Time management - 7 main principles for time management + review of books, courses and applications, as well as real life examples (my experience)

What is time management - definition and history

The direct translation of this term “ Time Management ” from English is “ time management ”. It is clear that it is impossible to manage time in the literal sense: the real function of time management is to use the time of your life with maximum efficiency.

The most accurate definition of time management is:

Time management is the accounting, distribution and operational planning of your own time resources.

Another definition.

Time management is a scientific approach to organizing time and increasing the effect of its use.

The motto of a professional time manager:

Work less, accomplish more!

People who know how to manage their own time productively live richer and fuller lives and do their work with minimal time expenditure.

By managing our time, we have more living space: the opportunity to do what we really like becomes more real.

Considering the pressure in which modern people live, the issue of managing time resources is becoming increasingly relevant, if not vitally important. Developed time management skills significantly increase personal efficiency. I realized this 12 years ago.

Time management allows you to organize your work and personal time throughout the day (week, month) in order to have time to do all the important and necessary things without being distracted by secondary or extraneous issues and problems.

Effective planning allows you to free up colossal time resources for a rich and fulfilling life. According to professionals, the size of such resources is calculated in years and decades.

History of time management

The scientific approach to organizing time is not a new problem. The history of time management goes back a long way.

Even 2000 years ago in Ancient Rome, the famous thinker Seneca proposed dividing all time into usefully spent, that is, good, into bad and useless.

Seneca also began to keep constant records of time in writing. The thinker said that when living a certain period of time, it is necessary to evaluate it from the point of view of its fullness.

In the subsequent history of time management, these ideas formed the basis of the concept of “personal effectiveness.”

Alberti, a writer and Italian scientist who lived in the 15th century, said that those who know how to manage time effectively will always be successful.

To do this, he proposed using two rules:

1. Make a to-do list every morning.
2. Arrange things in order of decreasing importance.

For many centuries, all these principles existed only in theoretical form, and only since the 80s of the last century this topic began to move from theory to practice.

Time management is necessary not only for executives and business owners: each of us must be able to manage our own assets in order to enjoy the process of life to the fullest.

Of course, not everyone needs time management. If a person has nothing to do in his life, and his main task is to “kill time,” then time management for such a person is an irrelevant and unnecessary discipline.

In other words, you first need to decide whether you really don’t have enough time and where you would like to spend your free minutes, hours and days when they appear.

Time management consists of several components:

• strict time tracking;
• optimization of time resources;
• planning the day (week, month or other period of time);
• organization of motivation.

Time management is important not only for work: people who have mastered the art of time management are more cheerful, healthy and successful in their professional and personal lives.

Effective time management allows you to comprehend all your actions and decisions from the point of view of their appropriateness for your own development and improvement.

Goal setting and planning

If you have no problems mastering the previous techniques, I suggest moving on. Now we will learn how to set goals and make plans correctly.

To-do lists

The easiest and simplest way to plan your time is to make a list of tasks. I would classify it as “time management for dummies.” Take a piece of paper, write down everything you need to do for the day/week/month and keep it always at hand.

Lists are needed so as not to store a lot of information in your head and always know what to do at a particular moment in time. After all, the state of “nothing to do” most often arises not when there really is nothing to do, but when you have conveniently forgotten about them.

Keeping a diary

Something as simple as a journal can significantly increase personal productivity. You will not meet a single successful business person without this paper attribute.

The author of the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey, advises to list everything you need to do for a week in advance, and during these 7 days, only slightly adjust your plans. This way you won’t miss anything important and will have an idea of ​​the amount of work for each day in advance.

Franklin's Pyramid

Franklin's pyramid is not just a time management technique, it is a system for building global life goals and guidelines. In it, all daily tasks and affairs are subordinated to the basic values ​​of a person. You will always know why you are doing something and how this specific action brings you closer to your goals.

The pyramid consists of 6 levels:

1. Life values. This is the foundation, the backbone of your personality. They reflect what is of paramount importance to you, what fills life with meaning. For some, such values ​​may be altruism, spiritual development, self-expression, and for others - power, influence, material well-being. The main thing is to be honest with yourself when declaring your values ​​and not try to appear better than you really are.
2. Global goal. Roughly speaking, it is the material equivalent in which your values ​​are expressed. For example, if your main value is self-realization, then your goal might be to become a world-famous singer or artist.
3. General plan. What do you need to do to reach your goal, what stages to go through. If we take the singer we have already mentioned, then his path will include receiving a musical education, composing and recording songs, promotion within his region and then reaching the world level.
4. Long term plan. A program for the next 5 years to implement items from the master plan.
5. Short term plan. Specific actions for the next few months.
6. Plan for the day. A day is the smallest unit of time in Franklin's pyramid. However, even this is subordinated to life values ​​and global goals. This system allows you to maintain a high level of motivation throughout your journey.

SMART

SMART is a well-known method of setting goals. According to it, each specific task must meet five criteria:

1. Specificity. No vague formulations like “become better”, “be successful”, etc. Only numbers or another maximally objective guideline - “lose 10 kg”, “get an architect’s degree”, “increase sales by 2 times”.
2. Measurability. You should be able to evaluate the result and compare it with what you want.
3. Reachability. The task must be realistic. The habit of setting the bar too high can break your entire motivational system and drive you into frustration. It is better to have expectations slightly lower than twice as high.
4. Adequacy of the set goal. Each task should bring you closer to your global goals. Therefore, it is advisable to combine the SMART method with the already mentioned Franklin pyramid.
5. Limited time. It is imperative to set a deadline by which the task must be completed. Otherwise, it may remain unrealized forever.

Using the SMART method, you can crack small tasks like nuts. Try it and soon see for yourself.

Timing

The author of the methodology is Russian time management guru Gleb Arkhangelsky. He noticed that people easily keep track of time spent on important things, and at the same time lose sight of useless activities. It turns out to be quite an impressive amount of time spent on who knows what.

How the Timekeeping technique works: for two weeks you write down everything you do during the day, down to 5 minutes. You need to record, among other things, smoke breaks, coffee breaks, hanging out on social networks, and telephone conversations. After half a month, analyze the list and count how many precious hours a day you spend on nonsense.

Once you realize this, you can reduce time spent unproductively and devote it to important things.

Gantt chart

Using this method, you can manage several tasks at the same time, evenly distributing the load and without fear of missing deadlines. Its main advantage is visibility. Visual learners will appreciate it.

The chart consists of two axes: the vertical one contains a list of tasks, and the horizontal one contains dates. You mark the deadlines within which a particular task must be completed. On the diagram they will be displayed as multi-colored rectangles. Now you can see when and what needs to be done, and you will not get confused in the conditions of severe multitasking.

Parkinson's Law

This law states: “Work fills all the time allotted to it.” That is, if you were assigned a project that could realistically be completed in a week, but you were given 30 days for it, you will finish it exactly by the end of the month. This is why setting deadlines is so important.

This applies to both work tasks and personal ones. If your time frames at work are quite flexible, make them stricter yourself. This way you will be able to get much more done and get rid of the habit of putting everything off until the last minute.

Mind maps

Mind maps will help make your plans visual. It’s one thing when you look at a soulless list that you first need to read and understand. And it’s completely different when you have a single picture in front of you, where each task is assigned a specific place.

To create mind maps, you can use either a regular sheet of paper or special electronic programs. The global goal that you want to achieve is placed in the center, and from it there are branches to smaller tasks. Which, in turn, can also be divided into subtasks. This structure is very similar to a family tree.

Myths about time management – ​​3 main misconceptions

There are a number of social stereotypes and misconceptions about time management.

Some believe that time management is needed solely for work, that in Russia this discipline is ineffective due to the peculiarities of the national mentality, that life strictly according to plan turns a person into a robot and deprives him of free will.

All these myths are unfounded: below I will try to completely debunk them.

Myth 1. No one can manage time.

The statement is correct in form, but erroneous in content. It is truly impossible to control time (unless, of course, you are the inventor of a time machine). No one is able to slow down its objective progress, speed it up or stop it even for a moment.

But a person can do the following : manage himself, his decisions and actions over time, and also determine priorities. This is exactly what time management practitioners talk about – about managing your own life.

Taking a smart and pragmatic approach to your actions is time management: you'll be surprised how many minutes and hours free up once you start to act more deliberately and consciously.

Remember that all successful people, regardless of their type of activity, plan their affairs and act with maximum productivity. At the same time, they work about the same amount of time as ordinary people, but they always manage to do more.

Their secret is that they manage to do more things per unit of time, which ultimately affects their life results.

Myth 2: Time management will make me work harder and harder.

Working hard and getting tired, neglecting rest is a direct path to overwork and depression. It is necessary to constantly strive to reduce the amount of work while increasing productivity. How to do it? In short, act strictly according to plan and be able to separate the secondary from the main.

Using time management techniques effectively does not mean doing more or increasing productivity by getting things done faster.

We are talking about increasing personal productivity by eliminating unnecessary tasks and eliminating the so-called “time wasters” or “chronophages”.

The category of chronophages includes hundreds of meaningless and small things that we do during the day, without even thinking about their expediency: frequently checking email, communicating and viewing news on social networks, meaningless conversations with colleagues.

A person’s commitment to matters distracted from the main task is partly explained by procrastination - the desire to postpone important and necessary events “until better times.”

However, if you discard reflection and recognize for yourself the importance and significance of your current tasks, you will have neither the strength nor the desire to be distracted by extraneous matters.

Myth 3. Using time management will turn me into a robot who will do everything according to a schedule, depriving me of freedom and choice.

People are afraid of turning into robots, but in fact they are already them, and also slaves of their own psycho-emotional habits and behavior patterns.

Time management does not limit our freedom, but, on the contrary, creates it.

Time management is necessary not only for office workers, executives and managers: managing the main resource of life - one’s own time - is necessary for everyone who takes themselves responsibly and seriously.

A practical criterion for the need to implement the principles of time management in life is the presence of 4 or more tasks in the plan for the current day (not only professional, but also personal affairs are taken into account). Businessmen, freelance artists, and housewives need this.

Example

If you need to finish a project at work, talk to your boss about it, go to a phone repair shop after work, and finally pick up your baby from kindergarten, then smart time management is your absolute necessity.

Planning and allocating resources helps you achieve important goals faster and free up time for rest, recuperation, and communication with friends and family. Time control allows you to achieve results faster and at lower costs.

As for life according to a schedule, a reasonable organization of work and rest has never harmed anyone. And there is always a place for spontaneity and creativity (if any) in any work.

Basic planning techniques. Short description

1. ABC planning is based on the fact that it is necessary to do the most significant things first (under the letter A), and then B and C. Things in category A are the most important. They make up 15% of all cases and bring 65% of the results. B - important matters, which make up 20% of all matters and bring 20% ​​of the results. Category C are matters of the least importance, they make up 65% and give a result of 15%.
2. Pareto's rule or the 80/20 principle. This principle applies to any daily activity. 80% of the things you do in a day give you 20% of the desired results. And 20% of planned important things bring you 80% closer to the result. For example: 20% of people own 80% of the capital, 80% of people own 20% of the capital. 20% of clients give a profit of 80%, and 80% of clients give a profit of 20%.
3. Timing - this method is that you need to write down all your actions minute by minute and how much time you spent on them. This will help you understand where and what your time is spent and how to adjust your schedule.
4. Making a task list is the simplest planning method that allows you to plan both time and tasks.

How to make the right to-do list and stick to it

1. First, watch yourself. How much time do you need to complete different tasks?
2. Write a to-do list for the evening.
3. Write down specific points. For example: go to the store. Attach a shopping list to this item.
4. Plan your entire day, not just work.
5. Start your day by completing easy tasks. To immediately tick the boxes and cheer up for the whole day with the thought that following the to-do list is not so difficult... For example, doing exercises and preparing breakfast.
6. The to-do list should always be visible.
7. Don’t put more than 7 priority things on your list, so that you don’t get nervous later that you didn’t get something done.

How to manage time - 7 main principles of time management

Now let’s move on to practice and find out how to manage time correctly, where to start controlling and planning your actions, what difficulties usually arise along this path and how to overcome them. Below I have described the basic principles and rules.

Principle 1: Plan your actions

Planning things for the next day (or the next week) is of practical importance in any job. It doesn’t matter whether you are sitting in an office, standing at a conveyor belt, or working as a courier in your free time from studying - a clear action plan will always bring real benefits in the form of increased productivity (personal and professional).

Even if your actions are strictly regulated by your job description, you should always have a plan drawn up in advance - this will help you cope with your work more efficiently and quickly.

Remember that all successful people plan their lives.

Remember a few important axioms of time management:

1. Record your goals in writing. If your goal is not indicated on paper (or in an electronic diary), then it does not exist.
2. Plan your day. A pre-compiled list of tasks and actions increases the productivity of any type of activity by 25%.
3. Break down big tasks. Time-consuming tasks should always be divided into several small subtasks - do not take on a large-scale project without thinking through the sequence of actions in advance.

You need to make planning second nature: make it a habit to make a plan for tomorrow before you go to bed. In the morning at work, you will already know exactly where to start, how to continue and how to finish.

Always leave a certain reserve of time for “force majeure” - unforeseen circumstances.

Remember that the few minutes that you spend on drawing up a plan will more than pay off in the future: you will appreciate the results of competent planning already in the first week of implementation.

Principle 2. Formulate the desired result into specific goals and objectives

Strategic and effective planning is impossible without competent goal setting. In simpler terms, you must be able to clearly formulate the main goal and be able to break it down into more specific and local tasks.

In management theory, this skill is called “decomposition of goals . The main way to put this concept into practice is to move from the general to the specific.

Example

You work as a marketer in a commercial company and your main goal is to increase sales this season by 30%.

The implementation of this goal can be divided into several subtasks: increase sales at a specific outlet through promotions, reconsider pricing for some items, adjust prices, conduct a large-scale advertising campaign on the Internet and in the media.

There is a professional tool (or principle) for formulating and setting local goals in time management and goal setting.

It's called the SMART principle .

According to this principle, the goal should be:

• specific (Specific);
• measurable ;
• achievable over a certain period (Attainable);
• relevant or true - it is necessary to understand in advance whether this task will really help in achieving the goal (Relevant);
• time -bound.

The main criterion for the usefulness and effectiveness of a local task is its specificity. Starting towards a big goal by completing sequential tasks significantly reduces the time it takes to complete the work.

Consistency and focus on specific points is the key to future success.

Even the greatest creators did not create their works entirely at once - they first made a plan, and then carried it out point by point. One of the secrets to successful time management is the ability to focus on current tasks without losing the overall direction.

Principle 3. Fix your plan of action.

The need to necessarily record an action plan has already been mentioned above. Here we will look at how best to do this. There are several working and effective tools that allow you to make your plans and tasks more visual and specific.

One such method is called a Gantt chart . Let me explain what this looks like in practice.

Example

Let's say your goal is to build a house. To begin with, you should divide the task into several stages: clear the site, dig and lay the foundation, carry out above-ground work, finish the premises, carry out communications and do landscaping.

The Grant diagram indicates all the tasks of the current large-scale project along with the timing of their implementation, duration in time and priority of implementation.

Tasks of the same type can be grouped into one item, and larger tasks should be divided into several sequential tasks.

Visually drawing up a plan not only saves your time, but also allows other employees involved in the project to quickly understand the state of affairs and get involved in the work from the right stage.

Principle 4: Prioritize

Timely and clearly defining the main goal is necessary and correct. But the main task is to move towards achieving this goal, consistently completing current tasks of varying degrees of difficulty.

the ABCD Method is suitable for prioritizing daily planning .

ABCD method

“A” is the most important task of the current day, “B” is less important, “C” is a task of medium importance, etc.

The first thing on the list should be done first. Usually this task is the most time-consuming and difficult. Sometimes a person feels afraid or is lazy to start the day with the main task, but the secret is that the effectiveness of your current activities depends on its completion.

Practical time management specialist Brian Tracy advises tackling this issue firmly and unambiguously. His method is called “eat a frog for breakfast.” “Frog” is the most difficult and unpleasant task of the day. You constantly postpone it to the “afternoon”, to the evening, or even to tomorrow.

But the point is that this creates constant emotional stress, which prevents you from doing everything else productively. Tracy says that you should start the day with the most difficult thing, then all the other tasks will be completed almost by themselves.

The logical continuation of Brian Tracy's method here is the Pareto law or principle.

Pareto's Law

20% of our efforts bring us 80% of the results, and the remaining 80% of our efforts bring us only 20% of the results.

Thus, our task is to identify these 20% of our most effective actions and concentrate on them.

Another tool for effective prioritization is called the Eisenhower Matrix . Political and military leader, US President Dwyatt Eisenhower was a practical and very successful man.

He came up with the idea of ​​dividing all current affairs into 4 categories:

• urgent and important;
• important but not urgent;
• urgent, but not very important;
• unimportant and not urgent.

The first category: urgent and important - these are the primary tasks that must be completed today and now: postponing them will certainly create unnecessary difficulties in the future. There is no point in entrusting them to subordinates - you need to do it yourself and immediately.

In another way, this sector of the matrix is ​​called the “Fire Sector”, being in which for a long time is fraught with adverse consequences, primarily for one’s own health.

Second category: important matters that are not urgent. Attention, here it is - your place of power!

My time management secret is to be in the “ Important - Not Urgent ” .

This is the most efficient sector of the matrix. Here you are calm, here you plan, think, act competently and carefully, here you do what is truly important.

Advice

Do not allow important matters to flow into the urgent sector!

Third category: urgent and not very important matters - they can take a lot of time if you deal with them first thing in the morning and in person. These are the types of tasks that can be delegated to subordinates.

Things from the 4th category (non-urgent and unimportant) can be safely crossed off from the daily list.

You can make a table like this every day, based on the Eisenhower Matrix.

Don't be lazy and implement this simple table into your day planning system.

Principle 5: Focus on what matters most

I have already said how important it is to achieve your goals, in this paragraph I will tell you how to do this as efficiently as possible.

The ability to focus on the main thing, without being distracted by extraneous things, is the most important practical skill, mastering which, you will solve the highest priority tasks of productive time management.

Time is a non-renewable resource, and the most valuable of all. We can spend 10,000 rubles and earn them again, but we are not able to get back the second we have lived.

We are also not able to extend the day to 25 hours, but we can free up our own space for those activities that are truly important to us.

To prevent unimportant tasks from affecting your personal productivity, you need to master specific time management techniques.

One of the most effective techniques for freeing up time is delegation. It would be more accurate to say that delegation is a component of classical management.

Delegation is a way to entrust some of our tasks to other people.

The most basic examples: you can not wash your car yourself, but take it to a car wash, or else: you can fix a leaking faucet in the bathroom yourself or call a professional plumber.

Remember

Any tasks that are more expedient (from a financial and time perspective) to be left to others should be left to others.

The higher the value of your personal time, the more minor and not very important tasks can be delegated.

Less important things can be done during “non-resource time.”

We are talking about that part of the day when you are no longer at the peak of your mental and physical strength, for example, at the end of the day when you are tired.

Also, for example, while in transport or in a queue, you can combine waiting with learning - listening to audiobooks on professional skills or developing one of the personal effectiveness skills.

Another important skill for real time saving: the ability to say “no.”

Do not think that you need to refuse everyone indiscriminately.

The ability to say “no” applies primarily to those people and affairs that deprive you of your energy and time resources without giving anything in return.

Say “no” to a chatty neighbor or employee, reading the tabloid press, Internet surfing on social networks and entertainment resources, and watching TV.

Remember that even a small unplanned break, when someone or something distracts you from your task, can cause plans to be disrupted.

Principle 6. Analyze your experience and create your own time management rules

Periodically, it is worth looking back and drawing pragmatic conclusions from your time management experiences. Study your mistakes and be sure to take measures to correct them.

Be sure to analyze situations in which you lost personal resources especially intensely.

You should always remain aware and look from the outside at what exactly is happening in your life - in what direction and at what speed it is moving.

If you feel like you've lost control and are too deep into solving a problem without thinking about the time spent, it's time to stop, take a break and try to optimize your own actions.

In the end, create your own time management rules, your own tricks. Your whole life, your activity is unique.

Principle 7. Plan your vacation

In pursuit of success and personal productivity, never neglect rest, I will say more than that - plan your rest, just like your business tasks! For time management, proper rest is the most important element for success.

An example from the life of Radislav Gandapas

The famous Russian business coach and speaker Radislav Gandapas, as he said at one of his trainings, plans days in his work schedule to visit the golf club. This is an important hobby in his life.

He highlights these days in red as events of the highest degree of importance that cannot be rescheduled.

Otherwise, Radislav says, he cannot play golf at all, since there are always more important things to do.

You can only remain at the peak of your psychophysiological capabilities through regular recuperation.

You can’t skimp on sleep, your own weekends, and communication with loved ones—these are just as important factors in effective time management as planning and goal setting.

Principle 2. Aim for a specific result

So, the results of your actions lead to achieving your goals. This means you need to plan every working day so that there are no tasks (and therefore results) that are not consistent with your goals.

You can use the SMART system to check. All your actions should:

• - be specific (Specific),
• — measurable,
• - have an executor (Assignable),
• - be feasible (Realistic),
• — have specific implementation deadlines (Timebound).

The main criterion for the usefulness of a task is its specificity. Do you understand what specific actions and in what sequence will lead to achieving the result? The result should be measurable - this will make it easier to allocate the time budget.

Example

“Check your email” is not a specific or measurable task.

“Compose 5 response letters for clients and send by mail” - specific and measurable.

The main general criterion of productivity is to always move towards achieving a goal through completing tasks of varying degrees of complexity.

How to achieve your goals with time management

Time management is valuable not in itself, but as a tool for achieving your goals. For many people, these goals are financial; for others, self-realization comes first; for others, personal happiness comes first. Every person wants to feel happy - no matter what meaning he puts into this word. But instead, most people are forced to live in a state of “squirrel in a wheel”, when hundreds of insignificant and small things waste time - the most valuable and irreplaceable resource in the life of any person.

Time management, goal setting and planning your day will help you cope with this problem. If you want more on the path to your dream, if it is important for you to understand your value and learn to attract wealth and success into your life, come to the free master class “Formula of Abundance” from Pavel Kolesov.

Swiss cheese method

When to use

: When you need to pump yourself up to begin a big task.

What is the essence of the method

: the technique works the same way as with an elephant, but instead of sequentially executing a plan, you simply select from a large project those tasks that you like and solve them first. This way you make holes in the cheese and reduce its volume.

Why does it work

: Tasks that interest you are completed faster and more successfully. You can easily cross them out of the plan, and the whole project will begin to evoke pleasant associations. Also, by starting with simple things, you can quickly get involved in the process and find yourself in a state of flow.

Review of popular books and trainings on time management and increasing personal effectiveness

There is a lot of useful literature on time management. Separate publications are devoted to time management for women (young mothers, housewives), students, schoolchildren, and managers.

Seminars, conferences, master classes and trainings on time management are held.

In my opinion, the most informative and accessible books on this topic are the works of Gleb Arkhangelsky and Brian Tracy.

Gleb Arkhangelsky is a leading Russian expert on time management. Head of his own corporate projects to introduce time management into the practice of the largest domestic and other companies. Creator of bestsellers: “Time Management” and “Time Drive”.

Brian Tracy is the world's leading personal effectiveness expert, management consultant, personal effectiveness writer, management consultant, personal effectiveness writer, management consultant, writer, speaker.

Other books on this topic: “Time Management by Pomodoro” (Staffan Nötheberg), “Hard Time Management” (Dan Kennedy), “Maximum Concentration” (Lucy Paladino).

Finally, I recommend that you watch Gleb Arkhangelsky’s video:

Varieties

It is customary to distinguish the following types of time management:

1. To solve professional problems.
2. Personal time management system.
3. Social time management involves managing the time of a group of people. A special case is its use for solving corporate problems.

In each of these cases there are features of managing temporary resources.

5.1. In professional activities

Planning your work will help increase productivity and improve the quality of the result. With rational use of time.

5.2. On a personal level

It is important not to mix professional activities and personal time. The latter is intended for relaxation, spending time with family, solving everyday problems and similar matters.

By using time management methods, you can plan everyday activities and make them more efficient. If you decide in advance how to spend your free time, you will be able to fit more events into it. When there is no need to rush, you can relax or enjoy yourself more fully.

If possible, not only weekends are used for relaxation, but also time in the middle of the week. It is allocated in advance through detailed planning of its actions. Some people find their vacation more complete if they voluntarily limit communication on the Internet or phone calls.

5.3. Management at the social level

Mistakes made at the level of work organization lead to employees wasting some of their time. The consequence is a constant lack of time, which leads to decreased productivity. The effectiveness of using the system in question in an organization or enterprise will increase provided that employees are trained in time management techniques.

Review of time management apps

Another way to become a time management guru is to use special applications.

Clear

This minimalistic application was released back in 2011. It can be integrated in a convenient way, and the functionality is limited to compiling a list of tasks that are crossed off as they are completed. The design is very simple and does not contain anything superfluous. In essence, the Clear application is a virtual analogue of a notepad with a to-do list and a pen.

1-3-5 List

This application from American developers is more functional than the previous one. Things here are not just written down in a list, but are ranked by level of importance. Every day you can set one big thing - an important task, the rest have the status of medium importance or small tasks. With the help of 1-3-5 List, you will not only not forget anything, but you will be able to focus on the main task.

RescueTime

This application will help you analyze your day and determine what activities you spend your time on. If you're behind schedule, the app will send you a reminder, provide detailed reports, and evaluate your performance. You will be able to systematize work processes and solve problems more efficiently.

Trello

This application is a virtual board with cards. Trello has been on the market since 2011. Using a visual interface, you can immediately see what has been completed, what is in progress, and what is planned for the future. Essentially, using Trello is like moving cards or folders of documents across a giant board from one stack to another.

Loop - Habit Tracker

The Loop app goes beyond compiling to-do lists and encourages you to develop healthy habits. Loop's design is very functional, although it does not contain anything superfluous. The function of tracking your progress on a calendar and information about the sustainability of habits will be very useful.

[email protected]

This is a music service that uses the results of neuroscientist research. It doesn't create to-do lists, but it helps users escape stress and focus on completing tasks. [email protected] will select music for you that will help you work most efficiently. Before you start using the program, you need to take a short survey to determine your mindset and thinking habits.

These and other apps will help you become more efficient and make the most of your time.

Who is a time manager?

A time manager is a person who takes into account the psychological characteristics of people, working conditions and offers more effective work schedules. He is able to reveal all his hidden reserves in a person and suggest how to increase his effectiveness.

The process of communication between a time manager and a client is similar to a psychological consultation in which he listens to the person, gives tips and advice on how to allocate time, how much time to devote to rest, and how to set priorities. How to plan your day so that you can get everything done without stress.

Time managers provide not only individual consultations. They are often invited by companies as experts to help improve the labor process. First of all, teach the manager to correctly distribute his working time and correctly distribute responsibilities in the team. They study the company’s activities and the required amount of time to solve certain problems. After collecting information and analysis, the time manager makes adjustments to the company’s daily routine.

Main tasks of time management

1. Analysis of time spent on certain tasks.
2. Setting, formulating and defining goals.
3. Making a plan to achieve the goal, as well as setting priorities.
4. Realization of the goal. A hint on what steps need to be taken according to the plan.
5. Making lists of things that need to be done.
6. Recording time using timing.

Advantages of a person who plans his time

Time wasted is existence; time used profitably is life. © E. Jung

1. Achieves set goals.
2. Achieves his goals much faster than others.
3. Capable of achieving success in any field of activity.
4. Has more time to relax, communicate with family and friends.
5. Can do a lot more things in a given period of time.
6. He can increase his income and retire by correctly distributing responsibilities between employees.
7. Can get rid of chronic fatigue, is not subject to stress.
8. Always has a clear plan of action.
9. Has a sense of inner freedom and independently controls his life.

Types of time management

Now there are many different approaches to the problem of time management. Experts distinguish three main types:

• Personal (personal) time management . It is associated with a person’s personal self-development, the ability to properly and fruitfully organize their day.
• Professional time management helps a person to do his job effectively, organize his work time correctly, or wisely distribute responsibilities in a team.
• Social time management regulates interpersonal relationships or the time management of multiple people. For example, corporate.

Definition

The term “time management” comes from two English words time and manage, which literally means “time management”. Initially, this definition referred to the organization of work processes in enterprises. Then the concept migrated into everyday use along with the basic principles and approaches. Today, not a single training on personal effectiveness can do without it.

Time management is a set of special methods, techniques, techniques that help increase productivity through proper organization of time. By introducing them into your life, a person becomes more effective and begins to accomplish more. His techniques are universal and suitable for both men and women.

Time management is based on knowledge about human psychology. Rich research experience has made it possible to identify objective patterns in the psyche of people that determine their productivity.

For example, scientists have found that the maximum time you can concentrate on one task without a break is 90 minutes. Then the brain begins to switch involuntarily. This knowledge formed the basis of several laws and principles of time management.

Today, there are departments of time management in several Russian universities. Even a new profession has appeared - time manager. This is a specialist who helps people organize their activities as efficiently as possible, taking into account their psychological characteristics. The clients of time managers most often are managers of large companies who want to optimize the work process and increase labor productivity.

How to understand the issue in more detail

Time management is a broad area on which many popular science and research papers have been written.

Many trainers who are engaged in professional training of this system have their own views on it, their own methods.

There are no good or bad ones among them, just some are convenient for people with a creative mindset, and some are convenient for logicians and “techies.”

Some people can immediately engage in complex planning, while others need a gentler introduction to the topic.

To understand the issue and explore it deeper, it’s worth:

• Learn techniques from different trainers. It is advisable to choose authors with different mentalities to look at planning problems from different angles.
• Choose a technique for your category. For example, time management for women and men is significantly different, just like time management for schoolchildren, students and already working people. There are specific planning systems for young mothers and for people with irregular schedules who earn money from their own business or by working on the Internet.
• Try several selected methods for yourself. To understand exactly which method will help increase productivity, books or videos are not enough. Only by testing the material on yourself can you understand whether it will give the desired result in a particular case.
• Conduct an analysis, compare the results of all methods and choose the best one for yourself. When assessing, it is necessary to take into account not only the results of the methodology, but also external factors. For example, there is system 1 that showed the same results as system 2, but during testing of the second system a person was sick, this may indicate that it is more effective, because the tester was able to provide the necessary productivity even in a weakened state.

Dealing with the question “time management – ​​what is it?” It is necessary to understand that each person can put something of his own into this concept. For some, this technique involves solely planning, while others look at it more broadly, including systematization, focusing, motivation, and so on.

The main thing is not the components of the concept, the main thing is its purpose. Time management was created to increase productivity by managing one’s own time, and how a person achieves improved personal performance is his personal path.

Sincerely, Olga Kosygina especially for the proudalenku.ru project

How to learn this?

It's no secret that we all have a set of different abilities and predispositions from birth. But, of course, these abilities and predispositions are different for everyone, and while some people are initially inclined to effectively manage their time in life, others have to develop and hone this skill. Be that as it may, it can be done. And again good news - YOU CAN DO THIS YOURSELF, i.e. without resorting to training in specialized institutions or purchasing expensive training courses. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to have any special talent or genius, but you can simply complete the online training, the introduction to which you are now reading.

There are two important points when taking this course. This:

The theoretical basis is the information that you can get from the lessons we offer.

Practical learning is putting what you learn into practice in your daily life.

Based on these important points, we developed this training. Each lesson is designed to enable you to learn theoretical material, which is presented in an interesting and completely understandable language that is accessible to anyone. And also so that you have the motivation and opportunity to apply everything you have learned, not waiting for some appropriate moment, but right “here and now.” All you need is a desire to learn a new skill and a little free time, which you will need to find for this, which we, of course, have no doubt about.

Want to test your knowledge?

If you want to test your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how suitable it is for you, you can take our test. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

Statistics Full screen

Sectograph

The Sectograph application represents as clearly as possible what we spend our time on. The Sectograph application
represents as clearly as possible what we spend our time on. Essentially, it's an analog clock widget that pulls tasks from your Google calendar and overlays them on your watch face. This creates a kind of pie chart, where tasks are sectors on the clock. Of course, you can add tasks to the application and control timing. In addition, there is a countdown to the end of the event, such as an airplane flight or a lecture. This program also has a built-in quite flexible timer. The application can connect with Android Wear smart watches, after which they turn into an effective reminder. And the widget itself is updated once a minute - so as not to miss the appearance of new tasks in the Google calendar.