How to work 3 times less, doing 3 times more

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Yes, it's real. We suggest that you finally start living not at the computer screen or at the sink with dirty dishes. And for this you do not need to be a time management guru, comprehend secret knowledge and re-read dozens of books about effective work.

5 tricks that will help you use your time efficiently while getting excellent results are actually very simple and accessible.

There are so many beautiful things around, for which it is worth taking the time!

123 RF / maridav

1. All or nothing

Let's start simple. If your main problem is not being able to concentrate on the really important things, pretend there are no distractions.

Follow the example of American writer Raymond Chandler. When it came time to create, Chandler would sit down at the table and give himself an ultimatum: he could either write or not write. But the second option meant "do nothing at all." In the literal sense - to continue to sit at the table and do nothing at all.

You couldn't get up and go to another room, talk to someone, browse newspapers (in your case, social networks and a smartphone). Chandler stared at the walls and ceiling until he got bored. It was at this moment that the writer got down to work.

Apparently, this technique brought excellent results, since during his creative career, Chandler published about 40 works, and was twice nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

2. Use the power of "tomatoes"

Sounds comical, doesn't it? But wait, this is very serious. The Pomodoro technique is used by millions of people around the world. It appeared in the late 80s in the United States and was named after a timer in the form of a tomato.

What is the essence of Pomodoro? Using a timer on your phone or a special application, you set the time (usually 25-30 minutes) during which you will only be doing one thing. No Facebook, no emails, no surfing the Internet - just one task.

123 RF / rawpixel

Then the timer goes off, you rest for about 5 minutes and then proceed to the next "tomato" - another 25-30 minutes of work. Writer and journalist Chris Winfield, who shared his thoughts on Pomodoro with his blog readers, writes that with the help of technology he was able to reduce the number of working hours per week from 40 to 16.7. In addition, Chris completely forgot what burnout is and was able to find time for an ordinary life outside of work.

3. Be able to delegate

If you think it's better to do everything yourself than to entrust someone else, start counting differently. And now we are not about working moments, but about the time you devote to your home, family and yourself.

Despite the fact that maintaining comfort and order in the house is considered a purely female responsibility, do not hesitate to ask your husband for help or entrust the children with small household chores. What's the point? Firstly, you will not first kill yourself at work, and then kill yourself again by cleaning the floors in your apartment. And secondly, you will stop sulking at your household because they are all lazy and do not help you. Negative thoughts destroy, and there is no time for time management.

Svetlana, 28 years old: “I recently got a new job. Remotely. And despite the "home mode", she demanded a constant presence at the computer. While I was getting involved (and this is 2-3 weeks), there could be no question of any kind of life management. Instead of 8 hours, I worked all 12. At first, I tried to wash the dishes and cook dinner with one hand, and to type the text with the other, but I did not have time either there or there. As a result, my husband and I came to the conclusion that he takes over most of the housework. Fortunately, he also works at home. To be honest, I am very glad that he helped me so much, because after a working day I could only crawl to bed. Now it is much easier - I got involved and I have more time. But if I had not delegated then some of the responsibilities at home, I probably would not have survived this difficult period."

4. Bigger is better

In this case, it is better to have more small tasks than one, but gigantic. Learn to plan your work so that scary lines like "Prepare an annual report" or "Bring a thousand new clients" do not appear in your diary. Each such task should be divided into many smaller, but less daunting ones.

The fact is that voluminous tasks that will take a long time inspire fear in us. And therefore we do not start their implementation until the cock bites in one place. But as soon as you start breaking down huge tasks into small ones, you immediately want to live and create.

In addition, this way you can estimate how long it will take for a particular item. And no more "I'll have time to grow old while I do it." The main thing is to get things off the ground, and for this you need to take the first step, then the second, and so on.

123 RF / Sergey Nivens

5. Automate it

Every day we spend a lot of time on repetitive actions. So why not make them automatic? Literally. For example, if once a week you have to send a report on the work done to the boss and you enter any contact information, links, etc. into it, then wouldn't it be better to create a separate file in which you will have this data during the week and links to "throw"?

As a result, it will take you an hour to report, versus three, two of which you would spend searching for information in mail and instant messengers. You can automate any processes, the main thing is to understand what exactly is useful for you.

Maria, 32 years old: “I am an smm manager, I run the social networks of one publication. In my previous job, I was also involved in promotion in networks, and this place taught me a lot. Firstly, I realized that it was necessary to create a single file with links to publications about our company, as well as with email addresses and phone numbers of advertising partners. When the boss needed this or that information, I did not rummage through WhatsApp, but simply opened the necessary tab in the plate. In addition, I did a lot of posts on Instagram, and so that it didn't take a lot of time to “fill in” hashtags, I just created a note on my phone with the most popular and suitable tags for us. I don’t know, maybe everyone does that, but it still helps me a lot.”