1、 The significance of time management
Do you also have this feeling? After finishing a day of work, you feel tired and haven't rested, but looking back, you don't know what you were busy with during the day, let alone what you gained today. It feels like the day has been in vain and you've been working aimlessly. Time has gone forever, yet we have lost this day in a meaningless way, gaining nothing.
In fact, this is because we lack planning and management of time, work plans, which leads to our waste of time. At this point, we need to introduce the concept of time management. Only by learning time management and planning your work and life well can you effectively reduce time waste and make your life more meaningful.
2、 What is time management
Time management refers to the flexible and effective use of time through pre planning and the application of certain techniques, methods, and tools, in order to achieve individual or organizational goals. The most commonly used time management methods currently include the four quadrant rule and the tomato work method.
2.1 Four Quadrant Rule
The Four Quadrant Rule originated from the "Four Quadrant Rule" (also known as the "Eisenhower Rule" or "Cross Rule") personally designed by General Eisenhower of the United States.
The characteristic of Eisenhower's Cross Time Plan is to draw a cross and divide it into four quadrants, namely important and urgent, important and non urgent, non important and non urgent, putting all the things that need to be done in it, and then doing the most important and urgent things in the quadrant first. This greatly improves Eisenhower's work and life efficiency. This has become a popular topic among American success scholars.
The four quadrant rule is a time management theory, and an important concept of this theory is that one should focus their main energy and time on dealing with important but not urgent tasks, so as to be proactive and prevent problems before they occur.
In people's daily work, there are often opportunities to plan and complete something well. But often they fail to do it in a timely manner, resulting in a decline in work quality over time.
Therefore, it is necessary to focus the main energy on important but not urgent affairs in this "quadrant". To focus mainly on important but not urgent tasks, it is necessary to arrange time well. A good method is to establish an appointment. By establishing an appointment, one's time will not be occupied by others, thus effectively carrying out work.
2.1.1 Boundaries
first quadrant:This quadrant contains some urgent and important matters, which have the urgency of time and the importance of impact, and cannot be avoided or delayed. They must be dealt with first and resolved first. It manifests as negotiations for major projects, important conference work, etc.
Second quadrant:These two quadrants are different from the first quadrant. Events in this quadrant do not have a temporal urgency, but they have significant impact on the existence and development of individuals or businesses, as well as the establishment and maintenance of the surrounding environment.
Third quadrant:The events contained in the third quadrant are those that are urgent but not important, which are very urgent but not important, so the events in this quadrant are highly deceptive. Many people have a misconception that urgent matters are important, but in reality, events such as meaningless phone calls, agreeing with others' expectations, and playing mahjong are not important. These unimportant events often occupy a lot of people's precious time because they are urgent.
Fourth quadrant:The events in the fourth quadrant are mostly trivial and trivial matters, without the urgency of time or any importance. The combination of these events with time is purely killing time and wasting life. Daydreaming, surfing the internet, chatting, and wandering are the ways of life for people who have nothing to do all day long.
[Case] Be prepared for the rain "is an ancient Chinese idiom, which means to repair the doors and windows of a house before or when it rains, in order to prevent getting caught in the rain. When it's not raining, there's no need to rush to repair the doors and windows of the house. Repairing the doors and windows of the house is not an urgent matter. A house that doesn't leak is absolutely important for rainy days. Preparing for it when it's not raining can ensure that it doesn't affect work even on rainy days.
Case analysis: Being prepared for the future is an image description of event management in the second quadrant. Many important tasks in life and work require preparation before events occur, which is the reason for making plans. The purpose of making a plan is to efficiently complete important but not urgent tasks step by step. Therefore, we need to learn how to make plans and how to prepare. Planning, preparation, learning, and training are all important preventive or reserve work.
2.1.2 Relationship
Prioritize solving the first quadrant:Firstly, one must have accurate judgment ability to identify urgent and important matters, and then prioritize their handling.
Distinguish between the three quadrants:The first quadrant and the third quadrant are difficult to distinguish, and the third quadrant is the most deceptive to people. The fact that it is urgent creates the illusion that it is important and consumes a lot of people's time. It is difficult to distinguish between these two quadrants based on urgency, and to distinguish them, another criterion must be used to determine whether the matter is important. That is to measure the importance of this matter according to one's own life goals and life plan. If it is important, it belongs to the content of the first quadrant; If it is not important, it belongs to the content of the third quadrant.
Investment Second Quadrant:The things in the first quadrant are important and urgent, and due to time constraints, people often cannot do them well. The things in the second quadrant are very important, and there will be sufficient time to prepare and do them well. It can be seen that investing in the second quadrant yields the greatest returns.
Step out of the fourth quadrant:The third quadrant, which has an illusion, often makes it difficult for people to escape due to its urgency, so people often fall into the fourth quadrant and cannot extricate themselves. For example, when playing mahjong, missing one out of three makes it difficult to escape and takes a long time to achieve the desired result. The things in the first quadrant must be prioritized, and people will not do the things in the third quadrant. The things in the fourth quadrant are meaningless, but they are also difficult to deal with, so we must find ways to get out of the fourth quadrant.
2.1.3 Strategy
Do it now:If you always have urgent and important things to do, it means you have problems with time management. Try to reduce it.
Plan to do:Spend as much time as possible on important but not urgent (second quadrant) tasks in order to reduce the workload in the first quadrant.
Authorized to do:The principle for handling urgent but unimportant matters is to authorize others to do it.
Reduce doing:Try to avoid doing things that are neither important nor urgent.
2.2 Tomato working method
The Pomodoro Technique is a simple and practical time management method created by Francisco Cirillo in 1992, which is a more microscopic time management method compared to GTD.
Using the tomato working method, select a task to be completed, set the tomato time to 25 minutes, focus on work, and do not do anything unrelated to the task until the tomato clock rings. Then draw an X on paper and take a short break (5 minutes is enough), taking an extra break every 4 tomato periods.
The tomato work method greatly improves work efficiency and provides an unexpected sense of achievement.
2.2.1 Principles
1. One tomato time (25 minutes) cannot be divided: there is no half or one and a half tomato time.
If something unrelated to the task is done within a tomato time, the tomato time will be invalidated.
3. Never use the "tomato work method" outside of working hours, such as playing chess with your son for 3 tomato hours, fishing for 5 tomato hours, and so on.
4. Do not compare your own tomato data with others' tomato data: the number of tomatoes cannot determine the ultimate success or failure of the task.
5. There must be a schedule that suits oneself.
2.2.2 Methods
1. At the beginning of each day, plan the several tasks to be completed for the day and write them down one by one in a list (or in the software's to-do list)
2. Set your tomato clock (timer, software, alarm, etc.) to 25 minutes.
3. Start completing the first task until the tomato clock rings or reminds (25 minutes to arrive).
4. Stop working and draw an X after the task in the list.
5. Rest for 3-5 minutes, engage in activities, drink water, be convenient, etc.
6. Start the next Pomodoro Clock and continue with the task. Continue looping until the task is completed and cross it off the list (or mark it as completed in the software).
After every four tomato clocks, take a 25 minute break.
2.2.3 Interruption
What should I do if I suddenly remember something to do during a tomato clock?
If it is necessary to do it immediately, stop this tomato clock and declare it invalid (even if it will end in 5 minutes), complete the task, and then restart the same tomato clock;
If it is not necessary to do it immediately, mark a comma after the task in the list (indicating disturbance) and record it in another list (such as "unplanned event"), and then proceed to complete the Pomodoro task.
2.2.4 Advantages
The tomato working method is a simple set of tools and processes, with the following advantages:
1. Reduce time anxiety
2. Improve concentration and attention, reduce interruptions
3. Enhance decision-making awareness
4. Awakening motivation and lasting motivation
5. Consolidate the determination to achieve the goal
6. Improve the estimation process and accurately ensure quality and quantity
7. Improve work and learning processes
8. Strengthen decisiveness and cut through chaos with a swift knife
3、 The difference between to-do and schedule
3.1 Schedule
It is something you must do, and wind and rain cannot stop your footsteps. It has two conditions simultaneously:
1. There is a definite time point: on a certain year, month, day, time, and moment.
This task was not completed by you alone, it requires the cooperation of others or other parties. For example, you made an appointment with A at 3 pm on Wednesday, which is a schedule. You have to take the train at 8am on Thursday, which is also your schedule.
The reason why scheduling is something you must do is because once the schedule is set, you cannot easily "break the contract", and if you breach it, you will have to bear the corresponding consequences. For example, if you fail to meet as scheduled at 3 pm and miss the train at 8 am, you will bear the consequences.
If you want to change your schedule, it's best to discuss with the other party, for example, to confirm a new time with A and check the other train schedules.
Therefore, the schedule is also known as "hard time" - time that cannot be adjusted arbitrarily.
3.2. To Do
Narrowly speaking, it is something you want to do, but currently lacking conditions and needing to wait a little longer.
1. Sometimes it is a lack of time, such as "the things I do when I have free time" or "the things I write down first when I am not sure when to do them";
2. Sometimes there is a lack of location, such as' what to do next time in Beijing ';
Sometimes it's due to a lack of money, such as' when I have money, I'll go around the world '.
To dos also belong to 'soft time'.
These two concepts should not only be distinguished from words, but also from practical use. For example, watching a movie:
Watch a movie at 20:00 this Saturday evening (purchased tickets): Schedule, record in the schedule.
Go watch a movie this week: to-do list, make a to-do list.
4、 Use an efficient calendar for time management
After understanding the basic concepts of time management, tomato work method, and four quadrant rule, we can use the Optimal Calendar (official website) to manage time more efficiently and effectively.
The excellent calendar is a cross platform desktop calendar software with Win10/Win11 style. On the basis of the Windows system calendar, it has been deeply improved and innovated. It can not only perfectly replace and enhance the Windows taskbar clock calendar, but also significantly optimize the time management. Combined with the current most advanced AI capabilities, it provides a schedule planning, to-do list and task reminder solution that is more in line with countrymen usage habits, helping you arrange every day efficiently.
Optimal Calendar supports both mobile devices (Android, iOS), achieving seamless synchronization across devices, allowing you to control your schedule and notifications anytime, anywhere.
4.1 Schedule Management
The schedule management of Optimal Calendar provides a comprehensive and powerful schedule management platform. Here, you can easily manage all important events in a unified manner - whether it's upcoming schedules, to-do lists, notes, important anniversaries, birthdays of friends and family, previous records, or subscription calendars that require special attention.
In addition, multiple views are provided, allowing you to gain insights into your schedule from different dimensions such as lists, days, weeks, months, and years. And cloud synchronization and multi terminal (computer/phone/WeChat) reminders ensure that your schedule is always synchronized with you, no matter where you are, you can grasp every important moment in a timely manner.
4.2. To Do List
The to-do list of Optimal Calendar is your intelligent assistant for efficiently managing daily tasks. It cleverly integrates a four quadrant priority view and a GTD (Getting Things Done) checklist view design, helping you clearly identify the urgency and importance of each task. Each task can activate an independent tomato clock, allowing you to find the perfect balance between focus and rest.
The cloud synchronization of data and multi terminal reminder function make your to-do list management more intelligent and orderly. Whether it's urgent tasks at work or small joys in life, an efficient calendar can help you handle them one by one, making to-do lists a tool for you to easily manage your daily routine.
4.3 Intelligent time management
The combination of Optimal Calendar and SendToAI plugin, utilizing the most advanced AI technology, brings you an unprecedented schedule management experience. It can accurately recognize and extract schedule information from both text and images, simplifying your time management process. Long press the CapsLock key to quickly create a schedule through voice commands, making time management quick and efficient.
Moreover, combining AI technology can automatically generate exquisite daily, weekly, or monthly reports based on your completed to-do list. This not only saves your time, but also enhances the professionalism and aesthetics of the report.
4.4. Connect to other calendar accounts
Optimal Calendar has powerful subscription capabilities, allowing you to easily connect to other calendars. Supports WebCal protocol public calendar subscription and adds CalDav/Exchange protocol accounts, allowing you to easily achieve two-way synchronization with third-party calendars (iCloud/Outlook/DingTalk, etc.).
Published on 1 天前
广东
