Transform your life: the hidden technique that boosts productivity, banishes stress, and unlocks success!
Creating a to-do list reassures you that your day is under control, but it does not guarantee that all tasks will be completed. But in reality, some tasks remain undone, and others take up too much time. Here you will find tips on how to effectively develop your time management in order to archive life ballance.
Your boss sent an urgent task, but you haven't finished last week's project yet, and you still need to file a tax return by next Tuesday and take the car to the car service... How familiar is this situation when a whole snowball seems to fall on you, and everything needs to be done on time? So it's not surprising to overexert yourself get nervous and stressed and at the same time fail some of your tasks. In order to stay on track and live confidently, it is important to plan your tasks in such a way that it is easier and more efficient for you to complete them. The ALPEN method allows you to elaborate your schedule in such a way that you are guaranteed to get everything done without going crazy from the workload.
What is the ALPEN method?
Many people do several things at the same time, or do something first that is not so urgent, while more important projects remain undone. The essence of the popular ALPEN method, created by the economist and time management expert Lothar J. Seiwert, consists of the following priorities:
- Be realistic about the time you have.
- Determine which tasks should be given time first.
- Highlight what tasks can be left for later and done later.
- Pay attention to rest so as not to overexert yourself.
How to make your schedule using the ALPEN method?
Timely completion of tasks is due not only to our skill but also to the fact that your to-do list is compiled correctly. Follow the following steps of the ALPEN Method to navigate through your day sustainably.
Make a list of all your to-dos for the day
Write down all the things, projects, and goals that you would like to do today. You can use a laptop, a to-do planner on your smartphone, a time management app, or just a paper notepad for this. Don't keep all your tasks in your head! You can simply forget something even if you have a good memory.
Estimate how much time it takes to complete certain tasks
Try to analyze the tasks ahead of you and determine how long each task on your list will take, and write down the estimated time slots next to each item. Surely you have done something similar before, and you have experience - rely on this and be realistic about your capabilities. We are often very ambitious and think that we can quickly complete all tasks, but as a result, we end up burning out. Each person has their own internal rhythm and capacity to perform different jobs, so base your plan on your work style.
Leave buffer time slots for unforeseen situations
A typical mistake of many people who think that they plan their tasks well is to plan things one after another, leaving no gaps between them. This method can cause your schedule to collapse due to one small problem or delay that may not even be in your control. Therefore, it is important, after an estimated time slot for completing each task, to write down the additional buffer time slot that you may need to solve unforeseen situations.
Highlight the main tasks and activities
When your to-do schedule is ready, you will look at it and quite possibly realize that you simply will not have time to do everything in one day. Don't try to cut down on extra free time! Instead, prioritize and decide which things to keep on your schedule and which ones to move to another day. After all, if you take a closer look, you will understand that half of these tasks are not so urgent. All tasks can be divided into four categories:
- Important and urgent tasks. Do them first.
- Important but not urgent tasks. Do them if you have time.
- Urgent, but not as important as the ones you wrote above.
- Not urgent and unimportant. It's worth putting them aside.
Sum up your day
To track your performance, it is important to devote 10-20 minutes at the end to write down what you managed to do and what you didn't. You can calculate how much time it took you to complete certain tasks, and this will help you make your plans more correctly in the future.