TO-DO LIST

A to-do list is a very efficient way to remember small tasks that we need to do. It can include a wide range of things from "Write an email to my colleague" to "Create my company". Creating a to-do list categorized by topics helps to sort them.

 

 

 

PRIORITIES

When the list grows, organizing the tasks into sub-tasks and priorities help to clarify what needs to be done.

 

 

The Eisenhower Method

This technique is based on a decision principle. The tasks are categorized into 4 fields; urgent, not urgent, important and not important.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Important & Urgent box are the tasks that are done by ourselves and right away.

2. Important & Not Urgent box are the tasks done ourselves but scheduled for later.

3. Not important & Urgent box are the tasks that can give to someone else.

4. Not important & Not Urgent box are the tasks that can be dropped or avoided.

 

 

 

 

Action Plan

An action plan is a to-do list with priorities and a time frame in order to run big projects.

It takes some time to be created, it also needs to be consistently reviewed because new things come up and priorities are changing. But once the foundation is done, it decreases the level of stress because we know that everything we need to think about is there. There are fewer chances to forgot something. It helps to go along important work with a clear the mind.

Creating an "Action plan" file on a laptop, synchronizing it with a phone and keep it up-to-date is a precious help in the labor. The following table show the  basics questions that matters:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

multitasking

Nowadays, writing an email during a phone call is quite common. It gives the feeling that we are more productive. But, on the contrary, researchers have shown that multitasking can lead to mistakes, lower efficiency and retain less information. 

A good way to avoid multi-tasking is to dedicate specific time (ex: 20'min) to one task, in order to be more efficient and focus.

Today, an average worker is spending about 23% of the day emailing a study found that people who cut off from email were less stressed. The authors recommend to check emails a few scheduled times per day and turn email notifications off the rest of the time.

 

In another hand, multitasking can save-up time and energy. For example, organizing walking meeting or walking phone call can be a productive way to boost energy

 

Activity Diary

The aim of writing an activity diary is to realize how you invest your time and evaluate your mental energy in order to in crease your work efficacy. 

This record help you  manage your time doing bigger tasks when your energy is high.

Draw a 5 columns table:

- Date & time

- Duration 

- Activity (ex:"write an email", "chat with a colleague"...)

- Feeling (ex: "tired", dynamic"...)

- Value (Very high, High, Medium, Low, None)

 

For every new activity, fill the column Date & time, Activity, and Feeling and add the Duration and the Value later, at a convenient time.

After few days, analyze it and adjust your working time:

- Avoid doing tasks that aren't yours to do.

- Plan the task that requires the most energy (or the most important one ) during your peak time of the day.

- Reduce the number of times you switch between activities. 

- Decrease low value or non-productive tasks.

 

 

IdentifY THE cognitive LOAD

A model designed by Hintsa Performance refers to 3 cognitive gears.

 

An average workers is spending a lot of time in the middle gear surrounded by distractions and permanent tasks switching, leading to fatigue and stress. Even though switching could be inevitable during working time, avoiding complexe task during this time is important because the likelihood to do mistakes is higher.

The low gear is essential to get mental energy. It refers to a relaxing state of mind where there is low switching and social media and where creativity can be expressed. Hintsa Performance mentioned that the 2016 World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs’ report identified complex problem solving, critical thinking and creativity as the top three skills required to thrive in the 4th industrial revolution. 

The high gear is reserved for complex task where deep focus is necessary. That's why interferences such as distractions or tasks switching prevent to be effective.