Tired of staying up late at work and working tirelessly? Be in time to do things, work productively and relax on time.
How to do everything without staying up late at work? Time magazine in partnership with Inc. publishes an article by columnist Jeff Hagen, who in turn consulted Belle Beth Cooper of Buffer. The recommendations take into account ideas from other experts.
1. "Edit to-do list". “One of the most unexpected but effective methods of increasing productivity is to limit the number of things that I include on the list,” the author admits. He advises to choose one, two or three (but not more!) The most important cases (SVD).
Leo Babauta advises: “Make an SVD immediately in the morning, either at home or right after you come to work. If you put them aside for later, you will wind up and you will not have enough time for them."
The list can be supplemented with minor tasks that you should do after you handle the SVD.
Another trick is to make a to-do list ahead of time, on the evening of the previous day. You can calmly go to bed, and in the morning, without being tormented by doubts, take up the most important things.
The third secret to a to-do list is to make it one day long. Otherwise, there will be a feeling that you are more loaded than you seem. “I make a long list of everything to do, and then, every evening, I move a few items to my list the next day,” the author writes.
2. “Measure your results, not time,” the author writes.
For example, if you have a large project to do, you should break it down into “doable” steps. And then cross out what is done every day, even if the project takes many days to complete. The author explains, "I feel a surge of pleasure every time I cross out a piece of work, even if I just wrote a 200-word chapter."
You can also make a list of everything that you have done in the day. “You will be surprised how your motivation for doing important work and focus on it will grow stronger - you will want to do even more,” the author writes.
3. “Form habits that will help you get started. If I don't have a plan where to start work, I usually get distracted by nonsense in the morning and waste time,”the author admits.
Here you need a certain routine, where a certain action is a signal to start work for the brain and body. “I usually sit at a table drinking coffee and checking my favorite sites for news. As soon as the cup of coffee is finished, this is a signal: it's time to finish watching and get to work,”the author writes. You can also turn off the phone, do exercises, have breakfast, play certain music.
Life on schedule is not the lot of nerds, but the choice of purposeful people who have found the best way to achieve their goals, the author writes.
4. "Track where you are wasting time." First, figure out what you do each morning as you get ready for work. You may be wasting time choosing clothes. But this can be done ahead of time, in the evening.
Now keep track of where the time is spent during the day: you may be stuck on social media too often, or a two-minute conversation about work turns into 10-minute chatter.
“As soon as you figure out what is taking your time or prompting you to engage in nonsense, start changing something specifically in connection with these habits,” the author writes.
5. “Form habits that will help you stop working. The habit of working overtime is dangerous because it encourages you to put off the most important things until later, warns the author.
How to relax in time?
1. Hemingway advised: "The best thing is to always stop work when it is going well and you know what will happen [in the piece] next."In the same way, you can stop in the middle of a business project: you know what is ready and what you need to do next.
2. Order yourself to finish work at a strictly defined hour. It teaches you to prioritize correctly - to start with the most important thing.
3. “Unplug your laptop from the mains. You can only work as long as the battery lasts,”the article says.
4. Schedule some enjoyable activity after work. "Outside forces and pressure from friends can motivate you to get things done on time."
5. Develop a relaxation ritual - for example, taking a walk after work, keeping a diary, or discussing the past day with family and friends. Making a to-do list for tomorrow will do, too.
