Your brain is a lousy time management tool. It is simply not made to manage large amounts of information. Consequences? Stress and lack of overview. So what you need is 1 external memory — one that manages everything for you, so you can focus on really important and fun things..
Why your head is a lousy time management tool
Your brain has to endure a lot, you have learned that during our time management course.
It reminds you of important appointments, tasks, requests, questions from colleagues, birthdays that you should not forget, shopping lists, customers who call in between, projects at work that you still want to start, that book you want to read, an email you have to send, jobs around the house that still need to be done… — just to name a few things.
No wonder you tend to forget half of these things and get stressed from the rest. Your head is simply overloaded and cannot process all the information effectively. You probably recognise it. Not only do you regularly overlook important tasks, you also set wrong priorities;
Instead of working on jobs that actually matter you’re distracted by ad-hoc jobs and requests — things that land on your desk last or that scream the loudest. In other words: you work reactively.
As a knowledge worker, you can’t use that. You want to be able to focus on actual important jobs, and for that you will need to have a clear head – one that isn’t crazy because it’s thinking about all kinds of tasks and projects.
The solution is simple:
More overview and less stress with 1 external memory
You will need to set up an external memory so you no longer have to rely on your own internal memory — your brain is simply not made for that. It wants to think about work, not work.
You can achieve that with an external memory. You will use your internal memory to do your work and your external memory to organise that work.
For this it will have to meet 3 criteria.
- It should be simple.
If it is cumbersome or complex, you will simply not keep up. No matter how motivated you are, your brain always seeks the path of least resistance. - It must be clear.
A memory that is uncoordinated and disordered will never give you an overview. - It must be waterproof.
If it only contains half of your tasks and appointments, you can’t rely on it. It’s unreliable.
A simple, clear and watertight memory. That will ensure that you can gain insight into your work again. And that is necessary if you want to spend your (working) day efficiently and productively. Or, as we say during the training:
“Without an overview, the work chooses you, instead of the other way around.”
How to record appointments, tasks and projects
In order to set up such an external memory, you will regularly have to think about a number of things. For example when you plan your (work)day, but also to check whether everything is running smoothly.
To do this, you regularly ask yourself a number of questions:
- “What has my attention right now?”
- “What are my major tasks?”
- “What are my minor tasks?”
- “Are there things I am waiting for or that someone else needs to provide me?”
- “Is there something else I should discuss with someone?”
That way you find out, for example, that you still want to check those figures with Sander and that you can only start working on that quotation when you receive the planning from that customer.
What do you do with that information? You record it — in a time management system.
During the 1-day Time Management training you will learn that it consists of the following components:
- “What has my attention right now?”
- “What are my major tasks?”
- “What are my minor tasks?”
- “Are there things I am waiting for or that someone else needs to provide me?”
- “Is there something else I should discuss with someone?”
That way you find out, for example, that you still want to check those figures with Sander and that you can only start working on that quotation when you receive the planning from that customer.
What do you do with that information? You record it — in a time management system.
During the 1-day Time Management training you will learn that it consists of the following components:
- 1 calendar
- 1 to-do list
- 1 “Waiting for” list
- 1 ‘1:1’ list
- 1 project list
Five parts, each of which fulfill its own role within that time management system:
- You use a calendar for everything that is time-related — appointments, for example, or travel times. In addition, it also contains all your large tasks (jobs that take longer than 30 minutes to complete).
- On your to-do list, put all tasks that take less than 30 minutes to complete — checking if the conference room is available, for example.
- A ‘Waiting for’ list contains everything you’re waiting for or wanting to be reminded of — the input you still need to get before you can start that pitch, or that book you’ve loaned, for example.
- The “1:1” list collects everything you want to discuss with someone else, so you don’t have to bother them now.
- Such a project list contains all the big jobs you want to do now or in the future — for example improving the website or remodeling the utility room.
These are the tools you use. That’s the system. You no longer use your head to remind you, you know where everything is, and don’t need a reminder when everything you think about is scattered in pieces.
You will find all your tasks and projects in one place: your external memory. This way you will no longer trip over work and you only work from an overview. You will know what to do, why and when. This way you will not only work a lot more efficiently, but also stress-free!
Satisfied feeling, bring it on!
How do you set up such a time management system again?
Create a “1:1” list? How to set up your calendar as optimal as possible? Organise your projects in a clear manner? Watch some useful videos of our 1-day Time Management training and see how you can set up the above time management system in a few simple steps.
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