When you get to the office, you know exactly what task to do first or have to decide it at the time? To know how to manage time, first and foremost, is organizing your tasks. I can say it by what happened to me here at Runrun.it. My job is to find the best strategies to increase the productivity and tell them here for you. I myself have gone through problems of distraction, until the day I decided to restructure my workday, inspired by my colleagues’ techniques, adapted to my style. Now it’s your time to build yours. To help you, I show you here the three techniques – which I do use -, that never went out of fashion:
1. GTD (Getting Things Done)
The famous technique, created by David Allen in his bestseller, proposes to simplify the of professional and – why not? – the personal time management. The exercise begins this way: in front of you there’s something (a page, a document, an image, some need, some object etc.). Ask yourself: Is it a task?
No. So, you can:
I. throw it away;
II. incubate it (a project for life, perhaps);
III. save it for reading later (have a reference file).
Yes and I can do it in less than two minutes. Do it now.
Yes, but I need more time. Then, you can:
I. add it to your list of next actions;
II. add it to your list of current projects;
III. delegate it;
IV. mark it as an appointment in your calendar.
2. Post-its
Look at your week or even your month and write down your deliveries on a page. Dismember large tasks into smaller ones. If it does not fit on a post-it, it doesn’t fit into your day. Another good point: you will not be able to work with lots of post-its around, so, there’s a greater chance that you list only the urgent and the important tasks. Now yes, bring them to the post-its, categorizing tasks with different colors, or preaching them on different places. Each task must include:
I. Task type (professional or personal);
II. Delivery date (today, tomorrow, next week);
III. People involved (just me, my team, the whole company).
That done, time to mobilize the resources, activities and people needed. Good job! Oh, and good news! Fulfilled your to-do list, now you can make your wish-list.
3. Pomodoro
Stopwatch, pencil and paper. The technique, created in 1980 by Francesco Cirillo, teaches you how to manage time, and how to divide your work: into 25-minute called “pomodoros”. The principle behind this is that frequent breaks can improve mental agility and soothe anxiety. It works like this:
I. Choose the task you’ll work;
II. Set the timer for 25 minutes. Play it;
III. Recap. Work. Review the task until the alarm sounds. Register with an “x”;
IV. Take a break for 5 minutes;
V. Every 4 “pomodoros” (4 “x” registered) take a longer break (15-30 minutes).
With these techniques, believe me, you make your time go further. How to manage time won’t be your doubt anymore. So, have you ever considered what you would do with an extra day in your week? And your whole team? So meet Runrun.it, the task manager software that helps you manage time and talent. According to our customers, it allows an average 25% increase in productivity. Try it on for free: http://runrun.it
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