We all want to be more productive and accomplish more in the same amount of time. Is it possible? My answer is yes, it is possible if you develop impeccable time management skills. (Also, some automation required :))There are several techniques for time management. One largely known and used is the Pomodoro technique which splits the hour into two 30 minutes parts and gives you 5 minutes breaks for each 25 minutes of work. So it is 25 minutes work + 5 minutes break= 30 minutes. At first, this looks like a great way to accomplish some tasks such as reading or exercises. If you try to apply the Pomodoro technique to your life outside of the academic or reading time time you will find out that is not at all efficient. For some tasks, you will need less time and for some other tasks, you will need more time. For example, when you make phone calls or when you go for an appointment. There is also another aspect to consider. The increase waste of time. In an 8 hour work day the Pomodoro technique allows you to have 80 minutes break. This is 10 minutes every hour. It is 80 minutes for every 8 hours of work. It does not sound efficient at all.
20 minutes to success!
The secret of 20 minutes time intervals. You split the hour into three parts, accomplishing 3 tasks per hour. You can, alternatively, combine 20 minutes parts to accomplish a much bigger task. For example, you receive a task that needs 4 hours to complete. You can combine the 20 minutes chunks to build the 4 hours that you need to accomplish your task. You can even schedule a 20 minutes break after accomplishing the task. The 20 minutes break down of the hour is very efficient fo meetings too. 15 minutes is not enough time for a meeting. In 20 minutes you can have a well-organized meeting. If you need more time you can add another 20 minutes making it a 40 minutes meeting. This leaves you another 20 minutes to accomplish another task. I can write many examples but I think that you get the idea.
Dividing the hour to 20 minutes alone cannot bring success. For success to come you need also to discuss personal goal setting, the use of to-do or action lists, prioritization, estimation of the tasks, delegation, how to manage interruptions, how to beat procrastination, risk management and how to remain self-motivated at all times. All the discussion points presented previously affect either positive or negative your time management.
The topics mentioned above will be covered in future blog posts.
Have a great, happy and productive day!
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