You know — the people who scurry from task to task, always checking e-mail, organizing something, making a call, running an errand, etc.
The people who do this often subscribe to the idea that “staying busy” means you’re working hard and are going to be more successful.
While this belief may be true to an extent, it often leads to mindless “productivity” — a constant need to do something and a tendency to waste time on menial tasks.
Instead of behaving in this way, I choose to do things differently.
16 comments:
A lot of these are true, but a lot are not by our control. The amount of work that we are given controls how much sleep you get. I tried this past week to get at least 6 hours of sleep every night, and even then on Thursday I had to bail on that plan because I was staying up doing homework. I wasn't out playing or fooling around, I just had that much work to get done in addition to class and crew hours.
I completely agree with the time for stillness part. There are times when my brain just gets so overworked that I end up going into an empty room or put on headphones to block people out for a few minutes so that I can regroup myself and let my brain rest.
A lot of these things seem almost like common sense to me, but I guess that isn't the case for everyone. I mean, sure I sit in studio a lot but that's because I don't feel like walking back to Rez and then realizing that I forgot something in studio that I needed for the homework that I was going back to finish. You just need to plan out your activities. Everyone Monday and Wednesday (when I don't have crew) I have ballroom practices, and even with this 4 hour time commitment, I usually get my things done before 1AM. Another concept that should be added to the list is getting other things done when you finish the initial thing you were working on. I have noticed that people tend to play around or leave after they have finished early the one thing that they were working on. Don't just sit there and fool around, start the next project so that you have that much less to do later. Balance the work you are doing between fun projects and boring essays. Once you finish your boring essay, don't sit down and watch four hours of television, start on one of the fun projects that is coming up. Like the last comment said, if you aren't enjoying the work that you are doing, maybe this isn't the right kind of work for you.
These are some good tips on how to keep yourself a little more organized. Some of these tips are out of our control but overall this would be helpful to most people who have some time management problems. Some of these are also not exactly what I feel is directly related to getting work done on time. Yes exercise and eating healthy is good for living healthy but do I really need to exercise to do my box project more efficiently? I don't really think so, it is hard to manage your time but if you work hard enough you could be able to plan it better and stay and track.
I'm always interested ways to more effectively manage my time. This doesn't always mean cramming more into less time so I like articles like this that concentrate on some of those tips. Sometimes articles like these are hit or miss but this one was definitely helpful. I think the tips about not wasting time on unessentials and trying to lead a more healthy lifestyle are important. I do not totally agree with the tips about grouping like activities. Sometimes this works well for more methodical tasks but I like splitting up reading with things that don't require the same disciplined concentration to keep myself from getting bored or tired.
This article started off with an interesting hook- the implication that "productivity" might not be something to strive for. Unfortunately, the article then went on to list off all the ways that you can be more productive and fill your life with work. A lot of these tips were helpful (although most of them seemed to be common sense), but some of them I actually disagree with. One of these is the tip about doing something during waiting time. It's great to bring a book to read or some work to do if you're going to spend an hour at the doctor's waiting room or 4 hours waiting at the DMV, but obsessively doing work with every free moment of the day doesn't seem to be that healthy. If you're going to spend 10 minutes waiting for a bus, maybe those 10 minutes might be better used just sitting and breathing and taking in the world around you, instead obsessively giving yourself busy work to do every second of the day. Sometimes it's good to just be quiet for a few minutes and be a part of the world you live in, instead of immersing yourself in work all the time. I know my 10 minute walk to and from school is one of my favorite moments of the day, because it's a time for me to just breathe and not think about work. Could I be listening to an audio book or creating to-do lists in that time? Yes, and maybe I'd get an extra 20 minutes of work done every day. But in the end, that time spent decompressing is much more useful than if I filled it with "productive" work.
While this article brings up a lot of common tips, I think it's important that we internalize them. One of the things that really spoke to me was number 20: Find time for stillness. While we're on the go most of the time, working on crew and then working in studio, it's important for us to take a few minutes and just breathe. No Netflix, no Twitter, just composure. When I feel myself getting overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to to, I like to just sit and breathe for a second. It really does help and allows you to move forward and focus on the tasks at hand.
I think the most valuable takeaway from this article is that a proper use of time management can and will always make heavy work loads not seem "out of your control." While it may seem impossible to get a project done while getting sleep, eating regularly, and having time to have fun or relax, it is not at all. When you calculate the exact number of hours in a week and calculate the amount of hours you will be spending getting projects done, there is a whole lot of time left over. The key is to be able to use that extra time productively, but also to use work time productively. The saying "work smarter, not harder" really does hold true. Like Sarah, I am not sure if I agree with every tip this article gives. However, I do appreciate the balance this article values between learning how to manage both work and free time effectively. While it may not work for everyone to follow every single one of these tips, the overarching theme of working smarter, not harder to get work done is important not just for the sake of one's work, but also for the sake of their free time to enjoy life.
This is a great article with lots of valuable take aways. One of the most important pieces to the puzzle is getting enough sleep. Sadly, most people sacrifice their sleep first suffer from it/complain about it. These also tend to be the same people time after time. There is lots of work to do but it is possible to do all of it on time and do it well while still getting plenty of sleep. I have heard stories from many upperclassmen who made it through the entire freshman year with only pulling one all nighter on Rube. I would argue if you are continually staying up all night to finish projects then you are doing something wrong with your time management. Perhaps this could be embarking on projects that are out of scope in regards to available time. I can understand an occasional all nighter but if it becomes a pattern to me it seems like there could be a bit of what David Boevers calls screwing up in reverse going on. I agree with what Kristen said about not starting projects right away and not wasting time. Everyone wants to procrastinate and waste valuable time enjoying themselves, but in the end its only going to bite you in the ass. I disagree with what Olivia said about exercising because research has proven that exercising leads to a much better physical and mental state which in turn will help you with whatever task you are trying to tackle in life. I only wish I had a bit more time to exercise!
I think one of the most important things on this list is sleep. We're all so busy and rarely make the time for ourselvs to sleep.
Sleep is not only good and important for you, but it helps us to be more productive at works.
Obviously, however, the majority of these suggestions are not geared toward entertainment professionals.
Although a few of these are a bit unrealistic for me, I really liked this article. It reminded me a bit of what Joe Pino told us, but this article went further with it and expanded on it in different ways. I've read multiple lists like this, but this one is probably the one that has the best good points to bs points ration that I've ever read. I can also tell that it's good because of the amount of times I read something and wished that I did it. The second thing on the list about saying no is something that I've begun to do more and more, but at the same time it's something that I feel badly for doing. There have been a few instances where I've said no to friends because I was busy that I still feel guilty for. That tip is very important, but there are factors to it besides the time management.
I agree with some of this article but feel like it sets unrealistic expectations. "Learning to say no"? Can't really do that when it comes to school work. I also don't agree with the blanket rule of 7-8 hours. Some people work better with more some with less. My father works at peak efficiency with 6.5 hours. I work best between 6.5 and 7. I know some people who 5 is plenty. Time limits are great for a lot of things. I use them for drafting and PTM work but design projects especially in the brainstorming phase i feel cannot be put into a time slot. Do something during waiting time is okay but packing as much you can do will cause so much mental distress over time. Also lock yourself in is the next thing thats a little scary.
I will be completely honest in saying that I could use any and all times about time management. I am always looking to improve myself in this sense. I feel sometimes that I have a hold of things that I am working on, and then before I know it I'm back to being buried under a pile of work that somehow crept up on me. Tips like these come in all shapes and sizes and while some may not always seem useful, I think that there is always something that I can pull out from them that will help me in the end.
This was a fruitful time during the semester to read this article. Work is starting to ramp up, we're all starting to get more tired, and it's also the darkest, most depressing month of the year. I also enjoy feeling my own growth and development each time I read these things, because it seems that different tips speak to me at different times.
For example, this time my freshman year I'd probably be focusing on tips like "Do something during waiting time" "Lock yourself in" and "devote your entire focus to the task at hand." Now, I got the most out of the tips that gave me permission to let things go, like "Learn to say no," "Don't let unimportant details drag you down" and "do less."
A big shift I've made over the course of this year is permitting myself to not try and do it all. I'm currently in Princeton dealing with something, so while I'm not going to get laundry, grocery shopping or cooking done, I've decided that not letting this derail my academic semester is important. It's much easier for me to do the things I need to do if I'm allowing myself to not do the non-essentials. It feels as though, by giving myself things that don't have to get done, I reinforce the importance of the things I do get done, and that is a self-fulfilling cycle that builds a lot of positive momentum in my life.
I was about to let this "life hackery" article wash over my brain like the million zillion others that I've read, but this one actually stood out.
I liked that the theme of the article was to streamline your processes during each individual day. It's not about maxing the amount of things you do, but making your time count.
One quote that really resounded with me was this, "Each day, identify the two or three tasks that are the most crucial to complete, and do those first.
Once you’re done, the day has already been a success." Too often, I've completed one or two things on a given day and become frustrated that I didn't do more. I suppose if my prioritizing and tasking were a little more well defined, I might not be kicking myself so often.
Overall I think that these are great tips and would be really helpful in getting more work done in an efficient way. However, I have to wonder if all of the different time management articles we read are missing something inherent in the way we all work because it seems nearly impossible for most people to employ all of these tactics. Of course this could be attributed to the fact that we all work differently and have trouble finding the right combination of strategies for the specific way we work. I wonder if there is more specific research on finding the right tactics for your work personality.
These tips are really good, a good number are new to me and some describe things that I have only recently learned that have greatly helped my time management. Chief among these is learning to say no to things. I often have issues saying no, especially to things I really would enjoy doing, but it all adds up and you can quickly find yourself overloaded. By saying no I have been able to increase my time for work as well as my time to do other things I want to do.
This is definitely a useful article that I hope I don't lose. I have heard many of the tips before, but I have had trouble always keeping them in mind. Granted, not everything on here is always possible. I have always felt that I can do better if I just used my time better and didn't procrastinate as much. Like right now, scrambling to finish comments in the next two minutes. Bad decision, I really should have done one article a day M-F. Each only takes a few minutes, but here I am. Overall, this was a really helpful article, if nothing else, it reminded me of what I need to do.
Post a Comment