Why I Always Have Time To Do Things
April 30, 2006 by Gleb Reys
Welcome back!
Many people talking to me or reading this blog are impressed with the number of things I do on a daily basis. While some of us find it impossible to do anything at all outside of working hours, I have found the hours of my commute or my time at home to be the almost as productive parts of my day as the time I spend working.
Nothing special about my approach
I have no amazing sources of spare time or incredible ways to boost my energy levels. I’m as human as everyone else, and trust me, I’m very conscious about me being just at the very beginning of becoming a productive person. There are thousands of people I admire for being much more productive in their lives. So I think it’s not that I’m special or my standards are high. It’s just that the average expectations and standards of all of us are too low.
Because most of us rarely find and take time to organize the way of doing things in our everyday life, we’re constantly overwhelmed with tasks and things to keep track of. This gives us the impression of being so impossibly busy all the time, that we can’t imagine doing something else on top of our daily routine. We feel lucky if we get to enjoy a weekend with our family, yet we never stop worrying about all these things waiting for us back at work.
My basic time management principle
Every time when I tell my friends about a new project of mine, I always see how surprised they are to see me not only doing what I already have on my plate, but taking on something extra. And the immediate question I always hear is this: Where do you get all the spare time to do this?
Well, the short answer is that I don’t. I really don’t have spare time. I don’t have these 3 hours at home which I always know I’ll be doing nothing – so they’re always ready for some of my new projects… No! It doesn’t work like this. As you, as your friends, and just as anyone else – I don’t feel like I have enough time. But the difference between us is that I don’t stop here. If I don’t have spare time, it doesn’t mean I have no time at all. It simply means I have to prioritize things. I have time, I have plenty of it. It’s just I’m already doing or thinking of doing something during all the time I have.
Review and prioritize things
When you review your plans for the week or month to come, you should always see when there’s a good opportunity to try some of your new ideas. And if prioritizing doesn’t solve all the time questions, it’s time for optimizing, because there is always something to improve in just about anything you do. For instance, you can group things together or change the order of doing them, and a tweak as small as this may have a surprisingly strong positive effect on your productivity.
Having time to do things DOES NOT mean having spare time. It simply means having the clear purpose of why you need to find more time to do something, and having the courage to make it happen.
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Personal Growth Carnival – A New Record!…
Well another record this week for the Personal Growth Carnival. We had 38 submissions which is almost twice what we’ve gotten in the past.
Some writers submit more than one article, so I left in the one that I feel is their best work. Also, I’m ….
[...] Why I Always Have Time To Do Things – Gleb shares his insights on time management. This statement sums it up: “Having time to do things DOES NOT mean having spare time. It simply means having the clear purpose of why you need to find more time to do something, and having the courage to make it happen.” [...]
[...] Time Management Gleb Reys presents Why I Always Have Time To Do Things Jim Goss presents Looking Busy Daniel Scocco presents Future-Storming [...]
[...] Um simples planejamento, mesmo que superficial, ajuda-me a aumentar a produtividade. Semana passada, estive em em Uiraúna, recordei-me do tempo de preparação para o vestibular. Durante o ensino médio, embora não tivesse feito o planejamento do ano inteiro, dia a dia, alguém havia feito boa parte do trabalho, pois ele estava lá no programa do vestibular, item por item, um a um os tópicos a serem estudados estavam listados no final do manual. Lembro-me que sempre fiz um macro-cronograma, onde detalhava o que estudaria mês a mês mais ou menos. Mais importante: estava sempre atualizando a lista de assuntos já estudados, mantendo o foco no que precisava ser estudado, controlando o no tempo restante e quais seriam as prioridades em uma eventual falta de tempo. Não sei o porquê, mas durante a graduação, perdi o hábito planejar minhas atividades. O problema se agravou no mestrado. Curiosamente talvez seja o tempo de sobra e acabo desperdiçando-o com bobagens, terminando por consumir o tempo das atividades relevantes. Tão igualmente interessante é que as coisas acabam por se definirem quando o prazo está realmente no fim, em cima da hora, pois tenho que, de uma forma ou de outra, (1) definir o que tem que ser feito, (2) a ordem de prioridade que as coisas devem ser executadas e (3) seguir o plano. Ou seja, planejo e executo. Planejamento é importantíssimo. Planejar também significa estimar o tempo de execução. As estimativas são importantes nas atividades com objetivos específicos, por exemplo, escrever um artigo porque há um prazo a ser cumprido, tanto quanto o tempo que posso gastar em algo sem um objetivo claro ou não tão importante, por exemplo, ler 9rules. Talvez a falta de estimativa (e alocação de tempo bem definida) no segundo caso tenha efeitos mais desastrosos que a falta do planejamento no primeiro, porque se consome o tempo útil com bobagens. Sendo assim, três coisas são importantes: (1) definir o deve ser feito, (2) priorizar as tarefas, 3) alocar o tempo (diário, semanal ou mensal) para cada tarefa. Nesta última etapa, será necessário recuperar o tempo perdido com atividades não importantes. Para recuperar o tempo, lembro também de uma frase de Jones quando fui reclamar que não tinha tempo para fazer algo. Era mais ou menos assim: você tem tempo (…) o que acontece é que isto não é prioridade para você, mas há tempo sim. É só questão de priorizar o que você quer fazer com o seu tempo. Este é o segredo. Gleb Reys escreve em outras palavras: Having time to do things DOES NOT mean having spare time. It simply means having the clear purpose of why you need to find more time to do something, and having the courage to make it happen. Por fim, após realizar o planejamento, é necessário seguir o plano e manter o foco no trabalho. [...]