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Week 4 [16.04-22.04.2018] ‘I have no time!’ – how not to waste your time and manage it in a better way.


Week 4 [16.04-22.04.2018] ‘I have no time!’ – how not to waste your time and manage it in a better way.

Firstly let’s think for a while what the time exactly is? We have to leave aside for a moment scientific definitions. Time is something we deal with every day and something that everyone thinks they understand. That’s because there is no one simple and satisfactory definition of time. In my article, I want to write about time as something that is priceless nowadays and seems to pass by faster and faster. People have a lot of things to do and the world is giving us so many opportunities that each of us is starting to regret that a day has only 24 hours. That’s why time management has become so important and  people developed many techniques to help organise it.
Establish prioritized goals
If we don’t have goals we often try to chase after whatever. We get easily distracted. A good idea is to set yearly, monthly, weekly or daily goals.  Then you have to add importance (A=high, B=medium, C=low) and urgency (1=high,2=medium, 3=low) rank. After doing this remember always to deal firstly with most urgent and important tasks (A1).
Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)
This rule seems to be the best among all principles of time and life management. It’s called after its founder, the Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto.  He noticed that 80 percent of your result comes from only 20 percent of your actions.  It’s good to remember it and prioritize your time for most important goals.
Learn to say “No”
This seems to be a trivial thing but in most cases, people don’t realize sometimes how important it is to be assertive.  Even if the request from someone is something you’d like to do, remember that it can’t conflict with your most important goals. Of course, you often can avoid saying ‘No’ and for instance, try to negotiate a deadline.
Those are only a few of all techniques but it’s possible that you can manage your time without using them.  For example, I don’t use any technique but somehow connect them all to my own one. I often try to think which activities are the most important for me, I also like to help people but I know when to be assertive. When I was younger I used to do  things at the very  last minute. Nowadays I can’t allow myself to live that way and I always try to do everything as early as I can. What about you?
-Have you ever tried any time management technique?
-How do you generally manage your time(maybe life) when you have a lot of things to do?
-Do you even pay attention to time management? Or maybe you don’t have to and everything is ok?

Links:
https://cdn.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/time-clock-994x400.jpg
https://www.narga.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/5-Ways-to-Improve-your-Time-Management-Skills.jpg

Comments

Unknown said…
I have never tried any time management technique. But I think I should start using one you mentioned in the article. Honestly, I'm not very good at managing my daily or weekly schedule and when I have a lot of projects to do it becomes quite hard to finish all of them on time. Because one task may require more time to spend on it than other you need to break it into smaller subtasks and do each of them sequentially. But I prefer finishing one project in one day which is not very realistic approach. After reading your article I will definitely try to change something about my strategy. I think that this topic is very important in our time Wrong approach to work can cause a lot of frustration and stress and this is what usually can be observed among people especially students.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
This techniques may seem to be simple and maybe even useless but believe me or not - after introducing at least one to your life, after some time you will notice good change :) Try it!
Marcin Mróz said…
I've never tried any of the time management techniques, because I've never had a feeling that I need them. I'm just not that kind of person that procastrinate every single thing until the deadline for it is next day. I always try to do everything earlier so that, if I had for example any problems with something I would have time to manage them. Also I don't like to do anything in the pressure of time. When I have a lot of things to do during a week I try to divide work on all of the days equally.
Unknown said…
I guess I haven't fully implemented one. I usually focus on achieving one specific thing. Works well enough, maybe it will change.

I schedule my week. That all. I try to stay productive, not just busy. I also schedule my free time to have some fun. Usually this activity extends itself at the expense of others :)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Dividing tasks is also some sort of the time management technique ;) I agree with your approach and I also try do everything as early as possible :)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
It's also good approach but by scheduling week you somehow try to avoid time wasting ;) It's very important to have some free time :)
Kristina Moroz said…
I've heard a lot technics in managing time and I've tried some. Actually the first one in you article. It worked fine... But when it comes to socializing your life it quite difficult to say "no" to some things. And this is my problem.
What about managing time now. I prioritize what thing from my "to do" list is the most important now and allocate more time for this, but if it's not a deadline thing I try to spend on it at least 15-30 minutes.
I think, time management is worth to try and then decide for yourself do you really need this or not.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
To be honest, being able to say 'no' in some edge cases is undoubtedly very difficult and sometimes have negative effects but despite that we have to know when to say it if needed.
Unknown said…
I have read a book on time management, but I didn’t really follow most of what was written within. In the end. I resorted to most basic approach. Which is keeping a list of most important things to do in memory. Sometimes it’s just setting up goals for given day when I wake up. In some circumstances where I have too many things to manage I write those things down on a piece of paper. And when it comes to longer tasks or the ones that can be attached to certain date or have a deadline, I use calendar. Still even with all of this I struggle with laziness and I waste a lot of time by excusing myself when I’m tired. When in fact I could still be doing something.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
In my opinion laziness and wasting time are normal signs that you're a person :D Your approach is also good idea but you have to stay focused and control it ;)
Jakub Nietupski said…
I haven't try any time management techniques because usually I have so many deadlines and tasks to be done ASAP that I don’t need any planning - I just do the next project when I happen to have a free moment.
This also explains how I manage my time. This system falls apart when for some reason I don't have a lot of things to do, but such situations don't happen too often.
I think that more important than time management is keeping track of all of the tasks I have to do and their deadlines, because it's easy to forget about something. So I always keep my to do list handy.
Anna Koca said…
When it comes to time management techniques, I try to use FIFO, a term known from the field of logistics, meaning "first in, first out". That is basically an idea of prioritizing things chronologically. Of course, not always the task that was assigned to you as first will have the closest deadline, and you have to take into account the urgency of a given duty as well.
I think that time organization is only needed when you have a lot of things to do - so the question doesn't have to be narrowed down I usually try not to procrastinate and in order to calm my conscience, I try to do something every day. In that way, I go to sleep without feeling of guilt that I've wasted time during the day.
In my opinion, if you don't have to put any effort into time management and go away with it, it means that you don't really have so much stuff to do (which ultimately may mean that you don't live an interesting life! But let's not jump into that conclusion.) Everyone, who has lots of duties sooner or later will have to face time management issues.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
It's also good approach but believe me or not, you're wasting a lot of time. I understand that you have many things to do as we all but better time management would make you more comfortable and less stressed ;)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Oh, great! FIFO is well know, especially among IT students ;) I've never heard about someone using it as a time management technique. Nice to hear! :)
Maciej Główka said…
To be honest, I have never tried any of time management techniques. Of course, I try to prioritize things I have in my to-do list, but I don't feel bad or sad If I won't finish them. I'm working full time and also attend classes at PJATK, so I don't have much free time. That's why I don't even have time to feel bored ;)
I think, that time management techniques might help many people, who are rather chaotic. For others, I think it is not necessary.
Vladlen Kyselov said…
I am really lazy person and I am doing everything at the very last time. I guess I even can call it my hobby. I have never failed anything with such attitude of doing everything in a last moment. Always in time as if I were doing it for full period dedicated for that job. I have been trying to manage my time, I don`t even have certain plan for next week. I have some kind of schedule in my head where I should go and what and when I should do, but I try not to fill my head with this too much.
Unknown said…
Always at the end of each semester I try to somehow grasp the things to do and it is important to manage the time well.
Always then I use the method, probably the most popular one. I writes down all the things I have to do and the date by which I have to do it. Of course, I start with things that are for now and then, if I still have time, I do these things for later.
I always have to control the time so as not to sit on the phone for too long by accident.
Unknown said…
I was born and raised in a country where time management was taken not serious and it was not important at all in the daily routine. When it's difficult to live in such a situation, you may have to work out some kind of technique, but no one else, so you have to come up with an existing reality.
For the first time when I tried to manage time it happened in Poland, though I realized that it was too late for me, and there was no sense, I found myself in a chaotic position, so I returned to my old method that nothing should happen too far, and now it all works well. When I have lots of stuff to do I categorize and prioritize them, first i do most difficult ones.
Foodocado said…
I have never tried any time-management method/technique. I managing my time quite good. Usually, I am planning the time for a week in advance. I like to feel comfortable and I don't like to hurry. That's why I don't wait for the deadline.

I am happy with my current approach of time managing.
Unknown said…
The thing you have to do if you decide that you have not enough time is to read book "Getting things done". It's great book and describes much more ways to organize your ideas. Also polish application Nozbe based on principals describing in the book become my daily driver as well as google calendar. Also having phone calendar helps me to synchronize my personal and work calendar(outlook) that otherwise wouldn't be that simple.
Iman Masjedi said…
-In my opinion, time management is an art.
According to the situation in my life, managing time for me is one of the principles that I always do.

-Prioritizing tasks.
Use of unused times or times that are defined as wait times.

- It’s hard to manage your time if you’re letting so much of it slip away as you perform activities without actually focusing on them and extracting value from the experiences. And then there’s that demon called distraction, constantly waiting in the wings to pry us from the task at hand.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
I apply some of the time management techniques on a daily basis, especially time management matrix. However, I still have too many tasks in the first quadrant.
Another trick which I use is to focus only on a one given task and try to leave it in a state that can be considered as completed (either finished or with associated action points which have to be taken to complete it) because context switching between many tasks in the same time is very inefficient.
I manage my time in automatic way (I don't sure how exactly I do this) I just decide what need to do to end of the day and sometimes this is reason why I don't sleep till the morning but I think better for me will be split my time in more systematic way.
Illia Shynder said…
Mostly I don't have to pay attention to time management. I've tried some techniques, but I failed miserably. My current approach is to concentrate on the most important problem, but also keep in mind other things, and try to do them if i can't do the most important thing right now. I know, this is simple and kinda stupid, but it works for me, and if it works then it's better to leave it like that.
Marcin Górski said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Marcin Górski said…
I have never tried any specific time management technique.
Everyday I'm making something like "todo list" and I'm trying to do it until I go to sleep. I'm so happy when I do at least a part of this list :) It works and I don't want to change it.
For me it is really simple. Most of my time is already taken by job or classes so, the only days i got is weekend. There im always planning what willl i do couple days before so many things change but in final when saturday kicks in im not changing my plans and i dont accept any additional tasks for this day. Anything else does not matter to me as im doing what have i planned. Anyway, interesting article.
Unknown said…
I did not try. I try to do as I have something planned to do it as soon as possible. If I can finish it, I have time to rest and I don't have to worry about anything else.

As I wrote above. I try to do everything as fast as I can. Of course, if I have a lot of things to do that I can't do at once, I try to take a break and finish it the next day.

I usually don't pay attention to time management. Currently, I don't need to manage time
No, actually I have nevery tried any of the time management techniques though If i have a lot of my head I am scheduling my task on the cork board it works for me perfectly. I am a person who'd like to do as many things as possible and sometimes I simply don't have time do those things. After reading your article maybe I'd try some of this techniques as they seems to be very usefull not only at work but also in private life. For organising myself at work or school tasks I am using Kanban board to schedule what to do and when to do (prioritizing those most important tasks).
Illia Lukisha said…
-Have you ever tried any time management technique?
I work in IT, so I everyday use some techniques that allow prioritize your tasks, e.g. SCRUM, KANBAN...

-How do you generally manage your time(maybe life) when you have a lot of things to do?
I use calendar planning for everyday task, and establish yearly goals every New Year night, that I try to achieve. And at the end of the year I estimate result.

-Do you even pay attention to time management? Or maybe you don’t have to and everything is ok?
Of course, I described it before.
Peter Clemenza said…
-Have you ever tried any time management technique?
Since high school I'm writing a simple todo list that contains all the things that have to be done by the deadline.
Than I estimate one by one the total time of them.
My general rule is to spend the least amount of time on things that I dont like: ex: studying, learning
and the most time on things that are fun ex: drinking, smoking weed. Remember life is short. Don't waste it.
Unknown said…
Have you ever tried any time management technique?
How do you generally manage your time(maybe life) when you have a lot of things to do?
Maybe it is not strictly time management technic as shown but I try to plan in time things to do in next day for example before go to sleep. But it is not the technic as you provided, that I label task or something. In my work we have systems that provide task and time management but in my private life I do not use those systems.
Do you even pay attention to time management? Or maybe you don’t have to and everything is ok?
Of course I pay attention to time management but not so hard, I try to do things as they come or jus before deadline.
Jakub Lisicki said…
I have tried some of the techniques used for time managment, but what happens to work out the best for me is to simply get rid of any distractions in the surroundings. It was too hard to stick to any scientific methods of it since it took too much time by itself the create a sketch of any schedule possible to follow. Once I get to work, I can spend a lot of hours non-stop, just to finish everything that I didn't manage to do earlier.
When I really have a lot of things to do I just have to give up on some things of lesser importance, like going out or having fun. I think that it's pretty difficult to manage the time in an effective way for some of us, since all of the plans have to involve work, studies and life at the same time.
I often try to manage the time, at least in very basic terms of doing it. The problems start to arise when I forget that I have something planned for next week and I'm not prepared to do such a giantic workload at once.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
It means we are in the same situation ;) You're somehow right but I think that time management techniques are beneficial for everyone :)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
I suppose that you have some free time so this techniques may not be necessary for you but when you will have less time and more things to do you will try to do everything asap ;)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
End of the semestr is always busy time for every student. I think that sometimes I even don't have time to try any technique. I just have to study and study :D
Lukasz Mroczek said…
The approach you've described is also kinda time management technique.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Planning is simply kinda time management technique also. The most important thing is that you are happy now ;)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
I've heard about this book but I think that i simply don't have time to read it.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Good to hear! I think that I can agree with you that time management is an art. Nowadays it's hard to do it.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Very good. Sometimes I also try to do things to such extent that I can leave it for now and get back to it in near future but feel comfortable.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
It means you have to much free time :) as you said, it will be better to do thing in more systematic way.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Maybe try again? Maybe now you will succeed? I keep my fingers crossed.
Unknown said…
I did not use methods to manage my time, I even stopped using a notepad. Probably one of the most important methods is the Pareto method (20/80), which I have long met in management, but as it turned out later, this method is a constant in any sphere of life. Usually I have a lot to do and to solve them I need to prioritize correctly, and in order not to lose the feeling of action during my life, I use an electronic calendar for better planning. All that I need to plan the time I already have. So often after workdays, I have free time, which I can spend for my own pleasure.
Unknown said…
I just priororitize activity in my schedule - I'm doing it in my head, analizying pros and cons of possible decisions that I can make. I set dedlines and stick to it. I am word person, so my word always comes firts(A1 if You prefer) - when I said I'm gonna do it, I do it. As simple as that. I managing my time quite good. I like to feel comfortable with my tasks so I always create a "skeleton" of my events - and then I usually improvise - just to live a moment, if You know what I mean.

I am happy with my current time menagment, but I can alway do it better, squeeze more activitis in my day, but like always, I'm just too lazy to do that - I will work on that, promise!
My management of time is poor mos of the time (pun intended). I have tried some management techniques but what works for me the best is simply making a checklist of things to do for given day. Once checklist is done i just go with it, once day has passed i rehearse what's left and with that information i improve either my judgment skills or speed at which im completing them. Getting your environment set to your liking and distractions out of the way helps alot. The untapped by most power of correct environment/ surroundings is huge.
Actually, I used the time management technique called Pomodoro. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. I was very productive at work then. Unfortunately, this method works only at work, but unfortunately not in life. When it comes to life goals that I want to achieve, I often put them away for later, which makes me angry at myself.For better organization with my girlfriend, we use Trello, where we add cards with "TODO" tasks. Thanks to that, we do not forget about the things we have to do and we do not waste time. For example, if she's closer to picking up a parcel, she does it, and at the same time I can do shopping.
Unknown said…

My best management technique is writing all things to do on the list. It works always.
It's good because it is simple and we don't need to work with any application ( but also we can! ) and wasting our time for it. I generally use "to do" list but only when i have more things to do than always.
I'm studing manegament so i know that time menagemen is very important and it can change our life!
Cecylia said…
I usually write everything I need to do on a paper and then cross things i’ve already done. But my problem is that I forget to do lists and when you have a baby it’s hard to focus on your stuff because the first thing is to “organize “ your child and then your stuff. So now when I got back to school i’m Really tired and don’t want to plan anything. Right now I just remembered that it’s Sunday and we have that due time for reading and commenting our blog . It’s frustrating because you want to do everything on time and be a good student but when you have more important priorities it’s really hard .
Unknown said…
I have heard about many different time techniques, but, to tell the truth, I find the time management a bit boring, so I don't use it. This is just not for me. Sometimes I live in a total chaos, that is the way things happen in my family. But I like my dear chaos and always manage to control it. How? I don't have a technique, it just happens somehow, I don't know. I am always on the run, but it's ok for me. When I have to much things to do, I just sleep less. It sounds stupid, I am not proud of it, but I just can't make myself deal with the time management.
Unknown said…
I have never tried any technique you mentioned but I sometimes use app for my smartphone that helps me organize my tasks to do.
When I have a lot of things to do I write it all down to my notebook or to app I have mentioned before.
I did not pay any attention to time management. I usually do things spontaneously and do not care about organizing.
Unknown said…
I used to read a lot of time management, but in the end, I've managed to find out my way of handling it. I'm a quite busy person and have a tight schedule, but with apple calendar application it's quite easy to manage all you need to do.

The most important thing when you have lots of tasks is too strict with your rules. I'm using calendar app to manage all my time and invite my friends to the events they participate. With this, I manage to have everything planned.

I think it's important to manage your time in a way that you won't regret it in next couple of years. It takes time to realise that your life has the only limited amount of minutes and it's not the that significant number, so you should value each minute and live at full as long as you can.
Unknown said…
1. Have you ever tried any time management technique?
Not really, but I do prioritise my tasks and definitely not using any FIFO methods. Although I have heard about many of techniques, I manage to resolve my tasks on my own.

2. How do you generally manage your time (maybe life) when you have a lot of things to do?
I tend to write down all my things to do, then sort them by priority and deadline. Then, one by one, I just resolve them.

3. Do you even pay attention to time management? Or maybe you don’t have to and everything is ok?
When there is a lot of stuff to do - yes, I do pay attention to time management. But in general, I find it stressful and always prefer to not care about time.
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Thanks for commenting. I appreciate that ;)
Lukasz Mroczek said…
Interesting point of view. Thanks for commenting. I appreciate that ;)
Unknown said…
I’ve never tried any time management techniques and I don’t really feel like I need one. I’m doing just fine - sometimes when I got a lot of work, I’m just dividing tasks and it’s maybe some sort of the time management I believe.
I think that everything is okay, but you know - time management could be profitable for everyone.

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