The Key to Time Management

Table of Contents

There are several topics that constantly come to my mind and, with each new discovery, I reach a new level of understanding. One such topic is “time management.”

Levels of Time Management

Current experience shows that you can experience “time management” at several depths:

  1. Knowledge of Techniques: Here, you have GTD (Getting Things Done) and classical time management techniques at your disposal. Technically, you can manage what you do, possibly using some tool or method to organize your tasks in a calendar or on a TODO list.

  2. Conscious Choice of Important Things and Rejecting ‘Task Noise’: Most people do what they have to do in a habitual, unreflective manner. Even if you have mastered the techniques, it will help little if you do not consciously prioritize important tasks over trivial ones. (more)

  3. Assertiveness and Communication as the Key: This is the third and highest level in my typology. You will never lose the feeling that you do not have enough time unless you are appropriately assertive—towards your boss, friends, family, yourself (sic!)—and unless you can communicate this effectively, being neither aggressive nor submissive. This statement may seem laconic, but let it serve as a koan for those more interested :)

Will there be a fourth level? It’s not out of the question ;-)

(Text translated and moved from original old blog automatically by AI. May contain inaccuracies.)

Tags

Related Posts

Where Is It Worth Getting Employed?

The Idea Behind

For quite some time now, I have been my own employer, so I am not actively looking for traditional employment. However, people I meet during various projects and trainings often ask where it is worth getting employed.

Read More

Why Agile Fails

Introduction

Implementing a methodology from the Agile family is not at all easy. The problem usually lies in management, who upon superficially understanding what it’s all about, perceive the new method as a promise that from now on, everything will magically work better. It doesn’t matter if we have subpar team members and adhere to the principle that “any specialist can be replaced by a finite number of students.” It doesn’t matter if there’s complete disregard for knowledge management and skill development in the team because there’s never time for that. It doesn’t matter if people working on projects are shuffled between projects—after all, it’s about interdisciplinarity, and everyone should know everything.

Read More

Time for Assertiveness Training!

The Importance of Assertiveness

In my previous post, I discussed assertiveness in the context of time management. Upon reviewing various situations I’ve encountered, I can confidently assert that a lack of assertiveness (including appropriate communication) is the root cause of many other project issues.

Read More