June 26, 2013 at 10:55How to conduct many projects at once and not dig into them
Do you manage to do everything you plan? Do you keep hundreds of unfulfilled tasks dusting on a shelf, or do you solve one by one? Do you generally feel satisfied in achieving your desires (and no matter what, work or personal)?
If you answered negatively to any of the questions, this article is for you. In it, I will share my experience on how to do more and better!
If someone told me they would teach me how to live. then first of all I would ask him: “Why should I listen to you?”. I will save your time for such questions and answer why I think that my experience deserves attention:
In general, I really hope that all of the above was not accepted as boasting, but as a reasonable argument, why it makes sense to listen to what is written below. So let's go.
There are a lot of books and trainings on time management. I would say MUCH. I went to many trainings, read many books, started to use all this, and when something didn’t work out, I was upset: “I’m doing something wrong.” And then she stopped upset. Everyone has their own religion, their own characteristics, and to take them into account is much more important than to follow some rules, even if they come from smart uncles with aunts.
Only by examining oneself can one understand how to “use oneself correctly”. And I consider 2 conditions as the criterion of correctness: the result is achieved, but to me from the process itself - buzz! If one of the conditions is not met, then something needs to be changed!
Sometimes it seems to me that many people simply do not understand how limited their time is. They earn money headlong, don’t devote enough time to the family, spend a lot of time on routine little things ... I’m very afraid to understand that “life has passed”. What can I remember? What will I achieve?
To solve this problem for myself, I did the following:
There is such a buzzword - "procrastination." This is when you suffer from garbage, just not to take up work in general or some kind of task in particular. There are many articles on how to deal with it, but I have one solution - to give myself to procrastination!
As soon as I start to sausage and "does not work", I stop working. It can last a couple of hours, or maybe a couple of days. The main rule is to "walk laziness" to the fullest. Yes, then the fakapa will appear, it will be necessary to solve the problems that have fallen, the deadline will boost, and the energy generated in the rest will help. The main thing - DO NOT MAKE YOURSELF WORK. NEVER.
This is true from Cap, but nonetheless: when you do what you do not like, you lose energy, you don’t get the result, in general, productivity decreases. But how can you not do what you need?
I see 2 solutions:
I learn Spanish from songs because I like it the most.
For a long time I was looking for a suitable sport, exhausted from boredom in the simulator, in the end I found what I like (pool-Pilates-wakeboard-trampoline). I researched for a long time, I tried to force myself into unloved sections for the sake of a “result”, nothing worked out without pleasure from the process!
But what about completely boring and uninteresting tasks, such as preparing documents? I hate it, so I never do it at home. I travel with a laptop to my favorite cafe, drink my favorite coffee with my favorite cocktail of freshly squeezed juices. Half an hour of an unloved task a week flies with pleasure!
But these are undelegable exceptions.
I have already talked about my magic cafe, in which, by the way, now I am writing this article. Such places are a storehouse of energy! It is important to find them first, and then not ruin them:
Many people know how to plan in the sense of "create a plan." But planning is daily activity. Track statuses, do not forget the main thing, consider priorities, respond to changes ... How to do this if there are a lot of tasks?
I lead all the tasks in the redmine, but this is not enough for me, I need a more visual tool. And I have them: this is a mind map on the wall.
I take a piece of paper, and with felt-tip pens draw a mind map. It has all the projects, for large projects - big tasks, subprojects. Inside these projects, I stick stickers with specific tasks. When the task is ready, I outweigh it in the “Done!” Branch, next to which a salute is drawn, full of joy and happiness. Every week, the completed tasks are transferred to a transparent file so that I can see how many there were, what a chubby file. The volume of completed tasks is very motivating!
What does this give me:
When you are pulled all the time during working hours, a lot of time is spent on useless communication, distraction, and understanding. It is difficult to switch between tasks, the efficiency drops.
Very lucky for those who can afford to work in a shifted schedule. I have a standard schedule, either from 6 to 14, or from 16 to midnight (or less). Firstly, it allows me to take into account my biorhythms, and they change all the time. Secondly, thanks to this, I can also solve problems associated with other people (when you need interaction with someone), and in another part of the time I can painstakingly sit and solve my problems so that no one pulls me.
In one company, I even managed to convince the manager to transfer the leading analyst, the busiest person, to a non-standard week: he began to work on Saturdays instead of Mondays. As a result, its results soared up, as no one distracted him on Saturdays!
Many people think that it’s good to do everything in advance. Anyone, not me!
Here are some illustrations from life:
At some point, something will happen and affect the results of your work. It always happens! Do everything at the last moment - and the risk of redoing something will be much lower!
Unfixed tasks are the nasty energy absorber itself. 10 times a day to remember "I need to remember to do this" - brrrr!
ALL TASKS SHOULD
BE FIXED
IN ONE PLACE
and let it be a task tracker, notepad or google plate - it doesn’t matter!
The worst sin is to underestimate yourself. Plan a little, put off, be afraid.
I’ve been wanting to pass the ISTQB exam for a long time, but I don’t begin to prepare? Well, today I paid for the exam on 07/13, now I have to catch it.
Don't know how to do something? First you need to promise / get involved, and then look!
I have never had any experience, so that I (or someone else) could NOT do something due to lack of time. Because of reluctance, yes. Because he puts it off for years - yes. But if you already subscribe ... In general, try, get involved in 5 adventures right away, and make sure that you will succeed.
Everyone has their own religion, and it is likely that for someone my advice will not be applicable. But before you decide - try it! Create a mega list of goals. highlight unloved activities, figure out how to delegate, find a place of power for yourself, try to do 5 times more than you did before ...
If there is a desire, then everything will work out!
If you answered negatively to any of the questions, this article is for you. In it, I will share my experience on how to do more and better!
Introduction
If someone told me they would teach me how to live. then first of all I would ask him: “Why should I listen to you?”. I will save your time for such questions and answer why I think that my experience deserves attention:
- I have my own quite successful business, in the framework of which I conduct trainings, provide consulting and outsourcing services, and develop web products.
- Personally, I lead simultaneously up to 15 projects in different directions.
- For those smelling a catch: my customers are happy with the result!
- For those smelling a dirty trick: I have 2-3 months of vacation per year. With a laptop, but 2-3 months in which I travel, ride a kite or a wake, and catch other joys from life
- Oh, I almost forgot: I almost do not dynamize sports, I study chess, languages, swimming and probably something else with teachers.
In general, I really hope that all of the above was not accepted as boasting, but as a reasonable argument, why it makes sense to listen to what is written below. So let's go.
Skills, techniques, rules ...
There are a lot of books and trainings on time management. I would say MUCH. I went to many trainings, read many books, started to use all this, and when something didn’t work out, I was upset: “I’m doing something wrong.” And then she stopped upset. Everyone has their own religion, their own characteristics, and to take them into account is much more important than to follow some rules, even if they come from smart uncles with aunts.
Only by examining oneself can one understand how to “use oneself correctly”. And I consider 2 conditions as the criterion of correctness: the result is achieved, but to me from the process itself - buzz! If one of the conditions is not met, then something needs to be changed!
Learning to value your time
Sometimes it seems to me that many people simply do not understand how limited their time is. They earn money headlong, don’t devote enough time to the family, spend a lot of time on routine little things ... I’m very afraid to understand that “life has passed”. What can I remember? What will I achieve?
To solve this problem for myself, I did the following:
- I honestly admitted to myself that I’m unlikely to live long. We humans live very little! Never forget about it, time speaks tick-by-tick ... To become a long-liver is a good idea, but 100 years is also not very much!
- I wrote out a list of 100 goals in life, thanks for the advice to the book " Whole Life ". If suddenly I give up and don’t want to do anything, I open this list, and immediately have more than enough energy! And my friends on the last DR made me an album with photos for every goal, and he also became my source of energy!
- I wrote out all my activities, which takes time. I made a tablet with notes: how much I like it, how well I do it, and how much time I spend. For all tasks where “I don't like it very much” and “it doesn't work out very well”, I began to come up with a strategy: where to put these tasks. It was a focused delegation work, which ended with new people in the team, and an outsourced accountant, and a housekeeper. All this didn’t take a lot of money, but now I have almost no problems, as a result, there is much more energy, and I’m doing exactly what I can do well!
Procrastination
There is such a buzzword - "procrastination." This is when you suffer from garbage, just not to take up work in general or some kind of task in particular. There are many articles on how to deal with it, but I have one solution - to give myself to procrastination!
As soon as I start to sausage and "does not work", I stop working. It can last a couple of hours, or maybe a couple of days. The main rule is to "walk laziness" to the fullest. Yes, then the fakapa will appear, it will be necessary to solve the problems that have fallen, the deadline will boost, and the energy generated in the rest will help. The main thing - DO NOT MAKE YOURSELF WORK. NEVER.
Do what you like
This is true from Cap, but nonetheless: when you do what you do not like, you lose energy, you don’t get the result, in general, productivity decreases. But how can you not do what you need?
I see 2 solutions:
- To delegate - about it already was higher
- Make it like it
I learn Spanish from songs because I like it the most.
For a long time I was looking for a suitable sport, exhausted from boredom in the simulator, in the end I found what I like (pool-Pilates-wakeboard-trampoline). I researched for a long time, I tried to force myself into unloved sections for the sake of a “result”, nothing worked out without pleasure from the process!
But what about completely boring and uninteresting tasks, such as preparing documents? I hate it, so I never do it at home. I travel with a laptop to my favorite cafe, drink my favorite coffee with my favorite cocktail of freshly squeezed juices. Half an hour of an unloved task a week flies with pleasure!
But these are undelegable exceptions.
Places of power
I have already talked about my magic cafe, in which, by the way, now I am writing this article. Such places are a storehouse of energy! It is important to find them first, and then not ruin them:
- If I have a place for productive work, then it serves as an anchor. If I chat, play, watch bigpick in it, then the magic will disappear. Here is the Place of Power, and it cannot be desecrated! Find such a place for yourself, and turn to it to solve complex problems.
- Do not make a daily routine from a place of power, magic does not always work. 2 mega-productive hours per day is great! Attempting to work at a maximum of 40 hours a week will lead to nothing.
Effective planning
Many people know how to plan in the sense of "create a plan." But planning is daily activity. Track statuses, do not forget the main thing, consider priorities, respond to changes ... How to do this if there are a lot of tasks?
I lead all the tasks in the redmine, but this is not enough for me, I need a more visual tool. And I have them: this is a mind map on the wall.
I take a piece of paper, and with felt-tip pens draw a mind map. It has all the projects, for large projects - big tasks, subprojects. Inside these projects, I stick stickers with specific tasks. When the task is ready, I outweigh it in the “Done!” Branch, next to which a salute is drawn, full of joy and happiness. Every week, the completed tasks are transferred to a transparent file so that I can see how many there were, what a chubby file. The volume of completed tasks is very motivating!
What does this give me:
- Motivation. I am so happy to re-stick the leaflets into “done!”, And am so proud of myself when I completed many tasks in a week that as a result the following tasks are solved with great positive!
- Visibility. In general, I like to represent everything through mind maps, I can see from them what kind of project, where what is required, where is the priest, where everything is fine.
- Convenience of control. I also sculpt my tasks not with stickers of a different color, and I know that they need to be monitored.
He lives against wool
When you are pulled all the time during working hours, a lot of time is spent on useless communication, distraction, and understanding. It is difficult to switch between tasks, the efficiency drops.
Very lucky for those who can afford to work in a shifted schedule. I have a standard schedule, either from 6 to 14, or from 16 to midnight (or less). Firstly, it allows me to take into account my biorhythms, and they change all the time. Secondly, thanks to this, I can also solve problems associated with other people (when you need interaction with someone), and in another part of the time I can painstakingly sit and solve my problems so that no one pulls me.
In one company, I even managed to convince the manager to transfer the leading analyst, the busiest person, to a non-standard week: he began to work on Saturdays instead of Mondays. As a result, its results soared up, as no one distracted him on Saturdays!
Do not put off until tomorrow what can be put off until the day after tomorrow
Many people think that it’s good to do everything in advance. Anyone, not me!
Here are some illustrations from life:
- Getting to work at 14 with something. In the mail at 9:30 a letter: “Natasha, trouble! Fire! They sued us! Such and such problems. ” I go further, at 13:45: "I phoned, found out everything, found out from a lawyer, everything is decided, that's what we need to do." And if I immediately took up the decision?
- We decided with a colleague to make a report to the conference. I made a superficial description, it is very detailed. A month later they wrote to him: "unfortunately, such a topic already exists." They wrote to me: "The topic has been accepted, but taking into account similar topics, please focus on this and this." As a result, remade EVERYTHING, but I’m nothing :)
At some point, something will happen and affect the results of your work. It always happens! Do everything at the last moment - and the risk of redoing something will be much lower!
Task fixing
Unfixed tasks are the nasty energy absorber itself. 10 times a day to remember "I need to remember to do this" - brrrr!
ALL TASKS SHOULD
BE FIXED
IN ONE PLACE
and let it be a task tracker, notepad or google plate - it doesn’t matter!
Jump? Over your head, of course!
The worst sin is to underestimate yourself. Plan a little, put off, be afraid.
I’ve been wanting to pass the ISTQB exam for a long time, but I don’t begin to prepare? Well, today I paid for the exam on 07/13, now I have to catch it.
Don't know how to do something? First you need to promise / get involved, and then look!
I have never had any experience, so that I (or someone else) could NOT do something due to lack of time. Because of reluctance, yes. Because he puts it off for years - yes. But if you already subscribe ... In general, try, get involved in 5 adventures right away, and make sure that you will succeed.
conclusions
Everyone has their own religion, and it is likely that for someone my advice will not be applicable. But before you decide - try it! Create a mega list of goals. highlight unloved activities, figure out how to delegate, find a place of power for yourself, try to do 5 times more than you did before ...
If there is a desire, then everything will work out!