“There’s no time, and you have to suffer, it won’t work without me, it won’t work without me…” – over thirty years ago, the actor Andrei Mironov said. And nothing seems to have changed since then. We’re still running and rushing, worried that there’s not enough time for anything…
It seems that the more we work, the more we have to keep up. But for some reason, this formula rarely works. It’s just that a grown man can’t do the same job for more than an hour and a half. In 90 minutes, or even earlier, his brain will be tired, his efficiency will drop, and in a couple of hours he will notice with irritation: “He was exhausted, but had no time to do anything”…
This state is familiar to those who try to redo all the housework in one weekend. At the same time, it does not matter what exactly we do: young mothers who give their energy to the family are as tired as CEOs of large companies. And both lack the same amount of time. According to business coach Alexander Belanovsky, there is a very simple solution to the problem called “did, did, and did nothing”.
CHANGE THE TYPE OF ACTIVITY EVERY HOUR AND A HALF
The first step to success is to break down the working day (no matter where it takes place – in the office or in your own apartment) into two-hour “blocks”. One and a half hours – work, half an hour – break. The main thing is to switch completely so that the brain does not confuse rest with an additional portion of work.
For example, if you sit at the computer for 90 minutes and are going to “regain strength”, communicating in social networks, the effect will not be. The brain simply will not understand how “rest” is different from drumming. The nervous system needs to switch from one activity to another.
REST PROPERLY.
The second misconception is, “Not working means resting.” If this myth were true, there would be no jokes about the fact that after a weekend we need another weekend and Monday is the hardest day of the week. If we “rest” at the computer, in shops or doing household chores, the body continues to accumulate fatigue. And at one point comes the “emotional burnout” – a state where there is no time, no energy, no mood.
Alexander Belanovski believes that one can avoid this by arranging an unusual holiday from time to time. For example, one day to go on a tour of another city and turn off the phone. Most likely, after an hour spent in seclusion, you’ll probably have a strong desire to go on the Internet or call … anyone. Get over it: it only says that the body really needs to rest. By evening, you’ll feel stronger and calmer in just a day.
DON’T TRY TO DO MORE THAN ONE THING AT A TIME
Other common misconceptions are, “You have to do everything at once to get there” or “Everything has to be done on the “perfect”. What happens to our brain when we try to solve several problems at once? Remember what happens to the computer when you download a movie and look for information on the Internet at the same time: they start to “slow down” or “hang”.
As for perfectionism, with this approach, no task can be done perfectly, and if you waste yourself on trifles, you are unlikely to be able to do anything important.
THAT ACTUALLY TAKES TIME?
But let’s move from myths to reality. “It’s not so difficult to trace where your precious minutes are running away,” said Alexander Belanovsky. – Take a piece of paper and write all your affairs on it in a day. Even those that you do not consider important. Find out the time that you’ve devoted to each of the cases”. The list will look like this: sleep – 7 hours, breakfast – 20 minutes, meeting – 2 hours.
Now divide your lessons into six groups:
work;
vital: cooking, sleeping, showering, gymnastics, grocery shopping;
“nothing”: wandering in social networks, waiting for transport, going to work, queuing in government offices;
routine: e-mail checking, paperwork, washing dishes, cleaning, laundry;
pleasant: rest and entertainment;
new knowledge: any activity when you learn something.
By grouping things this way, you will understand what you are really wasting your time on. Usually we are short on the most important things because of “nothing” and routine. One lives in social networks, the other gets to work across town, the third has too much domestic chores.
“Under the mask of lack of time, too often there is a lack of strength and health: someone plays on the computer, because he is nervous – and someone “lying down” on the couch to avoid getting sick from overexertion – sums up Alexander Belanovski. – It will take perseverance and ingenuity to eliminate the real cause of “problems with time. But if there’s no solution – there will still be no time and effort,” said Alexander Belanovski.
