Welcome back to our growing up series. This week’s focus is on how to manage our time properly. Let’s think of a seedling, it has certain milestones that it needs to achieve during a specific time period in order to grow into a mature plant.
Simply, these milestones are tasks, and they need to be accomplished within a certain time frame. Unquestionably, in order to achieve all our “milestones”, we need manage our time wisely to avoid slacking or rushing through them.
Therefore, for time management, we will be looking at 4 different models that can help.
1. How to Eat the Frog
The “Eat the Frog” technique was invented by Brian Tracy and he introduced this method in his book. Eat the Frog is basically the process of identifying your most difficult and draining task of the day [the frog], and then aim to complete [eat] it before you do any other work.
2. ABCDE Method
This method is pretty self-explanatory:
- Identify your task;
- Determine the consequences, if the task is not completed;
- Give tasks to others to give you more time to focus on “Task A”;
- Finally scratch task off your to-do-list.
3. Pomodoro Technique
This time management method is based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by five-minute breaks. Each work interval is called a Pomodoro.
- Identify a clearly defined task.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- Work on the task for 25 minutes.
- After the 25 minutes ends place a check mark and take a 5 minute break.
- Repeat the process until there are check marks on all tasks.
4. The Eisenhower Matrix
- Do: What do you need to accomplish today?
- Plan: Which task needs to be put into the calendar and on which days exactly?
- Delegate: These tasks are not as important as the others, so what can you do for them?
- Eliminate: Delete tasks that are not urgent, allowing you to focus on the first and second quadrant.
These techniques are great for people who have difficulty determining what their “frogs” are, or prioritizing tasks. They are also very beneficial for people who struggle with procrastination and wish to maximize their productivity. Take the second step in your growth today by choosing one of these time management methods.
To catch up on the first steps to grow article, read article here!
