So, it's been a week since I announced my time management experiment. I've made small updates along the way via Facebook and Twitter, and I thought it was time I did an update here as well.
How was my first scheduled week, you ask? And what did I learn? Well, let me tell you...
1) Make a list. I rediscovered my love for writing lists. It's an instant feeling of productivity, as if making a list is already an accomplishment. A list makes me feel so much more organized and therefor less over-whelmed. Also, a list helps to see the bigger picture - what sort of projects/tasks need your immediate attention and which ones can be pushed back if you lack time.
2) Break down the list. Another important thing I've learned so far is to break all the things on my list down to small tasks that can be done in not more that half an hour. I need small tasks, because I'm an all over the place kind of person. I jump from one project to another whenever I feel like it and get the inspiration and it really helps to have small manageable tasks to deal with in this case.
3) I hate plans, but they help. This connects to the last statement. I'm more likely to follow an inner surge of inspiration than my plan. Also, there's a saying "People make plans, God laughs". My days can be hard to predict, especially on weekends, and that makes scheduling my tasks hard. That being said, I still think that a plan is better than none. It helps me to visualize how much I can realistically get done in a day. I can always juggle things around during the day if need be, but at least I have a framework to start with.
These are the 3 things I took away from this week. I'm definitely going to continue with the time management experiment and find new ways to make my days more productive and most of all more fulfilling.
Have you tried a time management system? Any tips, suggestions, lessons learnt you'd like to share?
I find post-it's very helpful because they are very visual and tactile. I write something down and place it on my desk. Later when done, I cross it out. When the whole post-it is crossed out, I get to throw it out.
ReplyDeleteIt makes it into a sort of a game, helps me pin down abstract concepts like "writing a mail". That means I only write down things that can be crossed out (e.g. I wouldn't write down "become a better person" etc).
I like to use post-its as well. And I totally agree with you that tasks need to be concrete and measureable. Otherwise, how will you know you did them, right!
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