A plan for using time well

29 Dec, 2013

READ IN ENGLISH BELOW | LEIA EM PORTUGUÊS AQUI

In the end of the year; we have that sensation or need to start planning new things has begun. Have you planned for 2014? Or are planning it now? If you are, we can give you a few tips for using your time productively. We will guide you towards a calm, balanced and realistic planning. The best way to start is by passing your thoughts on to paper, or better, onto your Ipad. The human memory is weak and we forget things easily. Write in order to fix things to a concrete place, whether it’s a piece of paper, a wall, on your bedroom door, in front of the mirror better still, put it in your diary so you can read it every day. By reading your plan everyday, without losing focus and putting into practice what you read, you will surprise yourself by how much you will achieve!

In our plan we rely on objectivity and attention. Baring in mind that everyone has different needs, and we all have our own rhythm.

Daily Plan

• Make time for everything in your daily plan: sleep time, time for eating, time for family, time for organizing, time for leisure and family, time for love, time for studying and reading, time for taking care of your health (eating well and exercise). Create a timetable that you can realistically follow.
• Work takes up the most time in our diary. On making your schedule, the aim is to set tasks and tick them off.  At the end of the day they will get done because you didn’t leave it for ‘tomorrow’. Well-organised work is less tiring and yields more.
• Bit by bit: make each activity, paying total attention to one thing at a time. Forget the rest, because it will make you anxious and another task might distract you from the actual task at hand. When this happens, remember what you need to do now, not in two hours. Live for now. Between the different tasks, don’t forget to take small pauses of about 10 minutes. Rise, stretch and don’t forget to eat.
• Social network: a good humanity has conquered. It has facilitated communication, however, it can be a terribly time consuming. Wasting time is not good business. Reserve a time for social networking, so that it doesn’t end up controlling your life, keeping you in control. Put limits on yourself because time is precious and nobody on your social network will help you construct and follow your plans, your dreams and your daily work. We can’t let a machine control our bodies and emotions. You are responsible for your life.

Weekly plan

• Project/studies/volunteering: you can include studying or an extra project in your week, 2 hours a day, it can be after work. But if that’s tricky, reserve time on a Saturday to put your studying or project into practice. After 4 Saturdays, following this plan for 4 hours, you will see your progress. Obviously, it can be more or less hours than that, the important thing is to follow the plan.
• Weekly break: Take at least one day of the week to relax. Have a moment of leisure for yourself, and a moment for your family. Don’t put work above your family because this can disrupt everything.
• Self-reflection: Great names and leaders of the world do self-analysis to understand their successes and mistakes. Benjamin Franklin, former president of the USA spent every Saturday for 5 years analyzing his decisions and stance on events from the week before.

We hope you stay focused and realistic while making your plan. Keep on putting it into practice and your 2014 will no doubt be a huge success!! Happy New Year!!!