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The market is full of books, articles, tools and various sorts of content on time management. Yet we see more and more people complain about their inability to manage their time effectively. If you’ve read this fare, most probably you too struggle a bit with time management and so did I, until I found a magical formula that worked like charm for me.

The fault of traditional time management is at its core. The books on this topic are great and you get really excited motivated while reading one. You might try a method or two or even all of them, yet slowly but surely you’ll get back to the normal state you’re accustomed to. If you’ve ever tried one of those methods where you should track every minute of your time for a week or so, you’ll know what I mean. Tracking itself is ok; it gives you a good and accurate insight of the measured variable/variables, but in the case of time, it is not as easy as portrayed in books!

So what should you do? Here are 7 simple steps that you can start applying today:

1. Never try to micromanage your time

Micromanaging your time will not bring you any good. Instead, it will stress you out and turn you to a living freak. We live in a world of high uncertainty where nobody can predict for sure what’s going to happen in the next couple of hours, not to mention calibrating a schedule for 24 hours or even a week.

Continuously breaking your schedules and pushing away appointments and tasks will make you feel bad. It will affect your self-image and weaken your trust of your ability to ever stick to a schedule of any sort again.

Action step: instead of micromanaging your time, macro-manage it. Always look at it as a whole, divide it into blocks of 2-3 hours each or regions – morning, noon, afternoon, etc. – and try to allocate important tasks into those regions without specifying a numerical hour:minute:second value to it. This will give you flexibility and reduces the stressful urgency you feel when you try to chase your time by the minute. Also it will eliminate the amount of guilt you feel when you –for example- send that important email on 4 pm instead of the scheduled 15:35:20!

2. Focus on your most important outcomes for the day

An outcome is a desirable result you want out of something. Each day should be defined by its most important outcome. Usually a day will have an outcome or two that can be classified as important outcomes and rarely there will be more than three.

Action step: before you go to sleep in the day before, grab a small piece of paper and a pen (I chose to do it the old fashion way and leave the sophisticated mobile apps for something else) and write down your most important outcome/outcomes for the next day. By doing this you will clear you mind and most importantly you will be more likely to achieve those outcomes.

3. Beware, to do lists are dangerous

Entrepreneurs are fond of to-do lists. They’re a practical way of keeping track of all what you want to do. They also give you an exaggerated sense of achievement; since the mere act of writing stuff down makes you sometimes feel as comfortable as when you’ve achieved them – sounds familiar?

Do you remember being so eager to buy that great book/audio program/online course you’ve wanted for so long and felt like it will be the book that will change your life forever, and finally you bought it? What happened next; just after you’ve put it on the shelf or laid it on your desk? You were so satisfied and felt so comfortable that you didn’t have to read it anymore! This is exactly where the danger of to do lists resides; writing them might subtly sedate you into not taking any further action. Even worse, by the end of the day when you review what you did and didn’t, you easily postpone the uncompleted tasks to the next day. Surprise! This will satisfy you for the rest of that day – because scratching items out of to do lists is linked subconsciously with achieving them even if you’ll rewrite them for the next day, and then to the next and so on.

Action step: instead of being obsessed with to do lists, use them as a ways to remember things without falling in the trap of the to-do illusion. Never postpone a task more than one time; make it a personal must and stick to it.

4. Utilize the power of NOT-to-do lists

“Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.” H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

When I read that quote for the first time, I immediately fell in love with it. Our days are full of tasks that should be done – or at least so we think. Most of these tasks are trivial matters that don’t contribute substantially to our wellbeing and success. In this sense, NOT-to-do lists play a much more important role than to-do lists. They allow you to live a richer, more fulfilled life.

Action step: Put it your goal to differentiate between what matters the most to you and what doesn’t. This should originate out of your heart and guts. Then start to eliminate as much as you can of the trivia and daily nonsense.

5. Schedule time for recreation and relaxation and stick to it

Usually people falsely assume that productivity is related exclusively to workplace or business. However, being productive simply means that you produce large amounts of desirable results and goods. In order to be able to do that, you should rest; relaxation and recreation are integrated parts of productivity.

The time you spend resting is not wasted at all; as long you do it consciously for the sake of your wellbeing. If you want to cut trees you can’t do that forever without sharpening your saw every now and then; because it will wear gradually until it becomes useless.

Action step: put aside an hour a day for total relaxation. It has nothing to do with the time you allocate for sleeping. During this hour you can meditate, listen to calm music or just lie down and admire the lovely clouds and the blue sky. Consider it a chance to recharge you batteries and increase your productivity.

6. Use the Pomodoro Technique®

The Pomodoro Technique® is a time management method. This Technique helps you to transform time into a valuable ally by helping you accomplish what you want to do and charting continuous improvement in the way you do it.

This technique helps you eliminate distractions by working in 25 minutes time blocks. You should totally focus on the task for 25 minutes then you take a 5 minutes break. You repeat this cycle 4 times and after that you take a longer break for 20 minutes. Your brain will use this time to assimilate new information and rest before the next round of Pomodoros.

Action step: learn more about the Pomodoro Technique® by visiting their website (Link) and try to integrate it into your daily routine. You will notice large increase in productivity within a couple of days. Try it, it is amazing!

7. Use the 7-minutes rule

Procrastination is one of the worst productivity killers on earth. It sneaks into your life unnoticeably a little by a little until it takes control over your whole being. One of the biggest reasons behind procrastination is that our brain gets intimidated by the perceived complexity of a certain task and therefore, it tries to protect you by moving away from that task.

The 7 minutes rule is a diplomatic way to ease your mind into doing any task you want. You simple say that you will do that task you’ve been putting away for just 7 minutes. Then if you like it you’ll continue and if you don’t you stop. Once you get started, you’ll gain momentum and find it much easier than what you thought. You’ll hardly stop at that point and before you know it, the task is done!

Action step: make a list of 3 important tasks that you’ve been postponing for a long time. Pick one of them and give it a try for 7 minutes. Once the task is completed, do this for the remaining 2 tasks.

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Photo: listentothemountains

Start today and notice your progress for the next week. I will be glad to receive your feedback and comments on what worked best for you and which other methods you use as well.

Stay Lively
Saed

ظهرت المقالة Forget About Time Management. Use these 7 Incredible Steps And Gain Instant Control Over Your Life Today, Number 6 Is Unbelievable! أولاً على أكاديمية سائد يونس.

On the other hand, the commute may be perceived as an opportunity for growth and a fertile source of inspiration and recreation. You shouldn’t underestimate the commute time no matter how short it might seem. Let’s say that you need an average of 60 minutes each morning to get to your work and you need the same amount of time in your way back home. This means that each week you spend 10 hours commuting. To put it in a wider context, you spend 40 hours each month, here you go a whole work week at your disposal!!– which is a modest estimate since many people spend more time on the road than that.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2013, 10.8 Million people travel an hour each way on workdays and 600,000 people travel 90 minutes (50+ Miles) to work.

Personally, I live approximately 60 miles from work and I travel 90+ minutes each way every single work day. At the beginning I tried to use my car, it was ok for a week or so, but then it turned out to be more tiring and stressful than I thought, especially during heavy-traffic days. Although I’m a big fan of long distance driving and I really find it relaxing and mind clearing, that didn’t stop me from taking the decision to stop using my car and switch to public transportation. I liked the convenience of not having to worry about driving and traffic jams anymore. However, sitting in a bus or a train for 90 minutes isn’t entertaining at all if you don’t plan it ahead and utilize it to your own wellbeing.

Here are 10 tips that will help you maximize your productivity while maintaining a good and positive mood:

1. Mind Your Own Posture First

Photo: Ernie Migraine

Priority #1 when commuting for long distances is to take care of your posture and to be seated properly. This might be tricky, since not all public transportation means have the same type of seats and options. Still, most buses and trains that are used for long commuting have adjustable seats. You should keep the back of your seat in an upright position with a little inclination that suites the ergonomics of you back. Do not be tempted to move it all they down if you want to sleep; because this will exert a lot of pressure on your lower back and might cause you some back pain.

Also try to keep your legs stretched to the front with your heels on the floor to avoid stressing your knees for a long time. Every once and a while rotate your feet around the ankle little bit and move your toes to refresh the blood circulation in the lower part of your body.

 2. Secure You Neck

Photo: Tom Magliery

One of the most affected parts of your body by long distance commuting is your neck – especially if you suddenly fall asleep while your neck is in the wrong position. So if you want to maintain a good spinal health on the long run, you need to take care of your neck.

One of the easiest ways to protect your neck and keep it safe and comfortable at all times during your commute it to use a foam neck pillow. It is comfortable and most importantly it fits easily into your back bag or suitcase.

I’ve used a micro bead neck pillow for a while but then I had to abandon it for the more comfortable foam one. You can buy it at amazon for around $13.

Don’t forget to clean it regularly to prevent the clustering of bacteria and to protect it from bad smell. Good news is that some of them are microwavable; so you don’t have to worry about a complicated washing process.

3. Stay Hydrated

Photo: Leo Newball, Jr

You should keep a small bottle of fresh water with you at all times. Your body needs water in order to stay active and energetic. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink water, keep the bottle close to you –preferably in the seat’s bag in front of you- and take regular sips along the way. Sitting in a bus or a train for an extended period of time and not performing any major muscular activity doesn’t mean that your body isn’t losing water. Truth is that it does, and you need to act on it. If you wait until you’re thirsty, this means it is too late and your body is already dehydrated.

4. A Few Minutes Of Planning Each Way, Let You Harness The Fruits Of The Whole Day!

Photo: john.schultz

Start your journey in the morning by planning your day ahead, also do the same on your way back and plan your evening in advance – Just a few minutes each way will work like magic. Use a journal, notepad or simply your smartphone to jot down the main ideas and actions that you need to take and write the desired outcomes that you want to achieve.

This will keep you focused thought the day and the evening. You don’t need to write detailed plans; just keywords and highlights will be enough for you to clear your mind without forgetting about what really matters.

5. Read, But Do Not Over Read!

Photo: Jens Schott Knudsen

It may seem surprising and counter-intuitive for some, but the truth is reading for a long time isn’t the wisest thing to do if you are a regular commuter. Reading requires you to be alert the whole time, which makes your trip a little bit tough and draining.

If you like to read on your way to work, do so for 10-20 minutes after you’ve written down the brief plan of the day/evening. The repetitive movements of the bus or train you’re in and the constant background engine and traffic sounds will put you in a semi-hypnotic state that will make it harder for you to stay 100% attentive the whole way. You will notice that after a while, you’ll keep losing track of what you’re reading and you won’t comprehend the material entirely.

6. Audio Books And Podcast Are A Heaven For Commuters

Photo: Eric Bennett

Since prolonged reading isn’t the best thing to do during your trip, audio books and podcasts of your choice are much more practical. After all, it’s about effectively optimizing your method of consuming information.

Pre download your favorite audio books and podcasts and copy them to your iPod/smartphone. Make customized playlists based on your preferences and make them ready to go. Listening to books narrated requires much less mental effort than reading them. Make sure to have a pen and a paper handy to quickly capture any ideas or pieces of information that are important to you. Don’t rely on your memory, you might be in that semi-hypnotic state and forget them once you get out of the bus – True story!

If you are too tired to read or listen to audio material, just put on some calm music and relax. Relaxation when needed is productivity as well. So don’t worry much about finishing that book or listening to that whole podcast today, you’ll do that later.

7. Put Your Smartphone On Silent

Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns

If you want to listen to music or podcasts using your mobile phone, make sure to reduce the ringtone volume to the lowest or simply put it on silent mode. Why? Just try to leave it on full throttle while you have the earbuds on, and you’ll discover the why by yourself when somebody calls you!

8. Set An Alarm Even If You Are Not Planning To Sleep

Photo: Massie

If you’re commuting 2-4 hours a day 5-6 days a week you shouldn’t rely on your own pure willpower to stay awake. Always set an alarm that goes on at least 10 minutes before you arrive at your destination. This way you will make sure not to oversleep and miss the right station. With smartphones, now it’s very easy to set a recurring alarm for work days so you don’t have to worry about setting the alarm each time you travel. I prefer to set my smartphone’s alarm 15 minutes before arriving in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon. It adjust the settings to silent mode (vibration only) – since I usually keep it in my pocket.

You won’t always need it and mostly you’ll be awake when it rings, but it’s definitely worth the embarrassment of having to explain to your boss why you came late. If you are your own boss then you owe it to yourself to be punctual and reliable.

9. Keep A Light Sweater And A Baseball Cap Or A Pair Of Sunglasses In Your Bag

Photo: chantrybee

You can wear the sweater in case you felt a little cold inside the bus or train. Mornings are usually cold even during summer and sometimes the air conditioning is set to a low temperature. So instead of approaching the driver and asking them to adjust the temperature just pull out your sweater and put it on. This will save you time and effort and most importantly will keep you warm and cozy. However, you should choose a lightweight sweater to carry on; so that your bag doesn’t turn into a powerlifting contest!

When you decide to sleep, you can use the baseball cap or put on the sunglasses to cover your eyes. This will give you a sense of privacy inside the bus or train and will block direct daylight so it becomes a little darker for you to sleep with no trouble.

10. Breath, Breath & Breath

Photo: Shawn Rossi

One of the easiest things to forget during your long commute is to breathe well. Although the closed, air-conditioned atmosphere of buses and trains doesn’t provide you with very fresh blasts of air, this shouldn’t keep you from maintaining good breathing habits. Having regular deep breaths will keep you lively and relaxed. Your brain thrives on oxygen, remember? So you need to make of breathing deeply a fixed habit. Usually people feel exhausted and sleepy inside public transportation because they automatically start taking shallow breaths once they get in. you can easily prevent that by focusing on deep Diaphragmatic breathing until it becomes a routine.

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Photo: Nicolas Alejandro

ظهرت المقالة Master The Art Of Commuting: 10 Simple Steps To Maximize Your Productivity While Enjoying The Ride أولاً على أكاديمية سائد يونس.