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Help me Organize my time better.
Athenor
Battle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
Battle Hardened OptimistThe Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
I suck at managing my time. It's probably the #1 problem I cope with each day, and it gets worse in my line of work where interrupt-driven requests constantly break my flow.
Everything I've read says I should be managing my time better, even if it is coarse. This means checklists, tasks, to-do lists, that kind of thing.
Now, due to disagreements with my current workplace, I don't have my work email on my phone. My phone is an Android device, though, so I should have full access to Google's tools to help me. Unfortunately, my to-do app, Astrid, was discontinued.
So here's the jist of what I'm looking for:
1) I know I've got to build a habit to have checklists and actually follow them. Anyone have any advice for starting down this road, especially if you are the type who beats yourself up over missed requirements?
2) How do I be realistic with my time management?
3) How do I best leverage the tools at my disposal to handle this stuff? Things like reminders, emails, checklists that break off of earlier requirements, things like that.. Should I just go back to a pencil and paper?
Everything I've read says I should be managing my time better, even if it is coarse. This means checklists, tasks, to-do lists, that kind of thing.
Now, due to disagreements with my current workplace, I don't have my work email on my phone. My phone is an Android device, though, so I should have full access to Google's tools to help me. Unfortunately, my to-do app, Astrid, was discontinued.
So here's the jist of what I'm looking for:
1) I know I've got to build a habit to have checklists and actually follow them. Anyone have any advice for starting down this road, especially if you are the type who beats yourself up over missed requirements?
2) How do I be realistic with my time management?
3) How do I best leverage the tools at my disposal to handle this stuff? Things like reminders, emails, checklists that break off of earlier requirements, things like that.. Should I just go back to a pencil and paper?
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You can do the same thing in a Google Drive doc, or a wordpad doc. Just write that stuff down and have it accessible. You don't need fancy tools for tracking. I often will do the same thing by emailing myself in outlook with the first word "TO DO" just so when I check my email I can see all the items pending completion.
2) Realistic with time management means simply doing your work on time. Don't goof off and usually you don't have a problem. What worked for me during high volume times was simply cranking out 55 minutes an hour of nonstop work, with the 1st five minutes of an hour being "de-stress" time to check personal email or news (or Social Entropy). If you are doing non work more than that and havent finished everything on your plate, your problem is not working.
3) Use what is simple, saveable, and universally available. Again, tools mean less than just knowing where you stand.
You can also check out: http://www.bulletjournal.com/ which I've been using for awhile now and really like.
There is also a good book called Getting things Done. There are A LOT of GTD software systems out there.
I personally prefer pen and paper for daily tasks and time management and then use software for larger project tracking.
Sadly, I think @enc has the best of it with point #2 - not finishing my work despite rarely taking breaks. This is more for my personal life, I guess, and ways to keep work from extending beyond the 10 hours I'm here already a day.
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But really, it makes sense. I think that's what it comes down to - telling people no, I need to focus on what I need to get done.
If you have 30 tasks pending that will run through Friday, and someone asks you to take something else on, say "Sure, but with my current load I won't be able to get to it until Monday. Will that work for you?"
Sometimes saying no, may not be an option, depending in your line work. Like at my work right now, I'm the only help desk person for a certain program, I can't say no. However, I ask if it is an urgent problem that needs to be address at that moment, and if it isn't, I ask them if I can get back to them within the hour/day/whatever time frame.
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Time management can be made a lot simpler by employing workload management as well - don't take on more than you can accomplish. You don't need to say no to people, but you do need to have a realistic idea of what you can accomplish in a given hour and make sure you don't take on too much more than that.
In fact, this kind of thing is actually a great way to advance your career standings. Whenever you're asked to do something, under-promise and overdeliver on your promised timeframe. If someone comes to you with something that you think will take until Friday, tell them it will be done the following Tuesday and give it to them on Friday afternoon or Monday morning. That gives you plenty of time if other things come up, but if nothing else comes up, you look good. People tend to forget that you were the one who told them the original time frame in the first place.
I use this strategy CONSTANTLY in my job, when dealing with my customers (I'm an account manager/rep). If they ask me to sort something out for them or find some information, I tell them I'll get back to them the next day, and I get back to them that afternoon. Even on something that I KNOW I can find in five minutes, I still tell them next day. This achieves two things - it constantly reminds people that you have other things to do as well, and gets them used to the fact that they need to give you some warning. And it also makes me look good each and every time.
If you tell someone two days, and deliver in three, you look bad.
If you tell someone five days for the same task, and deliver in four, you look good, even though it actually took longer than if you busted your gut. It's all about managing expectations.
And when you do that and your boss assigns you 25 urgent things that you can do at a rate of one every 2 hours? ;-)
I don't exaggerate that much.. but for all my snark, I need to stress that you guys are right on the money. I've been trying this for the last few days, telling people I'll get back to them as soon as I can, and focusing on the project that I absolutely have to get done tomorrow. It's worked, for the most part.. the problem is that there's no one else to hand the work to, as 4-5 different emergencies keep coming up and taking away from everyone.
Really, I started this thread because I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation without getting burned out. I'm already trying to keep daily checklists based on these recommendations, and it really is helping.
If the workload is too much, and you've already addressed it with your boss, the next best thing is to document. Email confirmations of expected completions, even especially if it was a verbal request.
"Bob, I'll run the report today and can email you the results tomorrow as I have to complete this whipping job for Betty tonight."