26 time-management tricks I wish I'd known at 20
Most people learn time management the hard way: by trial and error.
Étienne Garbugli, a Montreal-based product and marketing consultant, distilled the lessons he wishes he'd known when he was 20.
1. There’s always time. Time is priorities.
2. “Only plan for 4-5 hours of real work per day.” – David Heinemeier Hansson, 37 Signals
3. “It’s normal to have days when you just can’t work and days when you’ll work 12 hours straight.” – Alain Paquin, Whatsnexx
4. Respect your time and make it respected.
5. Stop multi-tasking. It merely kills your focus.
6. Set up a work routine and stick to it. Your body will adapt.
7. We’re always more focused and productive with limited time.
8. Work is the best way to get working. Start with short tasks to get the ball rolling.
9. Work iteratively. Expectations to do things perfectly are stifling.
10. More work hours doesn’t mean more productivity. Use constraints as opportunities.
11. Separate brainless and strategic tasks to become more productive.
12. Organize meetings early during the days. Time leading up to an event is often wasted.
13. Group meetings and communication (email or phone) to create blocks of uninterrupted time.
14. Keep the same context throughout the day. Switching between projects or clients is unproductive.
15. Work around procrastination. Procrastinate between intense sprints of work.
16. “Break the unreasonable down into little reasonable chunks. A big goal is only achieved when every little thing that you do every day, gets you closer to that goal.” – Maren Kate, Escaping the 9 to 5
17. No two tasks ever hold the same importance. Always prioritize. Be really careful with to-do lists.
18. Always know one thing you really need to get done during the day.
19. Break tasks into hour increments. Long tasks are hard to get into feels like it all needs to get done.
20. Delegate and learn to make use of other people.
21. Turn the page on yesterday. Only ever think about today and tomorrow.
22. Set deadlines for everything. Don’t let tasks go indefinitely.
23. Set end dates for intense or stressful activities. Everything ends at some points.
24. Do not trust your own brain for your memories. Always take notes.
25. “Write down anything that distracts you – Google searches, random thoughts, new ideas, whatever. The point is, if you write them down, they’ll stop bubbling up when you’re in the zone.” – Steven Corona, Twitpic
26. Take breaks. Sometime.
Article Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/time-management-and-productivity-hacks-2015-10
Image Source: http://www.mindmapart.com/wp-content/gallery/thum-cheng-cheong/time-management.gif
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Adapt (v.) ~ become adjusted to new conditions
2. Iteratively (adv.) ~ repeating making repetition
3. Stifling (adj.) ~ making one feel constrained or oppressed
4. Constraint (n.) ~ a limitation or restriction
5. Sprint (v.) ~ run at full speed over a short distance
6. Increment (n.) ~ an increase or addition, especially one of a series on a fixed scale
7. Delegate (v.) ~ entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person, typically one who is less senior than oneself
8. Indefinitely (adv.) ~ for an unlimited or unspecified period of time
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. Are you good at managing your time? How do you manage your time each day?
2. Describe your daily routine. Do you think it makes you more productive? Discuss you answer.
3. Do you always meet your deadlines at work? Do you set deadlines for yourself at work?
4. Why is taking down notes important in managing time?
