How to manage everything at work and at home, do everything on time and not get tired

Greetings, friends!

The modern rhythm of life becomes faster and faster every year, and the question constantly sounds in my head: how to manage everything? And not just keep up, but also find time for relaxation, personal life and travel? It is possible to achieve this, and today we will work on it. However, before we begin, let's clear up one simple question:

Why is it so difficult to keep up with everything?

There are many reasons, and here are the main ones:

Multitasking. A modern person simply needs to manage too much - go to work or study; raise children, visit doctors, go shopping for groceries or clothes, play sports... To combine all this and have time to rest, you need to try hard.
Useless activities. Such activities include: watching TV, series; scrolling through the news feed on your smartphone; spending many hours on social networks. Anyone who wants to start getting things done will have to reduce these activities to a minimum.
Laziness. This feeling is common to 90% of people, and there is nothing wrong with having it sometimes. However, if laziness has begun to greatly complicate your life, it’s time to take serious measures.
Inefficiency. In other words, low labor productivity. It happens that some task can be completed in an hour, and some manage to stretch it out over the whole day. Of course, with such labor productivity it will not be easy to keep up with everything and you also need to work on this.
Low energy level. The cause of low energy can be a sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition.

We've sorted out the reasons, now let's move on to actions.

Our program consists of 3 parts:

Creating healthy habits;
Planning and prioritization;
Increased efficiency;

Each stage contains 5 simple and understandable rules that will teach you how to do everything. If you are ready, then we begin!

Why is there not enough time?

Before we begin the practical part, I suggest you take a look at what is preventing us from using our time effectively:

Multitasking. It is quite logical that an adult needs to manage too much - take care of children, go to work, go shopping, go to the clinic, do household chores, etc. In constant time pressure, it can be very difficult to allocate time for hobbies, sports, reading books and other useful things. activity.
Laziness. Psychologists assure that laziness is neither a feeling nor a character trait. The roots of the condition we call laziness actually lie deeper. We get lazy because we are not motivated enough or we are simply tired.
Useless activities. This includes watching feeds on social networks, sitting for many hours in front of the TV, computer games, etc. It is difficult to imagine how much free time we can get by getting rid of such bad habits.
Procrastination. For those who don't know, it is the tendency to constantly put things off until later. When you have an important and quite urgent matter, but you are invariably distracted by everyday trifles or entertainment. Thus, a job that would have taken two hours to complete is extended over half a day.
Energy deficiency. In a sense, this is a continuation of the point about laziness. When we are tired, we lack the strength to even do basic things. This may indicate overwork, lack of sleep, frequent stress, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, etc.

Theory

At that time, I did not yet know about the now fashionable GTD and other methods of personal effectiveness, but I came across information about the areas of human life. It’s great when you manage to do everything, for example, at work, but all these successes do not bring satisfaction and do not make much sense if you do not have any progress in other areas.

Usually people think that in life everything happens by itself, money falls from the sky or is given by a rich uncle, health does not go anywhere, good relationships build on their own, success chooses a random person and falls on him, and so on. This is a child’s vision of reality, we need to gradually get rid of it. A little more about this in the article on cause-and-effect relationships.

According to psychologists, there are eight main areas of human life: family, relationships, health, finances, career, growth and development, spirituality, recreation. It cannot be said that any of the areas is more important than the other. They are all pieces that make up a harmonious and interesting life.

Spheres of life

I will explain what is included in each area:

Family : children, parents, relatives, close friends.
Relationships : loved one, partner.
Health : energy, well-being, healthy lifestyle.
Finance : salary, expenses, income and so on.
Career : profession, skills, colleagues, place of work and career growth.
Growth, development : learning, reading, personal achievements, realization of creative potential.
Spirituality : state of mind, emotions, joy of life, relationship with the Universe (God).
Recreation : hobbies, travel, entertainment.

You need to direct your energy into all these areas, movement must occur in each of them, otherwise distortions and problems in life begin. This means that in order to maintain balance, you need to create a list of tasks and goals for each area.

List of tasks by area

But life is such a thing in which something is constantly happening and this balance is very often upset. Moreover, your head is always filled with different thoughts, current work tasks and information garbage, and it is simply impossible to remember everything and feel calm. As a result, you begin to understand that almost all problems in life happen due to the inability to manage your mind and your time.

Rules for effective time management

You can read about what time management is on our blog. In a nutshell, this is a set of time management techniques (from the English time and manage - “time” and “management”).

Below I will describe a step-by-step program for optimizing personal time. It consists of three stages, each of which has only 5 points. Take it on board and change your life for the better.

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Stage 1. Create healthy habits

Here we will correct our bad habits and develop useful ones.

Early rise

Many books have been written about its benefits. For example, the author of the publication “Magic of the Morning,” Hal Elrod, is convinced that the first hour after waking up is the most important. And it is how we spend our morning that determines not only the success of the coming day, but also life in general.

Waking up early is not enough. The author focuses on the efficiency of time spent. Exercise, meditation, reading or planning will be useful. Even if you're a night owl, try getting up at least 10 minutes earlier than usual. After a week, you can increase the difference to 20 minutes, etc.

Making a list for the day

What's the use of this? Firstly, you will have a clear action plan in front of you, which will help you concentrate and be less distracted. Secondly, the list will relieve your brain and you won’t have to keep everything in your head. And lastly, when you start crossing off completed tasks before going to bed, you will be able to feel that the day was not in vain.

Order in everything

It's hard to concentrate on anything when there's chaos and chaos all around. Train yourself to delete unnecessary files on your phone and computer in a timely manner, to clean up your workplace, home, and car. This will not only improve your efficiency, but will also help you become more disciplined and organized.

Solving problems as they arise

It happens that suddenly there is a need to solve unforeseen matters: visit a doctor, go to a car service center, call a plumber, make an urgent purchase. Don't snowball important tasks. Immediately add them to your list for the day or week and do everything on time.

Reducing bad habits

We are talking about those things that steal our time. These are social networks, watching TV, spending five minutes in smoking rooms, playing games in mobile applications, etc. Once again, when we run away from the workplace to the coffee machine, we don’t want coffee, but to put things off. If the tasks on your list have not yet been crossed off, do not allow yourself to be distracted by empty activities.

Stage 2: Planning and prioritizing

Once we have developed good habits, it’s time to start managing our time.

From complex to simple

Time management expert Brian Tracy likes to quote Mark Twain as an example: “If you ate a live frog every morning, you would spend the rest of the day with a slight feeling that the worst was over.” A frog in our case is some kind of big and complex matter. Perform it first when your concentration and efficiency are still at their maximum.

The 20/80 principle

This principle is also called Pareto's law, after the Italian sociologist who developed it. Vilfredo Pareto argued that 80% of success comes from only 20% of effort. Other efforts turn out to be almost ineffective. Applicable to our topic, a recommendation might sound like this: when you are faced with a big task, evaluate what actions can lead to its solution, and select only the 20% of the most important ones. They are the ones who will bring you as close to the result as possible.

Division into parts

When we see one big task, it causes us fear and doubt. Try breaking it down into small steps. Let's take learning a foreign language as an example. The idea that we need to memorize 3 English words today causes less resistance than the overall goal of learning 1,000 words in a year.

Optimization of daily work

We all go grocery shopping, clean the apartment and perform other routine duties, spending precious minutes and hours on them. What if you plan them in such a way that it takes less time? For example, instead of spending 30 minutes every day going to the store, set aside one day a week for a big purchase. And to free up your day off from cleaning, tidy up your apartment every day for 5 minutes. Look for methods that are right for you.

Following the Eisenhower Matrix

This is the most popular time management tool. Its essence is to divide your affairs into 4 categories: important urgent, important non-urgent, urgent unimportant and non-urgent unimportant. First of all, we carry out tasks with the highest priority (category “A” in the picture below), and then in descending order.

Stage 3. Work on efficiency

So, we have developed useful habits and learned to manage our time more efficiently. The final step is to increase your efficiency in completing tasks.

Concentration on one thing

It has been scientifically proven that a man's brain cannot work productively on two tasks. And although women have greater opportunities in this regard, focusing on one thing is important regardless of gender. To do something efficiently and quickly, you should not be distracted by parallel tasks.

Down with distractions

Many people see nothing wrong with working with the TV on in the background. In fact, this reduces efficiency significantly. Try not to be distracted by your smartphone or TV, then you can keep your concentration at maximum.

Time limit

Scientists have proven that this technique allows the brain to work more efficiently. If you time yourself before performing a task, you can make sure that you complete it faster and with better quality.

Reward and Praise

Finished important work on time? Great! Praise yourself and do something nice. In any business, motivation is very important. Train your brain that achievement always comes with a reward. Organize an evening watching your favorite TV series, buy the desired item, treat yourself to some goodies.

Good rest = productivity

If you set yourself the task of being able to do everything everywhere, start working without breaks and days off, and be as concentrated and productive as possible, this will only lead to burnout. Rest is a vital part of effective work. Monitor the quality and timing of your sleep, breathe more fresh air and move.

I also recommend reading other time management techniques.

What to do when you are stuck at work?

For starters, don't panic. Instead of repeating: “I don’t have time to do my work,” start taking action.

Step-by-step guide to clearing debris:

Sort your tasks. Separate lists – documents, accounts, negotiations, meetings.
Highlight in green those tasks whose completion depends only on you.
Highlight in yellow the tasks you perform as a team.
Highlight urgent tasks in red.
Bring to the meeting those marked in yellow and red, and discuss with your colleagues the methods and deadlines for implementation. Immediately add it to your weekly plan and check how feasible the tasks are on time. If necessary, adjust and coordinate with others.
Start completing tasks from the green-red list; distribute tasks from the green list evenly across the days of the week and complete them strictly according to plan, without waiting for them to “turn red.”
When the tasks are sorted, it will no longer be difficult to create an effective plan that is realistic in terms of completion.
Contact management if co-workers are constantly delaying your work. If you are a leader, take action.

IMPORTANT! Often, blockages form because you waste your working time chatting on social networks and instant messengers. Put your phone away from your eyes, block social networks on your work computer and start working!

When a lot of work accumulates, you do not have time to complete it. And only effective planning will save you from rush jobs and missed deadlines.

If problems arise due to incorrect organization of the work process in principle, contact the manual. When management fails to organize, try to find another job. Living in constant stress leads to health problems and darkens your entire life.

How to organize your working day

What to do when there is constant pressure at work and you don’t have time to do anything? There are several ways to cope with stress and plan your work process more effectively:

Stop panicking and repeating phrases in the style of a popular quote: “Chief, everything is lost!” Just start doing it.
Take 10 minutes to plan your day. Which tasks require immediate solutions, and which ones can be returned to later?
Eliminate distractions. Turn off notifications in instant messengers, put your phone on silent mode, remove solitaire games and panels with access to social networks from your work computer.
Learn to say “no” to colleagues and those who steal your time. Do not agree to extra work that they are trying to delegate to you not according to the company’s charter. Refuse to participate in gossip and empty chatter.
To be less tired, use a change of activity. For example, after 1 hour of mental work, take 5 minutes to walk around the office, do a stretch, and get some fresh air if possible.
Group similar tasks. Doing different things requires different types of thinking. If you don't switch from one task to another, you will be able to concentrate better and save time.
If it doesn't affect your reputation, try to attend fewer meetings. As a rule, most of them are unproductive. Important issues can be resolved in instant messengers or by mail.
Stop multitasking. This is an ineffective way of working that leads to psychological and intellectual exhaustion.

On a note! Get yourself a task calendar. This could be a paper planner or an electronic app like Trello or Wunderlist. This is a great way to create a daily routine and save a lot of time.

Learn to plan for a week, a month in advance

It's time to talk about how to organize your work to get everything done. Planning is at the forefront.

You will have to decide what planning media you will use.

Electronic The good thing is that you can edit, rearrange, cross out and add tasks many times, see the entire week or month on the screen, and use data from any gadget.
ADVICE! Using fills of different colors, you will immediately see urgent tasks, project deadlines, and the busyness of each day of the week. The choice of electronic planners is huge, and there are also free ones.
Paper diaries are good because they are available in any situation - during flights, in the absence of the Internet, laptop, etc.

It is optimal to have both. Synchronize your data whenever possible so you don't miss anything.

Plan points that are too general and too detailed are ineffective: the former do not provide all the information, the latter are confusing. Follow a few rules for long-term planning:

when scheduling a business call with a partner, write down the full name, position, phone number, so that you don’t waste time searching for information later;
immediately enter appointments, conferences, meetings into the planner; at the same time, in a separate column, indicate which documents are necessary or advisable to take with you, write down contact details, addresses and other necessary information;
during the week, distribute tasks so that by Thursday the most important thing is done - as you know, fatigue accumulates, so it is better to leave simple tasks at the end of the week; clearly formulate tasks and subtasks;
think through long-term projects in detail and distribute your working time so that you get everything done and the project is completed a couple of days before the deadline; if this is not possible, again leave the simplest for last.

BY THE WAY! If you develop the habit of immediately adding tasks to your calendar and allocating time to complete them, you will never have problems with deadlines.

Where to find time for household chores

I'll tell you how to cope with your home routine without stress, spending less time on cleaning and cooking.

To avoid spending weekends cleaning, try to keep your home clean every day. It doesn’t take much time to put clothes in the closet, wipe down the stove after cooking, wash a couple of plates after eating, or sweep the floor in the hallway. All this is done in passing and does not require much effort.

Consider making your life easier with technology. A multicooker, a robot vacuum cleaner, a dishwasher - they will make it much easier and more enjoyable to cope with household chores.

Involve children in cleaning. Ask them to water the flowers, wipe the dust, clean their shoes, put away their things and toys. A small prize will be a great motivation, and working together will not only save time, but will also unite the whole family.

Semi-finished products will provide a good service in catering. They will save the situation in the event of an unexpected visit from guests, in the event of a late return home or poor health. If you're against store-bought fast food, make your own at home. For example, meat or vegetable cutlets, dumplings.

Prioritization

To sort things out and set priorities, you can use the Eisenhower principle; I’m now taking a closer look at it and trying to combine it with my principles.

It is important to understand that strength and energy are not limitless, so in each specific segment you should try to focus on a maximum of three important tasks. Upon completion of each task, a review is made and the next critical task from any area of life is assigned.

I have marked the non-urgent and important ones with an asterisk; these are the important tasks that you need to concentrate on at the moment.

Advice from psychologists

Let's look at what experts recommend to increase productivity at work and at home:

As you remember, morning is an important element of a successful day. Stop reading news feeds. Better listen to music, do light exercises and eat a healthy breakfast.
To improve brain function, use color therapy. Scientists have proven the influence of color on the psyche. Thus, red stimulates focus and leadership qualities, yellow promotes emotional involvement, orange is the color of optimists, green promotes harmony, blue promotes creativity.
In addition to color, use aromatherapy. There are several types of essential oils that can stimulate brain activity. Try using citrus, eucalyptus, peppermint, and rosemary oils.
Plan not only work, but also leisure. Just the thought of an upcoming vacation at sea can already improve your mood.

Playing sports is an additional motivation

There is no need to perceive sports as a waste of time. In fact, this is a great way to relieve stress and take a break from mental work.

Adjusted physical activity will allow you to get a boost of energy, so necessary for quality work.

For classes you can choose anything from dancing to martial arts or fitness. The main thing is that it must be interesting so that sporting events have the desired effect. Then you will no longer have to suffer from fatigue.

Books and courses on time management

Keep a list of useful books that will definitely come in handy:

Staffan Neteberg “Time management by pomodoro. How to concentrate on one thing for at least 25 minutes”
Dan Kennedy “Tight Time Management. Take control of your life"
David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Brian Tracy Eat the Frog! 21 ways to learn to keep up”
Yana Frank “365 days of a very creative person”
Gleb Arkhangelsky “Time Drive. How to have time to live and work”

You can find other books on the topic and descriptions for them in our selection of the best books on time management.

Here are some interesting courses that will help you keep up with everything:

Time management from Skillbox;
Time management: simple ways to manage time from Netology;
How to manage your time and relieve your life from the Udemy platform;
Time management: time management from 4brain.

I also recommend reading the article with many other paid and free courses on time management and training programs on motivation.

About goals

Goals set direction and provide energy, so it makes sense to consider these tools in the context of moving towards your plans. Even if a person has one global goal, it consists of smaller ones that can change and be supplemented. Therefore, it makes sense to adjust your routine to different periods of life.

To move in some areas you need to set goals. In others, it is enough to perform routine tasks to maintain wealth. For example, in order to develop and grow, you need to constantly learn something new, and to be healthy, you need to brush your teeth, do simple exercises, eat well and regularly, and so on.

Results of absence of laziness

What will get rid of laziness? What will happen if you can overcome this feeling and make your day more productive and energetic?

If you get up earlier, you will do more planned things, you will have more time to relax, communicate with friends, and so on.
Your career will go up, you will be respected and appreciated for your punctuality and hard work.
In addition to work, you will have time to do what you love.
You will feel pride and moral satisfaction.
Improve your financial situation and allow yourself the purchases you want.
Your children will be proud of you and follow your example.
You will be able to take better care of yourself by devoting more time to morning and evening dressing, instead of lounging in bed and doing nothing for longer.
Your life will become brighter and more fun.

Is this not enough to make it a basic rule to get rid of laziness and make it your ally? Let your life go beyond the template, become interesting, unusual and desirable.

Useful materials

Here I will leave for you a small selection of books and other materials so that the topic of laziness will forever be closed to you.

Books:

Richard Branson “To hell with everything! Take it and do it!”
Neil Fiore “The Easy Way to Stop Procrastinating”
Brian Tracy “No Excuses! The power of self-discipline. 21 paths to sustainable success and happiness"
Anthony Robbins “Unleash the Giant Within”

Based on Brian Tracy's book, the guys created a motivational video. I recommend you watch it.

The Goal Setting course on the Vikium platform will help you not waste energy, set goals and achieve them, and become more effective in your professional and everyday life.

Appreciate your youth, don’t sleep through your younger years, it’s time to cope with laziness

Your young years are the best years of your life. And if you spend them lying on the couch in front of the TV screen, then you are not living. You become a vegetable.

Appreciate your young body, the potential strength that you can develop if you work on yourself.

You can find a lot of hobbies - there is always a lot of room for your growth .

Only a fool knows everything. A wise person realizes how little he knows and how much new he still has to learn.

There are a lot of areas and vectors in which you can develop and succeed. Find them, decide, and then you can stop being lazy and start working.

Don't waste away at home. Use your potential, given by nature to everyone without exception.

Afterword

This article does not provide a ready-made recipe for how to maintain 100 percent balance, achieve success and remain happy; this is just one of the tools for organizing your time, which helped me get a lot done in a certain period of my life. To understand whether it works for you or not, you need to try it. It is not a means to control life, but rather a means to control the mind. Any system can help you become much more effective, or it can become a crutch, if you are not moving at all where your soul wants, you must always listen to yourself carefully.

And one more thing: you can develop a habit and follow some kind of system (for example this one) if you have a lot of energy and there is no constant stress, and all basic needs are more or less resolved (with money, housing, work), otherwise you will have to constantly close these issues and It will be very difficult to adhere to the system (tested on myself).