what is more important to do first, what can be postponed until another day.
If possible, free yourself from multitasking. Recent research has shown that multitasking is a highly inefficient way of working that drains your mental and intellectual resources.
Be flexible and adjust your plan throughout the day as needed, otherwise you risk falling off course and not being able to get back on track.
Learn to say no to people. Don't let them steal your time and be distracted by insignificant discussions, complaints and gossip.
Make an optimal plan for the day, but leave small time intervals for adjustments.
BY THE WAY! Following a rigid schedule can lead to stress if you don't listen to your condition.
Small tasks - a phone call, paying a bill - are best completed right away so that you can continue to concentrate on important tasks without interference.

These tips will help if you are not getting anything done at work. Try to plan things so that you finish before the deadline. This will lead you to career growth.

Lifehacks to increase productivity

The reason for lack of time is not always the inability to manage this time. Very often a person simply does not have enough strength to accomplish everything he has planned. Even if you have amazing motivation, even if you are full of enthusiasm, even if your day is scheduled minute by minute - but what does it matter if your head is no longer cooking anything, when your brain refuses to serve you faithfully?

So much has already been said that the life of a modern person is an endless stream of information, a lot of events, and overwhelming stress. We will not go into lengthy reflections, but simply summarize: our performance tends to zero under the influence of all these factors. And to be able to live at all, you need to keep yourself and your health in order.

You probably know that, for example, a little chocolate helps lift your mood, increase vitality, and improve brain activity. So, eating a chocolate bar is already a life hack - a trick that allows you to become more effective. But we will not insist on chocolate, but will give some other tips.

Take breaks

Thinking about how to keep up with everything, many people begin to work tirelessly. But this is fundamentally wrong, because the brain (and the body in general) becomes overtired and performance decreases. Therefore, while working during the day, be sure to take breaks. Take some time to rest to allow your brain to rest, recover and return to normal. Neglecting rest can knock anyone down, and even lead to serious illnesses. Don't forget this.

Have a productive rest

A logical continuation of the previous point: spend your leisure time so that thoughts about work fade into the background. You know the saying: “When you come to work, leave your home problems at home”? It’s the same here: during non-working hours, disconnect from work worries. Watch a movie, listen to music, play with your child, take a walk, do housework, but just leave your work alone - it won’t run away. Otherwise, you will not be able to relax even after two weeks of vacation, because... the brain simply won’t relax, which means you won’t rest either.

Get enough sleep

And again about rest - sleep as much as you should - about 7-8 hours a day. This time is optimal for proper rest and recuperation. Of course, it may be problematic for a young mother with children, a student before a session, or an always busy businessman to do this, but “beauty requires sacrifice.” How to have time to do everything - sleep normally. In addition, the morning, as they say, is wiser than the evening, and when you wake up, you can look at everything with a fresh head, including understanding when and what is best to do that day.

Eat right

Another component of the lifestyle of a productive person who always has time for everything is proper nutrition. The body must receive the required amount of vitamins, minerals and trace elements to ensure its stable functioning. The brain “loves” potatoes, legumes, nuts, sugar and starch in acceptable limits (in fact, we have an article “Foods for the Brain” and even a whole course “Proper Nutrition”). Here we will say that you should not abuse food - overeat, but you can eat in different ways, and if you are very interested, read about alternative nutrition concepts. By providing your body with all the necessary resources, you will be able to remain cheerful and active throughout the day, and how to manage everything will no longer be a problem for you.

Breathe and see

To improve brain function and, accordingly, become a more productive and successful person, it is advisable to resort to aromatherapy and color therapy from time to time. In the first case, you simply buy yourself an aroma lamp and several types of essential oils that stimulate brain activity and intellectual activity, for example, eucalyptus, lemon, basil, lavender, jasmine, rosemary or peppermint oils. In the second case, it is recommended to look at a certain color for several minutes during the day: red helps to cheer up, orange stimulates the production of joy hormones, yellow increases efficiency and perseverance, green gives optimism, blue activates thought processes, blue treats addictions, and purple has a positive effect on thoughts and emotions.

Work physically

If you really want to find time for everything, then include in this “everything” physical activity - an integral part of the life of any productive person. You can’t work with your head all the time, and sometimes you need to work with your hands. What about the arms – the legs, the shoulders and the whole body in general. Exercise in the morning, training in the evening, installation work on weekends, football, hockey, boxing, tennis - any physical activity will benefit you. It improves blood circulation and metabolism, restores old neural connections and creates new ones, kneads joints and prevents the accumulation of salts and other harmful substances, including toxins, in the body. And during working hours, you can do facial yoga or give yourself a head massage.

read books

Spend some time every day reading useful and interesting books. It is best to give yourself at least 30 minutes for this activity. While reading, a person is distracted, relaxes, and improves the performance of his brain. If you want to understand even better how to keep up with everything, you can find (buy or download) books on this topic. In addition, reading promotes better concentration, development of imagination, analytical and imaginative thinking, broadening one's horizons, self-development and personal growth. Setting aside half an hour to read a book is easy, and if you add it to your to-do list, it will add another completed task to your list and you will feel good about yourself again.

Cut off the excess

Above, we talked almost all the time about useful things, including useful habits, but said very little about harmful ones. Let's fix it. Bad habits, especially those that cause addiction, not only often have a detrimental effect on health, but also take up the lion's share of time. Because of this, the amount of work that we could do decreases, efficiency decreases, and attention becomes unfocused. One thing clings to another, and instead of doing some important task, we go to the smoking room, run to the coffee machine, and quietly chew a bun. If you don’t want to harm your health and at the same time do more, quit bad habits and spend more time on healthy ones.

Calculate your forces

To achieve more, do not try to embrace the immensity, i.e. Don’t take on more tasks than you can handle, otherwise you will be faced with an Everest of tasks that you will never climb even with the help of a hundred Sherpas. Any work process should also be optimized: follow the plan, don’t get distracted, let everything you need always be available. Look for opportunities to reduce time for completing simple tasks and performing habitual actions. Beware of the accumulation of unfinished tasks - do everything on time, do not put it off until later. If necessary, don't be embarrassed, ashamed or afraid to ask for help. Help is good in almost any matter. Delegate authority whenever possible.

Use gadgets

Modern mobile devices do not exist just to scroll through Instagram, take selfies and play Fruit Ninja. Laptops, tablets, smartphones, and iPhones have many functions designed to serve a person’s benefit. Multifunctional calendars, task planners, reminders, alarm clocks, electronic readers, etc. There are also a lot of cool applications that allow you to solve the problem of how to manage to do everything. Among them are Clear, Rescue Time, Wunderlist, Clara, Workflow, Trello, Timely, Pocket and others. So don’t turn your gadget into a tool for “sticking”, it’s better to make it an assistant, because it will help a student in learning, a student in class, a person with children, etc. Just think about how you can use the same smartphone wisely, and a lot of ideas will come to your mind.

Reward yourself

Motivation is the engine, but sometimes a person is exhausted because his actions do not provide feedback. So what does it mean to cross things off your list every day? What is a small step towards a goal that you decided to achieve only in a year? Endless tasks can drain all your energy if you don't see progress. To motivate yourself when you feel like you're losing motivation, reward yourself. Give yourself small gifts. You’ve completed all your tasks for the day early - go to the cinema, worked “without jambs” for a week and managed to do everything - go to the store and buy yourself a cool new jacket or boots that you’ve been wanting for a long time, passed the test - go snowboarding! You can come up with anything - if you have the desire. The main thing is to understand why you are doing anything at all. Find what inspires you and strive for it. Any job can bring joy and pleasure if you know how to ignite yourself to keep moving.

In fact, it’s not so much important how to do everything, but why to do it. Your own goals are your motivation. By any means, remind yourself what you want to achieve, what the meaning of your life is, why you are ready to get up at six in the morning and rush headlong to study, work, act, achieve. Learn to give up everything unnecessary and be sure, be sure to evaluate your every day. Only you can help yourself learn to do everything you need to do. We are simply showing one of the paths, and it’s up to you to decide whether to follow it or not.

Finally, watch this interesting and very easy video about increasing personal productivity.

We also recommend reading:

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Key words:1Time management

Learn to plan for a week, a month in advance

It's time to talk about how to organize your work to get everything done. Planning is at the forefront.

You will have to decide what planning media you will use.

Electronic The good thing is that you can edit, rearrange, cross out and add tasks many times, see the entire week or month on the screen, and use data from any gadget.
ADVICE! Using fills of different colors, you will immediately see urgent tasks, project deadlines, and the busyness of each day of the week. The choice of electronic planners is huge, and there are also free ones.
Paper diaries are good because they are available in any situation - during flights, in the absence of the Internet, laptop, etc.

It is optimal to have both. Synchronize your data whenever possible so you don't miss anything.

Plan points that are too general and too detailed are ineffective: the former do not provide all the information, the latter are confusing. Follow a few rules for long-term planning:

when scheduling a business call with a partner, write down the full name, position, phone number, so that you don’t waste time searching for information later;
immediately enter appointments, conferences, meetings into the planner; at the same time, in a separate column, indicate which documents are necessary or advisable to take with you, write down contact details, addresses and other necessary information;
during the week, distribute tasks so that by Thursday the most important thing is done - as you know, fatigue accumulates, so it is better to leave simple tasks at the end of the week; clearly formulate tasks and subtasks;
think through long-term projects in detail and distribute your working time so that you get everything done and the project is completed a couple of days before the deadline; if this is not possible, again leave the simplest for last.

BY THE WAY! If you develop the habit of immediately adding tasks to your calendar and allocating time to complete them, you will never have problems with deadlines.

How can a woman with children and work manage everything and not get tired?

If at home you simultaneously play the role of mother, housewife and workaholic, first of all, you and your children need to adhere to a strict daily routine. At the same time, when performing daily tasks, it is important to move at a comfortable pace and not to reproach yourself for being too slow.

In addition, it is important to get rid of fussiness. This bad habit eats up a lot of your time and wastes your vital energy. Because when you are in a hurry, you lash out at your loved ones and feel very tense.

And it is important for a woman to be in a state of love and relaxation, even if she has a busy schedule! And to do this, you need to learn how to effectively and regularly take care of yourself and your health.

What to do when you are stuck at work?

For starters, don't panic. Instead of repeating: “I don’t have time to do my work,” start taking action.

Step-by-step guide to clearing debris:

Sort your tasks. Separate lists – documents, accounts, negotiations, meetings.
Highlight in green those tasks whose completion depends only on you.
Highlight in yellow the tasks you perform as a team.
Highlight urgent tasks in red.
Bring to the meeting those marked in yellow and red, and discuss with your colleagues the methods and deadlines for implementation. Immediately add it to your weekly plan and check how feasible the tasks are on time. If necessary, adjust and coordinate with others.
Start completing tasks from the green-red list; distribute tasks from the green list evenly across the days of the week and complete them strictly according to plan, without waiting for them to “turn red.”
When the tasks are sorted, it will no longer be difficult to create an effective plan that is realistic in terms of completion.
Contact management if co-workers are constantly delaying your work. If you are a leader, take action.

IMPORTANT! Often, blockages form because you waste your working time chatting on social networks and instant messengers. Put your phone away from your eyes, block social networks on your work computer and start working!

When a lot of work accumulates, you do not have time to complete it. And only effective planning will save you from rush jobs and missed deadlines.

If problems arise due to incorrect organization of the work process in principle, contact the manual. When management fails to organize, try to find another job. Living in constant stress leads to health problems and darkens your entire life.

Basic principles of time management

Effective time management is based on three pillars: correctly set priorities, reasonable planning and competent goal setting.

Set your priorities right

What is the most important thing in life for you? Take a piece of paper and rank your values, starting with the most important. For clarity, here is an example:

health and well-being of family members;
professional self-realization;
material wealth;
self-development;
sports, travel, hobbies;
chat with friends;
creation.

The more points there are, the better. Try to write consciously and thoughtfully. You will still have to work with this list.

When you're done, ask yourself another question: where do you spend most of your time? Also write your answer as a list in descending order.

Pick up both lists and compare them. Ideally, they should coincide - then you can consider yourself a time management guru. The greater the discrepancy, the worse your time management situation is. But the good news is that now you see what you need to work on.

Learn to set goals

The goal is the lever that triggers motivation. And motivation, in essence, is the energy that the brain releases to achieve this goal. He highlights it for a reason, but in the hope that you will use it wisely and multiply it.

Imagine that you came to the bank to ask for funds for a new business. The banker does not give money to everyone, he has his own material interest. To get money, you need to convince him that the business is promising and promises profit, and that you are an adequate and reliable person.

Our brain is an equally picky creditor. To receive energy to achieve a goal, it must meet several criteria at once:

be specific;
be achievable;
be emotionally charged;
do not conflict with core values.

Take your prioritized list again and write down several goals for each item. Make sure they meet all the criteria listed above. Then your inner banker will not be stingy.

Try to ensure that the goals are not too long in time and do not contradict each other - you cannot reach your destination by moving in several directions at once.

Start planning

If you haven't developed the habit of planning yet, now is the time to start doing so. You will again need a list of your priorities. Write down all your tasks for the next week, relating them to your values. The higher the value on the list, the more important the matter related to it.

Now take a diary and start organizing your tasks by day of the week. First of all, write down the most important ones - and then in descending order.

For example, next week you need to go to the dentist with your child. The health of your children is at the top of your list, which means you need to devote time to this matter first.

Once you have mastered the basics of planning, move on to the advanced level. Create a daily routine and start sticking to it. Don't forget to take into account your natural biorhythms.

Plan your day so that periods of intense work alternate with moments of rest and relaxation. If at first you don't get everything done on time, you need to be patient and keep trying.

After some time, you will become more organized and disciplined and will be able to put everything in order.

How to find time to do household chores?

Does your home routine terrify you? Let's talk about how to cope with things without stress.

Cooking food

If you don't have time to cook after work, listen to our recommendations.

Make sure to stock your refrigerator for the entire week. It is irrational to waste time in queues after work.
Choose one day a week to go to the supermarket. Make a sample menu for the week and buy all the necessary products according to the list. If you don't have a car, buy a bag with wheels.
If you prefer not to eat processed foods, make homemade preparations - meat and vegetable cutlets, dumplings - in case you feel unwell or arrive home late. Otherwise, you won't have time to do anything around the house after work.
Save complicated meals for the weekend if you like to cook. Daily meal preparation should not take more than 40-60 minutes.
Buy all the necessary time-saving devices - multicookers, large pots and pans. Prepare for several days.

Cleaning

If you don’t have time to clean up after work, then the best way is to keep it clean and tidy every day.

Immediately put clothes in the closet or laundry basket, put all items back in their place after use, and do not accumulate dirty dishes.
Rational owners immediately wipe down the stove, wash the plumbing in between, and sweep the floor after cooking.
Consider purchasing a dishwasher and a robot vacuum cleaner; with such helpers, your life will become easier and more enjoyable.

Try to follow these rules. Then there will no longer be a need to spend hours cleaning the apartment on weekends and carry out general cleaning once every six months.

ADVICE! Train your children to help you around the house. Organize a competition to see who can wipe off the dust the fastest, polish the mirrors until they shine, or wash the shoes. A small prize will be a great incentive.

When you do household chores together, you not only get the job done faster, but also unite the family and teach your children to take care of others.

Good morning: getting ready in the evening

If everything is ready in the evening, then you no longer need to include a certain number of minutes in your schedule for the morning bustle and hassle. Divide the free time in half - for yourself and for cleaning. It might seem like a small thing, but if you spend about 10-15 minutes every morning, the house will always be clean. After all, you can wipe off dust with a cosmetic mask on your face. Now calmly wake up the heir - it’s time to wash up and go to kindergarten. Start an hourglass in the bathroom - while colored dust flows down in a thin stream, the child brushes her teeth, and you prepare breakfast. Before leaving the house, remember that you have to cook dinner in the evening. Transfer the necessary products from the freezer to the refrigerator - while you are away, they will have time to defrost on their own.

Here's a trick: put things in order in different places each time, then gradually all areas of the apartment will receive your attention and shine. Dirty dishes in the sink can multiply. Therefore, it is better to rinse cups from your morning coffee and a bowl of baby porridge right away!

Psychologist's advice

Psychologists tell us how to learn to manage everything at work and at home. Here are the main recommendations.

Get enough sleep. This is one of your main tasks. 7-8 hours of sleep is necessary for good health and well-being.
IMPORTANT! The ability to focus and spend less time on complex tasks is directly related to the duration and quality of sleep.
Don't skip breakfast. A cup of coffee will help you cheer up, but will not fill you up. Brain activity is stimulated by nutrients, do not starve your brain.
Give yourself a good mood in the morning. Don't read the news or watch TV before work. Pleasant music, light exercises, and a delicious breakfast will set you up for a productive day. In the morning you can even exercise without compromising your service.
Social networks absorb your energy in huge quantities. As a result, the ability to focus on what is important and think creatively decreases. Give up social media for a few days and you will be surprised how much your work productivity increases. By

Don't get distracted by social networks

Social networks in the modern world are the main distraction and “devourer” of our time. The matter is especially complicated by the fact that each of us is registered in at least 3-5 different instant messengers and social networks.

If your work is not related to social networks, reduce the time you spend on them as much as possible. Clearly define the time at which you enter them, and in no case exceed it.

Let's say you decide to check social networks and respond to incoming messages from 9:00 to 9:10 and from 20:00 to 20:10. So stick to this time and under no circumstances exceed it! Dedicate the rest of your time to planned activities.

Useful video

I suggest you watch an interesting video on the topic of how to manage everything not only at work, but also in life:

You've probably found the answer to the question of why you don't have time at work. Learn to be productive and focused, use your time wisely. Then you will get more freedom and will be able to solve problems many times faster. You will have time for family, communication, hobbies, walks and relaxation.

Neglecting planning means voluntarily agreeing to a deterioration in the quality of life. Organize your time, forget about stress and enjoy life.

At the end of the day we dedicate time to ourselves

After a busy day, it's important to take time to take care of yourself. To do this, there should be assistants next to you, to whom you could delegate some of the household chores.

Yes, yes, you don’t need to take it all on yourself! You are not a horse, but a Woman who needs self-care like air, otherwise you will quickly burn out. Therefore, learn to delegate some tasks to your household.

At this time, do what brings you pleasure. Taking a fragrant bath, listening to relaxing music, a cup of tea with goodies, reading a book and much more.