1. Pareto law, or principle 20/80
In general terms, this principle is formulated as follows: 20% of the effort gives 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of the effort is only 20% of the result. Law 20/80 is applicable in almost all areas of life. For example, according to this law, 20% of criminals commit 80% of crimes.
If you know how to use the Pareto law properly, it will help you not only in your professional life, but also in everyday life. This is a small convenient trick that will be able to help predict the result. For example, if you are a sociable person, then you most likely have many friends. Think about which of these people will come to your aid in a difficult situation. Probably there will be few of them, just something around those notorious 20%. You should take this into account and try to maintain communication with these 20%, instead of spending time on virtual friends.
How it works
According to Pareto’s law, all unimportant tasks should be done when your productivity is low. For example, many people, as soon as they came to work in the morning, cannot immediately get involved in the work process. They need to chat with colleagues, have a cup of coffee, or do something else to help them tune in to work.
Only in this case they will be able to work productively. It is important to prioritize between work tasks. Try to perform important tasks at exactly that time of the day when your performance will be at a high level.
2. Three important tasks
Many make up a to-do list, this allows you to make the workflow more organized. Of course, in the 21st century, we have already moved away from recording upcoming affairs on paper, for this we have smartphones and computers.
I suggest you follow one simple rule: spend five minutes every morning to write down the three most important tasks for the day. And then focus all your efforts on doing this short list.
This is a great alternative to the endlessly long lists of tasks that we usually love to write. Who are we fooling, because they will not be enough even a week, not to mention one day. Focus on these three main tasks, and if you manage to complete them ahead of schedule, you can get down to something else.
This simple, but effective habit can really increase your productivity.
3. The philosophy of “do less”
The philosophy of “Do less” is very popular in modern realities. Different authors offer different approaches. For example, Mark Lesser wrote the book “Achieve More by Making Less,” based on Zen Buddhism.
His “do less” manifesto begins with a rebuttal of the claim that reducing workloads makes employees lazy and negatively impacts their productivity. When we perform fewer tasks, we can enjoy our achievements.
Mark Lesser recommends finding a few minutes during the working day in order to meditate. It evens out your breathing, you will come to your senses, get rid of stress and be able to better concentrate on the task.
Do not forget about prioritization. Perform important tasks first, and then move on to low priority. Do not overload yourself with a large number of tasks: it is better to do less, but efficiently and with pleasure, than more, but without enthusiasm.
4. Tomato technique
Tomato technique was offered by Francesco Cirillo. The technique is called a tomato due to the fact that its author originally used a kitchen timer in the form of a tomato to measure time.
The methodology is based on the principle of working for 25 minutes on a specific task without a break, but after that it is imperative to take a break.
How it works
Look at your list of tasks and select from it the most priority tasks.
Then set the timer for 25 minutes and start working without distracting anything until you hear the timer signal. Each 25-minute period is called a “tomato."
After that, take a five-minute break and turn on the timer again.
After four “tomatoes” (that is, every two hours) take a longer break of 15–20 minutes.
If your task takes more than five "tomatoes", it can be divided into several parts.
This technique helps to work on higher priority tasks, improves attention and helps to concentrate better.
5. The Myth of Multitasking
The multitasking mode does not at all make us more productive, it is a myth. In fact, when we concentrate on many tasks at the same time, it negatively affects our productivity and concentration.
“No matter how good you are at multitasking, your productivity will be much less than if you decided to focus from start to finish on a single task,” said David Meyer, a professor at the University of Michigan
Effectively performing several tasks simultaneously is only possible in some special cases. Let's say when you do something automatically, for example, go and talk at the same time. Walking is an activity on the machine, it does not require that you focus on it. This is well illustrated by the famous parable:
“Once an ant met a centipede on a forest path, which merrily and calmly ran towards him. The ant asked the centipede: “How do you so swiftly rearrange all your 40 legs? How do you manage to move so easily and quickly? ”The centipede thought for a moment and ... couldn’t move anymore.”
If you want to complete your tasks more productively, it’s better to focus on one task, complete it from beginning to end, and only then move on to others.
6. Information diet
Nowadays, overloading your brain with information is as simple as getting a heat stroke in the Sahara desert. And even the symptoms are similar: sleep disturbance, distracted attention and a delayed reaction. Our brain is overloaded with informational noise. In today's world, people are constantly looking for news, although they are already everywhere around us.
In this case, Timothy Ferris, author of the book "How to work four hours a week and still not hang around in the office" call to call ", live anywhere and get rich" advises people to "go on an informational diet." Think, really all the emails, blogs, social networks, newspapers and magazines that you read are really important to you? Do you really need to spend so much time on social networks and TV?
Try to get as little information as absolutely unnecessary for you, at least for a week, and see how it affects your productivity.
7. Live on schedule
Ask any successful person when he or she wakes up, and most likely hear that person getting up early. This is quite simple: there are not many distractions in the morning, so we can focus on priority matters.
Remember that there is time to relax, and there is time to work. Draw clear boundaries between the one and the other. Start by stopping doing business as soon as you feel you need to rest.
Better to live with a plan than without it.
Parkinson’s law states that "work fills the time allotted to it." This means that if, for example, you decide that you will write a report for the week, you will write it all week. Parkinson’s law is especially applicable to cases that we don’t like and that we have no desire to do. Many of us tend to stretch things as much as possible. But if you enclose each task in a tight framework, this will allow you to deal with matters much more efficiently. When you have deadlines, you try to manage to complete everything on time, so this is an excellent motivation.
In general terms, this principle is formulated as follows: 20% of the effort gives 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of the effort is only 20% of the result. Law 20/80 is applicable in almost all areas of life. For example, according to this law, 20% of criminals commit 80% of crimes.
If you know how to use the Pareto law properly, it will help you not only in your professional life, but also in everyday life. This is a small convenient trick that will be able to help predict the result. For example, if you are a sociable person, then you most likely have many friends. Think about which of these people will come to your aid in a difficult situation. Probably there will be few of them, just something around those notorious 20%. You should take this into account and try to maintain communication with these 20%, instead of spending time on virtual friends.
How it works
According to Pareto’s law, all unimportant tasks should be done when your productivity is low. For example, many people, as soon as they came to work in the morning, cannot immediately get involved in the work process. They need to chat with colleagues, have a cup of coffee, or do something else to help them tune in to work.
Only in this case they will be able to work productively. It is important to prioritize between work tasks. Try to perform important tasks at exactly that time of the day when your performance will be at a high level.
2. Three important tasks
Many make up a to-do list, this allows you to make the workflow more organized. Of course, in the 21st century, we have already moved away from recording upcoming affairs on paper, for this we have smartphones and computers.
I suggest you follow one simple rule: spend five minutes every morning to write down the three most important tasks for the day. And then focus all your efforts on doing this short list.
This is a great alternative to the endlessly long lists of tasks that we usually love to write. Who are we fooling, because they will not be enough even a week, not to mention one day. Focus on these three main tasks, and if you manage to complete them ahead of schedule, you can get down to something else.
This simple, but effective habit can really increase your productivity.
3. The philosophy of “do less”
The philosophy of “Do less” is very popular in modern realities. Different authors offer different approaches. For example, Mark Lesser wrote the book “Achieve More by Making Less,” based on Zen Buddhism.
His “do less” manifesto begins with a rebuttal of the claim that reducing workloads makes employees lazy and negatively impacts their productivity. When we perform fewer tasks, we can enjoy our achievements.
Mark Lesser recommends finding a few minutes during the working day in order to meditate. It evens out your breathing, you will come to your senses, get rid of stress and be able to better concentrate on the task.
Do not forget about prioritization. Perform important tasks first, and then move on to low priority. Do not overload yourself with a large number of tasks: it is better to do less, but efficiently and with pleasure, than more, but without enthusiasm.
4. Tomato technique
Tomato technique was offered by Francesco Cirillo. The technique is called a tomato due to the fact that its author originally used a kitchen timer in the form of a tomato to measure time.
The methodology is based on the principle of working for 25 minutes on a specific task without a break, but after that it is imperative to take a break.
How it works
Look at your list of tasks and select from it the most priority tasks.
Then set the timer for 25 minutes and start working without distracting anything until you hear the timer signal. Each 25-minute period is called a “tomato."
After that, take a five-minute break and turn on the timer again.
After four “tomatoes” (that is, every two hours) take a longer break of 15–20 minutes.
If your task takes more than five "tomatoes", it can be divided into several parts.
This technique helps to work on higher priority tasks, improves attention and helps to concentrate better.
5. The Myth of Multitasking
The multitasking mode does not at all make us more productive, it is a myth. In fact, when we concentrate on many tasks at the same time, it negatively affects our productivity and concentration.
“No matter how good you are at multitasking, your productivity will be much less than if you decided to focus from start to finish on a single task,” said David Meyer, a professor at the University of Michigan
Effectively performing several tasks simultaneously is only possible in some special cases. Let's say when you do something automatically, for example, go and talk at the same time. Walking is an activity on the machine, it does not require that you focus on it. This is well illustrated by the famous parable:
“Once an ant met a centipede on a forest path, which merrily and calmly ran towards him. The ant asked the centipede: “How do you so swiftly rearrange all your 40 legs? How do you manage to move so easily and quickly? ”The centipede thought for a moment and ... couldn’t move anymore.”
If you want to complete your tasks more productively, it’s better to focus on one task, complete it from beginning to end, and only then move on to others.
6. Information diet
Nowadays, overloading your brain with information is as simple as getting a heat stroke in the Sahara desert. And even the symptoms are similar: sleep disturbance, distracted attention and a delayed reaction. Our brain is overloaded with informational noise. In today's world, people are constantly looking for news, although they are already everywhere around us.
In this case, Timothy Ferris, author of the book "How to work four hours a week and still not hang around in the office" call to call ", live anywhere and get rich" advises people to "go on an informational diet." Think, really all the emails, blogs, social networks, newspapers and magazines that you read are really important to you? Do you really need to spend so much time on social networks and TV?
Try to get as little information as absolutely unnecessary for you, at least for a week, and see how it affects your productivity.
7. Live on schedule
Ask any successful person when he or she wakes up, and most likely hear that person getting up early. This is quite simple: there are not many distractions in the morning, so we can focus on priority matters.
Remember that there is time to relax, and there is time to work. Draw clear boundaries between the one and the other. Start by stopping doing business as soon as you feel you need to rest.
Better to live with a plan than without it.
Parkinson’s law states that "work fills the time allotted to it." This means that if, for example, you decide that you will write a report for the week, you will write it all week. Parkinson’s law is especially applicable to cases that we don’t like and that we have no desire to do. Many of us tend to stretch things as much as possible. But if you enclose each task in a tight framework, this will allow you to deal with matters much more efficiently. When you have deadlines, you try to manage to complete everything on time, so this is an excellent motivation.
Comments
Post a Comment