4 unfailing time management techniques for those who have tried everything

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

When you need to overcome procrastination and finally take on things that have been postponed for a long time.

1. Flow technique

Chances are you've heard about the Pomodoro Method a million times already. We set a timer, work for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes, after three work-rest cycles we take a longer break of 15–20 minutes, repeat the required number of times.

The "tomato" technique is an effective and popular way to help you focus on business, but it doesn't work for everyone. There are those who are not motivated by a running timer, but rather stressful.

It was for them that an alternative to The Flowtime Technique / The Urgent Pigeon to the usual Pomodoro appeared - the flow technique. It is softer and takes into account that at different times of the day and on different days, people's productivity is not the same. Sometimes you can work effortlessly for 1, 5 hours without rest, and sometimes 15 minutes are very difficult.

And the flow technique also allows you to get to know yourself better, understand when you have more strength and when you have less, and, possibly, reshape the schedule based on your own characteristics.

But at the same time, this approach requires more awareness and discipline: without a timer, it is very easy to start getting distracted by everything.

How to apply

1. Record the time at which you started working.
2. Work as long as you feel comfortable.
3. When you feel that you need a break, take the time again to gauge how long you have been working.
4. Set a timer for the amount of time you need to rest. The main thing here is not to go too far: you will not rest in 3 minutes, and after 3 hours of hanging on social networks, you will not want to work anymore.
5. When the timer rings, go back to business and repeat the cycle as many times as necessary.

2. Autofocus

This method is suitable for those who have a hard time with rigid time management techniques, when things are strictly tied to the date and time. In general, it is designed for people who often change their moods and who can sharply cool down for one task and inflame a passion for another.

The main idea of The Autofocus Productivity Method: Stop Maintaining To-Do Lists and Start Getting Stuff Done / Lifehacker autofocus is to do only those tasks that you want to do right now, or at least those that do not cause sharp resistance.

How to apply

1. Get yourself three lists: All Tasks, Recurring Tasks, and Canceled Tasks. You can do this in any format convenient for you: a paper notebook, a Google spreadsheet, a note-taking application, or a task manager like Trello.
2. In the first list, write down all the things that require your attention in the foreseeable future, and draw a horizontal line under the last item. All tasks above the line are considered old, and those that you write under it later, respectively, new.
3. Go over the list with your eyes and select the business to which the soul lies now. When done, cross it off the list. If the task is repetitive, such as a fitness workout, an English lesson, or a shopping trip, drag it to the appropriate list. And if for some reason the task is no longer relevant, delete it from the general list and add it to the "Canceled tasks".
4. Try to work with old tasks first, and only when you have completed all of them, move on to new ones.
5. If everything did not work out, but you understand that right now you do not like any of the old tasks, also switch to new ones and continue looking at the list above the line in order to slowly cross out all the points.

3. Traffic light method

This is an easy and convenient way I have found categorizing my tasks by a stoplight system, fixated on my desk, has helped improve my productivity immensely / Reddit to divide tasks into urgent and not so. It also helps to keep your finger on the pulse and not disrupt deadlines. The traffic light method works especially well with applications in which you can create colorful notes and keep them in a prominent place, for example, with the well-known Google Keep.

How to apply

1. Create three lists: red, yellow and green.
2. In red, write down the things that need your attention immediately. In yellow, add those that you need to do in the next two days, in green - all the rest.
3. First go to the red list and nothing more. When all the tasks in it are over, move on to yellow and green.
4. Every morning move some of the tasks from the yellow list to the red one, from the green to the yellow one.

4. Rule of 10 minutes

You may have already heard of several tricks of the same name. They can be formulated as follows:

• Give the task only 10 minutes, if it doesn't take too long, you can finish.
• If it takes less than 10 minutes to get started, get started right away.

But there is also a variant of the 10-minute rule. It helps you break down large, complex goals into smaller, more achievable ones. Another important plus is that it is relatively easy to cope with the tasks of "ten minutes". This means that at the end of the day, you will have a long beautiful to-do list with ticked boxes. And this is very motivating for new exploits.

How to apply

1. Make a list with all the tasks.
2. Estimate the time to complete each one. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes.
3. If it is obvious that a task will take longer, divide it into smaller subtasks.