THE TIP THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE

(well, your work life then)

Every now and then, a time management tip comes along that could help you get a lot more work done. When I was offered a time management course in the past, my answer was always that I didn't have time for that.

I don't even give myself the time to make a to-do list. It takes me five minutes, and in those five minutes, I could be doing something else. But still, my problem (and yours too, I know) is that there are too few hours and too many tasks. I once suggested not to WhatsApp anymore because that saves a lot of time, but then Lies said: “But when should I WhatsApp then?” and then I didn't know either.

But now there is a theory from a Google employee, and all the Google types are on board. And if Google says it, it's good. Most of the time. So that's why I'm extremely interested in that theory.

It boils down to the fact that you have two types of jobs: the managers and the makers. Managers have work blocks of half an hour. They meet, make decisions, cut ribbons, and move on. The makers create, and for creation, it's important that you can build. And you need time for that. Even a meeting of ‘just’ half an hour can throw a maker's entire process into disarray. You need to do something about that. And this is how.

1. Schedule ‘make time’

If you don't clearly associate a day and a time with your make time, it will go wrong.

An example for illustration. Three working groups were tasked with exercising in the coming week.

The first group just had to exercise, nothing else was said. Eventually, 29% hit the gym.

The second group was told why a person should exercise (that it's healthy, that non-exercising people die sooner, that work) et voilà; 39% went to exercise that week.

In the third group, a day, time, and location were attached to the task, and yes, 91% from the group went to the gym.

2. Cut meetings

There are too many meetings. A friend of mine once said; meetings are for the talentless. That's a bit exaggerated, but at my previous job, I could fly from meeting to meeting all day and by the end of the day, I had done nothing. We also have a tendency to meet with too many people. That takes forever.

3. Plan your make time

Just like with the sports assignment, you need to schedule your agenda for make time. Because if you don't schedule it, it won't happen, and before you know it, you're back in one of those dull meetings. With too many people.

4. But do it well

Not every day is a good day to create. That's why this Google employee made a good weekly schedule.

Monday:

Your energy level is low, and moreover, you need to ease into it a bit. Monday is the perfect day to organize, see what you need to do, and make a plan. And thus to schedule make time.

Tuesday and Wednesday:

Your energy level is good, ideal days to tackle problems, brainstorm, and come up with brilliant ideas.

Thursday:

Your energy level starts to drop. Perfect day to schedule those boring meetings. They want it anyway, those managers. They're all about meetings.

Friday:

This is the day with your lowest energy level. Finish things off so you can enter the weekend with a clear mind and do all the automatic pilot tasks.

Then the last task from this man is to protect your make time. Don't let someone else schedule over it and also respect the make time of others.

Shall we just do it? And tell each other in a month if it works? If we have time for that, at least...