People think in minutes, hours, days, etc. Or to put it in another way, we tend to add time dimensions to our lives. That is a world phenomenon. I would describe it as a situation in which every minute lasts exactly the same everywhere and yet is a unique experience on a personal level.
The world time model functions regardless of our perception for it. How we use it defines our effectiveness. That is why having an own time management model might be a good idea.
Letting things float is counterproductive. So, how to develop a model that serves better our time management and productivity?
Make a list of 10 things that undermine your productivity
Include here all tasks that make you unhappy and look like they can never be accomplished or really slow you emotionally down each time they repeat. Share the list with friends. Take couple of days to think it over. Is the list complete and does it make sense? Once you feel comfortable, prioritize it and try to start eliminating each hurdle one by one. One way to approach this is to make a list of time savers.
Make a list of 10 time savers
This list should serve as a roadmap for improving your productivity. In my list I would rank high the fight against procrastination, perfectionism and slow decision-making.
Avoiding procrastination is important just because waiting doesn’t get you closer to finish.voiding perfectionism also counts as you will eventually learn how to be close to perfect by experience, not a priori. Quick decisions will save you mind energy as some decisions shouldn’t take more than couple of minutes to make. The trick is to learn to intuitively recognize these.
And as a rule of thumb, please remember that you should try to do difficult things quickly, because waiting doesn’t make them easier.
Update your lists regularly
In order to track progress it might be helpful to update your lists of hurdles and savers regularly and I would suggest an update on a monthly basis.
The important aspect here is to try to figure out how your model fits in the calendar and whether it helps you to do more things in less time and hence increase your effectiveness.
Make a habit of preparing a monthly to-do list
I keep a monthly to-do list with priorities (A, B, C), short description of what should be done and eventually expected range of dates for completion. Planning ahead helps me not worry and be more consistent.
I would welcome any other productive ideas.