Optimal time management: plan cleverly!
1. Think before you plan
If you want to slim down your to-do list, then follow a very simple principle: Don’t write down all the upcoming tasks, but ask yourself the following three questions:
- Got to I do it? (Maybe I can delegate it?)
- Do I have to? now make? (Is there still time?)
- Do I have to? at all make? (Does it get me further?)
2. First implement your top project
Before you get overwhelmed by the mass of activities for the day, select the three most important and then the most important. And that’s exactly what you tackle first. Until she’s done. Then it’s on to the next task and so on. In this way, you always do the most important things and in the evening you can enjoy the good feeling of having moved something!
3. Courage to gap!
If your diary is bursting at the seams with meetings, phone calls, projects and private activities, just leave something out. Show the red card to unimportant things, become the world champion in canceling appointments and have the courage to leave gaps.
So you can concentrate on the essentials. Your day becomes more manageable, your commitments lessen. Then, after 4 weeks, take stock: where did you make the right decision, what should you keep and what can be deleted without replacement in the future.
4. Choose the right planning aid
What is optimal for one person does not exactly knock the other off their feet and vice versa. If you’re a fan of electronic to-do lists, then find one that suits you. If the technology seems too cumbersome, time-consuming (you have to type everything in first) and risky (the computer crashes) and you prefer to work with paper, then do it.
Don’t let anyone tell you what’s good or bad for you. Decide for yourself and listen to your gut. He’s smarter than many think.