Everything is a project and needs to be managed. But most of the time we take on too much and all we are left with are the shards of failed ideas. With a little discipline and our tips, defeats can be avoided.
The to-do list is long: studying for exams, preparing a presentation, organizing a birthday party, painting a room in a shared apartment, submitting a student loan application, posting vacation photos, finding a partner for life and finishing a hobby film project. Plus lectures, seminars and exercises, homework, reading lists, and then some sport. Every day has 24 hours. You are young and dynamic. No problem.
Phases of stress can be experienced as pleasant and successfully overcome due to the increased adrenaline. But stress as a permanent condition ruins you, you get less done, and the first burnout beckons in the distance.
1. Gain an honest overview
Get an honest overview: sort all your projects, study tasks, private projects and part-time work. Write a small note for each one. Then you create three piles: Projects, Everyday Life and Tasks.
All pieces of paper that meet five criteria end up in the project pile:
The project is one-off. The project has a target date and/or other clear resource limits. The goal to be achieved for the project is clearly defined. bThe project has a certain complexity or you are entering new territory for yourself. The project may also fail.
Everyday tasks return regularly: lectures, seminars, cleaning the apartment, studying. Learning is also part of it.
Tasks are 'small projects': less complex, less at risk of failure and hardly new territory for you. Newbies sort presentations onto the project stack, while those with experience sort them into the tasks.
2.Plan and prioritize
Compare the three stacks with the calendar: Allow a maximum of 14 hours per day, preferably just 12 - this leaves buffer for the unforeseen and private life. First, note down all your everyday tasks. These are usually determined by others and you cannot manage them flexibly yourself. Most of the time is quickly taken up. Then distribute the tasks so that you can meet each deadline. The remaining time quotas belong to the projects - and are far too short.
So you prioritize: Which projects are really super important, which are necessary and which would be nice but are actually dispensable? Various aspects come into play. Is external work or information necessary? Can the time required be realistically estimated? Is it a project determined by others, or can you decide everything yourself? How important is this project to you?
You only have three levers to adjust projects: time, resources, goal definition. More time always improves the chances of success. With more resources, you can delegate subtasks or buy parts. If you lack both, redefine the goal so that it is achievable. A project whose goal you achieve 95 percent of the time has still failed.
3.Bring the plan to life
The resulting plan gives you the basis to be able to rearrange things flexibly. You've got it all figured out, and the effects of every change are immediately visible and can no longer shock you. Thanks to prioritization, you only dedicate yourself to important projects. Above all, you can already see today what you will probably be able to do and what you won't - there will be no unpleasant surprises.
The true value of the plan only emerges in everyday life. Hang a bulletin board or blackboard in a stress-free place, for example in the kitchen or next to (!) the workplace. All the pieces of paper for the near future end up on this in the correct order. Write additional information on the pieces of paper, such as appointments or notes to yourself. You don't need to hang up everyday tasks because they are self-evident. If you don't have any learning or reading time in your everyday life, you can already prepare for reading or learning marathons.
You compare the board with reality every week. Make it your own ritual, for example every Monday at breakfast. Answer three questions:
1. What did I accomplish last week? = sense of achievement
2. What stopped or hindered me? = Learn from experience, become better
3. What am I doing this week? On which projects will I make how much progress? Which ones do I complete? = concrete plan
Sometimes this also results in a complete new plan. Make sure you have a good mix, otherwise you won't enjoy following the plan.
Only plan one week in detail at a time; You don't have control over longer periods of time anyway. For everything later, a rough plan is enough to get you in the mood. By the way, you should always get external work or information as early as possible. Otherwise your plan will depend too much on factors that you cannot influence.
4.More time & reliability
Nothing works as easily, flexibly and reliably as a board like this. Above all, you always have them in view when you need them.
About half an hour of real planning every week gives you unexpected freedom. You will quickly gain a realistic idea of what you can actually accomplish in what time. This allows you to make the leap from ad hoc planning and 'believing I can do it' to reliable forecasting and 'knowing what is actually possible'. You live less stress and – a surprising side effect – you have significantly more scope for spontaneous deviations from the plan.
Related articles:
Everything is a project and needs to be managed. But most of the time we take on too much and all we are left with are the shards of failed ideas. With a little discipline and our tips, defeats can be avoided. The to-do list is long: studying for exams, preparing a presentation, organizing a birthday party, painting a room in a shared apartment, submitting a student loan application, posting vacation photos, a partner for life
