Einstein created the theory of relativity of time and space. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work as we would like it to, that is: by giving us more time when we need it the most.
In fact, most of the best time management strategies are not very scientific.
They are intuitive, created from day to day operations.
Of course science can help. It can show us how to lessen anxiety and feel better with small achievements in order to complete a big goal, as well as other ideas.
But in this post, we’ve sought advice from someone who has to deal with the relativity of time and space every day, Amanda Alvernaz, Trello Marketing Manager.
Her challenge is twofold: in addition to time running at the same high speed as all of us, and in the opposite direction to tasks, she still needs to overcome space, as Trello’s remote work culture imposes certain particularities on time management strategies.
See also: Business process controls: Promote internal collaboration
Some of the best time management strategies
The best time management strategies should be based on a few simple rules:
- View the day’s activities early in the morning
- Define the degrees of importance for each of them
- Focus your energies on those that need you the most
- Learn to deal with frustration to avoid stress
- Respond more naturally to unforeseen events, they always happen
- Take time for personal development
A study by Duke Medical School adds another interesting point: you need completely quiet intervals every once in a while, not just to focus and relax a bit, but to give your brain time to develop new cells in the region responsible for memory.
With so many appointments scheduled every day, how do we still make time for absolute quiet breaks?
Let’s see what Amanda Alvernaz recommends, maybe her advice and time management strategies can help us in this quest for peace and productivity.
Productivity Tips and Time Management
According to Amanda, efficient time management is crucial for you to achieve a balance between work and personal life, especially when you work from home, as is her case.
At Trello, 60% of employees work remotely, from distinct locations, spread across North and South America, and Europe.
Therefore, the company has developed several strategies to better manage time in team and personal routines.
Let’s check out some of them:
A Shared Weekly Team Task List
Everyone on the team will do a checklist of tasks to be be done in the week by Trello teams and work groups.
This is a good time management strategy for three main reasons:
- It aligns everyone with tasks that can benefit from collaboration with other Trello teams.
- Everyone knows what each team member’s priorities are.
- It reduces the need to keep interrupting people about the progress of their tasks
“Knowing each other’s list also helps when we have to ask for last-minute help. This means we’ll be more respectful to each other because we can see how busy our co-workers are.” Emphasizes Amanda.
Time block
At Trello it’s customary for many in the company to set Tuesdays and Thursdays as days to get their hands dirty.
“I block my schedule so that I can’t have a meeting on these days. This gives me much more focus to accomplish the tasks that require energy and more complex reasoning.”
Perhaps Amanda takes advantage of some of these times for some moments of absolute silence, as recommended in the study that we quoted.
Track your time
Another tip from Amanda is to track the time that you are spending on a task to see if it pays off in the result you get.
If there is an excess of time spent for a non-equivalent return, Amanda suggests delegating the task or simply eliminating it from your day to day.
Manage Meeting Times
At Trello we perform all team meetings objectively with predefined amounts of time.
“At Trello we use a board to add cards in a list with everything we’ll discuss. As a rule we don’t let anyone add a new item during the meeting. This ensures everyone comes prepared and aware of what will be dealt with at the meeting.
We also choose a meeting leader to coordinate each item on the agenda. They push the discussions and ensure the meeting doesn’t exceed the preset time.”
Other famous time management strategies are GTD and Pomodoro.
Have you heard about these time management strategies?
Do you use any of these best time management strategies in your day to day life? Let us know in the comments.