Time
- How do we waste time ?
- How to improve our use of time?
- Can you get time back ?
- How we spend time?
I talk a little about Muda which means futility; uselessness; wastefulness
and is a key concept in lean process thinking.
Tool of Lean 8 Types of Wastes:
1) Unused human talent
2) Waiting
3) Inventory
4) Transportation
5) Defects
6) Motion
7) Over Production
8) Processing of non-value added activities
How to Start Getting Organized
1) Sort
2) Set in order
3) Scrub
4) Safety
5) Standardize
6) Sustain Create a process to maintain order or Chaos will creep in
Chaos to Order takes energy
1. Create a time audit.
When it comes to time management, the first step you need to take is finding out where your time actually goes. You may believe that you only send 30 minutes on emails, but in reality that task is eating-up an hour of your day.
2. Set a time limit to each task.
I’ve found that setting a time limit to each task prevents me from getting distracted or procrastinating.
3. Use a to-do-list, but don’t abandon tasks.
All goals and projects are made up of smaller parts that need to be accomplished in order to achieve the goal, or complete the project.
“Aside from keeping you focused, this also motivates you as you are able to see what you have already achieved, and what remains.”
4. Plan ahead.
One of the worst things that you can do is wake-up without a plan for the day. Instead of focusing on what needs to be done.
That’s why you should always plan ahead using one of these options;
The night before. Before you leave work for the day, spend the last 15-minutes organizing your office and composing a list of your most important items for tomorrow.
First thing in the morning. During your morning routine write down the 3 or 4 most urgent and important matters that need to be addressed today and work on those when you’re most productive.
5. Spend your mornings on MITs.(Most Important Tasks)
Mark Twain once said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
Gross? Sure. But, the point that Twain was making that you should take care your biggest and most-challenging tasks in the morning,
There are a couple reasons why this such an effective time management trick. For starters, you usually have the most amount of energy in the AM. So it’s better to tackle these tasks when you’re not drained. Also, you can use that feeling of accomplishment to get through the rest of the day.
6. Learn to delegate/outsource.
The thing is, delegating or outsourcing are real time-savers since it lessens your workload – which means you have more time to spend on more important tasks or doing less work. Either hand over responsibilities to team members who are qualified or hire an experienced freelancer. And, if you do decide to do in-house training, the initial investment will be worth-it in the end.
7. Rest is not a Waste
We often think Rest is waste but rest is not a Waster but a reset is critical for creativity, problem solving. see Ep 088 https://www.levelyourselfup.com/0882022health/
8. Leave a buffer-time between tasks and meetings.
Jumping immediately from one task or meeting to the next may seem like a good use of your time, but it actually has the opposite effect. We need time to clear our minds and recharge by going for a walk, meditating, or just daydreaming. After all, the human brain can only focus for about 90-minutes at a time.
Without that break it’s more difficult to stay focused and motivated. Scheduling buffer-time also can prevent running late to your next meeting. I find 30-minutes between tasks and meetings an ideal amount of buffer-time.
9. Get organized and single-task.
The average American spends 2.5 days each year looking for misplaced items.. Instead of wasting both your time and money, get organized.
Start by having a home for everything and making sure that items are put back where they belong. As the end of the day clean your workplace and create a document management system. And, start single-tasking. Most people cite multitasking as the main culprit for misplacing items.
10. Follow the 80-20 rule.
“The Pareto Principle also known as the 80-20 rule suggests that 80% of results come from 20% of the effort put in. “When it comes to how you should manage your time this principle can also be applied. 80% of your results comes from 20% of your actions.”
You should start by looking “at your schedule or to-do-list every day. For the sake of simplicity try to get down five tasks you need to accomplish. Using the principle you can probably eliminate the majority of the items on your list. It may feel unnatural at first but overtime this will condition you to scale up effort on the most important tasks.”
11. Use an online calendar.
Calendars have long been a fundamental tool for time management. However, online calendars have taken this to the next level. That’s because you can access it from multiple devices, easily schedule meetings and appointments, set up reminders, create time blocks, and schedule recurring events.
12. Stop being perfect.
When you’re a perfectionist, nothing will ever be good enough. So, stop being perfect. It doesn’t exist. Do the best you can and move on.
