These are the well-worn and familiar paths along which our thought painfully and unsuccessfully moves, burning incredible amounts of our time, sucking out energy and not creating any values for ourselves or for anyone.
As soon as we learn to recognize and neutralize these "enemies", we will be able to significantly increase our productivity. Here are a few common pitfalls that may stand in our way.
This is a trend Planning fallacy / APA Dictionary of Psychology underestimate the amount of time it will take to complete the task. Part of the planning error is due to the fact that we are too optimistic about our productivity and overestimate our strength.
Because of this trap, we constantly do not fit into the schedule. If you have to deal with strict deadlines at work, for example, the deadline for completing a team project depends on you, a planning error can significantly damage your reputation.
Another consequence of it is that we are trying to do the impossible and manage to complete a huge amount of tasks in a short time. This leads to an imbalance. When we take on too much work, there is no time for loved ones and personal life at all. High expectations and lack of control over deadlines are a direct way to burnout. When we do not have time to complete an important task, we have to sacrifice hours that we should have spent on entertainment, taking care of ourselves and even on sleep. Gradually, this leads to emotional, mental and physical fatigue caused by prolonged or repeated stress.Do not use to-do lists without a time limit. The lists themselves are useless. If they do not have clear deadlines, they do not help at all to identify priorities and follow a realistic schedule.
Timeboxing will help solve the problem. This method consists in allocating a certain period of time for each task in the schedule. It allows you to effectively deal with scheduling errors, because it makes it possible to visualize working hours.
To make the reception even more effective, prepare in advance. Set a timer every time you perform a task, such as playing sports or sorting out work documents. This way you will understand how much time you usually spend on such things, which means it will be easier to make a schedule. You will be able to enter the exact time in the calendar and get a real idea of what you will have time to do in one day.
Don't be afraid to use your time freely. Assign to each case not the minimum amount of time, as in an optimistic scenario, but the maximum, as in a pessimistic one. If you finish everything earlier, you can rest before the next task.
These are the moments during the day when we move from one activity to another. For example, when we open a tab in the browser, we get annoyed that the page takes a long time to load, and open the next one to fill in the time. Or when we check social networks while returning to the workplace from a meeting. It all starts with a harmless 5 minutes, and ends with a feeling of guilt after half an hour of wasted time.
The next time you want to check social networks to dispel boredom or just to distract yourself, wait 10 minutes. Most likely, when they expire, you will have already changed your mind.
Imagine that a spontaneous impulse to do something is a wave, and you are a surfer. The 10-minute rule gives you time to "ride the wave of desire." You take a break, notice your feelings, and then get the better of them. This helps not to succumb to sudden desires and cope with feelings until they subside.
The 10-minute rule is suitable for dealing with a variety of distractions. For example, with the desire to eat something harmful or watch another episode at two in the morning.
This is a trend M. Zhu, Y. Yang, et al. The mere urgency effect / Journal of Consumer Research choose urgent and fast tasks, not important and long tasks. In other words, we prefer a short case that will take 5 minutes, rather than a serious project that will require hours of work.
An excellent example is email. According to statistics, an ordinary employee receives How many emails are sent every day? Top email statistics for businesses / Templafy 121 messages per day. Even if you answer each email in 2 minutes, it will take 4 hours. But this time can be spent on really important things.
The same timboxing will protect you from the tempting call of small tasks. Reserve a period in your schedule for focused work and warn everyone you need, such as family or superiors, that you are unavailable at this time. This will save you from feeling guilty and anxious about not responding to emails or messages. Everyone will know that you are constantly engaged in business.
Try not to indulge your desires. At first, you may be tempted to quickly check social networks or throw clothes in the washing machine if you work from home. Remind yourself that now is the time of concentrated work, and everything else is strictly prohibited.
People are not machines, so our productivity decreases periodically, even if we take a responsible approach to time planning and spend our attention only on important things. This is a natural process.
It is absolutely useless to shame yourself for not having time for something. Yes, you may have overslept your morning workout today or been distracted more often than usual. Don't blame yourself. Toxic emotions will only make you feel even worse and, ironically, distract even more to deal with the negativity.
Show yourself more compassion. Everyone has problems with holding attention for a long time and not being distracted by trifles. It is important to take responsibility for your actions without toxic feelings of shame.
Self-compassion makes us more resilient in the face of unjustified expectations, because it reduces the stress that often accompanies failures. If you notice that you are starting to listen to your inner critic again, do not believe him and do not argue with him. Better remind yourself that obstacles are part of the path to success.
Talk to yourself the same way you talk to a friend. This will allow you to look at the situation from the outside and see it as it really is. Cheer yourself up. For example, like this: "You are at the very beginning of the path." Or like this: "You are already changing for the better."
Feelings of shame and guilt are another reason why timeboxing is better than a to—do list. The lists reinforce harmful stereotypes about ourselves and serve as a constant reminder of what we have not done today, although we promised.
