Planning the working day of the chief engineer. Planning a manager's working day, principles of saving working time

From this article you will learn:

  • What are the reasons for working time shortages?
  • What rules should you follow when planning your working time during the day?
  • What methods are used when planning working time?
  • How to check the effectiveness of employee time planning

Time planning includes effective time management and technology for its rational use in order to achieve the goals of any organization and improve performance. IN modern world also called time management. Time is the most irreplaceable and valuable resource, so it must be used very rationally. You also need to work on your ability to plan your work time.

Why is scheduling your work time so important?

To say that time can be controlled is not entirely correct. Time cannot depend on any processes, does not denote a constant value, it cannot accelerate or slow down.

It is important to be able to use various tools for planning working time, regardless of the position of the employee in the enterprise. This is important to consider at all levels - from subordinates to superiors. Effective planning of working time directly affects labor productivity, and, consequently, the profit of the enterprise.

For each employee, effective planning of working time affects the completion of all planned tasks by the required deadline.

One of the indicators that must be taken into account in an organization is the working time fund. It determines the consumed working time resources and affects the number of working employees, and, consequently, the material costs of the organization.

When is working time planning necessary?

Deficit means a lack of something. When planning working time, this term refers to the lack of working time to complete a certain task by an individual employee or a structural unit and the organization as a whole.

As a result, this may lead to a delay in order completion, which may entail negative consequences. Most often, inept planning of working time is associated with the illiteracy of the head of the organization.

The reasons leading to lack of time are classified into three groups:

  1. Personal qualities of the boss.
  2. Leader's actions.
  3. Independent reasons.

Personal qualities of a boss, which lead to loss of working time and are associated with improper planning, are expressed as follows:

  1. Vanity, that is, unbalanced and nervous actions, the effectiveness of which is reduced to zero results.
  2. Systematic rush.
  3. Lack of rest due to delays at work or home improvements necessary to restore high performance.

If the boss acts illiterately and without planning working hours, the following signs of disorganization appear:

  1. Lack of motivation among staff.
  2. Destruction interpersonal communication In the organisation.
  3. Inability to organize things according to their level of importance.
  4. Failure to delegate some powers to subordinates.

From the point of view of working time planning, the reasons that do not depend on the will of the manager and lead to a shortage of working time for himself and all employees of the organization are:

  1. A long list of tasks, assignments, to-dos.
  2. Unscheduled actions.

In most cases, the above reasons do not appear separately. Usually one follows from the other.

Ultimately, a deadlock situation develops, which can be improved by effective planning of working time. You should also establish control over the implementation of planned activities and verification of spent working time.

Basic rules for planning working time during the day

Rules for planning working time at the beginning of the working day

  • From the very morning you need to tune in to a positive mood. You should try to start every day only with positive emotions, since the mood with which you begin to solve upcoming tasks is important for achieving results.
  • In the morning, you must replenish your energy and “recharge with nutrients,” that is, have breakfast and then go to work.
  • It is better to start work at the same time. Such systematicity day after day leads to self-discipline and helps mobilize your strength.
  • In the morning, you should double-check your plan for the day. To do this, you can use the ABC analysis method or the Eisenhower principle.
  • Tasks, instructions and affairs should be started immediately.
  • First of all, you need to solve the most important problems.
  • If you have an assistant manager or secretary, you need to coordinate the current plan for the day with them.

Rules for planning working time in the middle of the working day

  • Yours workplace must be prepared for productive work. You should remove documents and papers from your desktop that you do not yet need to perform important tasks.
  • It is necessary to set a specific deadline for completing each item of the daily plan.
  • You should refrain from performing actions that may cause a backlash.
  • You need to be able to eliminate additional emerging tasks.
  • A leader should not be impulsive.
  • You need to systematically take short breaks. In any work you need to provide breaks. Their regularity and duration should be individual. Short breaks should also be taken into account when planning working hours.
  • You should group small, similar tasks into groups and perform them in series.
  • It happens that some employees do not complete one task while starting another - they should first complete what they started. A chaotic transition in work from task to task, and sometimes doing several things at once, will not lead to a positive result.
  • Know how to use time intervals.
  • There should be an hour of rest during the day.
  • It is necessary to control the deadlines for completing tasks and monitor the drawn up work plan. When priority tasks change, make changes to the plan.

Rules for planning working time at the end of the working day

  • By the end of the working day, you need to finish all planned tasks. Failure to complete individual tasks leads to the risk of failure to complete the entire plan, and, as a result, to an accumulation of cases that, when “raked out,” will require additional work time.
  • You must monitor the implementation of the plan, control yourself. Compare the list of what you have planned with what you have completed. Figure out why you veered off course. This required condition productive activity.
  • After the analysis, you need to make a plan for the new day in the evening, and double-check it in the morning.

The influence of personal factors on working time planning

Planning your working time is also significantly influenced by how you set yourself up. You yourself can subconsciously interfere with effective planning of working time. What exactly might be stopping you:

  1. Uncertainty about your life purpose. Without striving for something, it is difficult to decide how and with what you will fill your life.
  2. You like the feeling of constant drive. Plan interesting things to do outside of work so that you will be motivated to finish your work day on time.
  3. The lack of any activity scares you. Do you try to occupy every minute of your working time, just so as not to be left alone with your thoughts? Better yet, solve your problems once and for all.
  4. You do not know how to refuse and are ready to take on any task. This will cause you to forget about personal life.
  5. You are afraid to fail. Ask yourself: “What bad thing could happen if I fail?” Keep in mind, failures help us move on.
  6. You fear that you will achieve success for which you are not yet ready. Are you thinking about what happens in your case? career growth, you will no longer be able to be with family and friends as often. Communicate more with people who have already achieved self-realization, get used to the feeling of success.
  7. You are not ready for change. Fear of change in life stems from fear of failure. This can be overcome by gradual, planned movement towards your goal.
  8. You are afraid of the ending - for individuals, the activity itself is more important than its result.

You need to remember that after solving one problem, you have the opportunity to take on a more interesting one.

The most common methods of scheduling work time

Pareto principle (ratio 80:20)

According to this principle, 20% of the effort leads to 80% of the result, and the remaining 80% of hard work produces only 20% of the result. For example:

The Pareto principle is also applicable in the work of a manager: an employee spends 20% of his working time to obtain 80% of the result, the remaining 80% of his working time produces only 20% of the total result. This means that when planning your working time, you need to remember that it is better to start your working day by solving the most important and complex tasks, and leave the “little things” for last.

Consistent application of the Pareto principle becomes real if you analyze all tasks according to their share of contribution to the final result and arrange them according to ABC categories.

The use of the Pareto principle becomes truly possible if all tasks are systematized according to their importance for achieving the result and arranged according to ABC categories.

ABC planning

The main purpose of ABC work time planning is to perform a sequential prioritization of tasks. ABC planning can be carried out in any field of activity. If we analyze the more important and less important matters in percentage terms, we will see that this ratio will be approximately the same. We start planning working time by dividing all tasks into three categories according to their importance. The letters A, B and C are used for this. This method of scheduling work time has become popular among managers due to the fact that it gives tangible results.

The ABC planning methodology is based on the following principles:

  • Category A includes the most significant tasks, which make up 15% of the total number of manager tasks. But these are really significant tasks, which make up 65% of the contribution to the implementation of the plan.
  • Category B includes simply significant tasks; they will account for an average of 20% of total number tasks and have 20% importance in the manager’s activities.
  • We include the least significant tasks in category C; they will account for 65% of the total number of tasks and have only 15% of the importance of the entire result of work.

According to this technique, you must first solve the most important tasks, then move on to slightly less important ones, and finally leave minor tasks that do not have much impact on the results of your work. This must be taken into account when planning working hours.

Eisenhower method

In order to correctly prioritize when planning your working time, you can use the Eisenhower method.

Ask yourself questions:

  • Am I in the habit of wasting my time at work, solving one urgent problem instead of another equally urgent one?
  • Is it not that many of the most significant tasks remain completely unsolved because of this habit of mine?

According to the principle proposed by the American General D. Eisenhower, the advantage of solving problems should be considered based on their significance and the allotted time.

All the things that need to be done can be divided into four groups:

  1. All the urgent and most significant tasks that need to be done as a matter of priority.
  2. Urgent, but not that important. The point is that since they are urgent, we want to be sure to solve them as quickly as if they were very important, applying the maximum of our energy. But if it is not that important, then it is better to postpone them or transfer their decision to someone else.
  3. Significant, but not so urgent. Due to the fact that this group matters are not urgent, they are postponed until later. But at one point they also become very important, but there is no longer any time to complete them. It's time to hand them over to someone else for careful execution. When you give an important task, it motivates and develops the staff.
  4. Non-urgent and unimportant tasks. Tasks from this group often take up a lot of space on your desktop. Many people, not understanding the essence of working time planning, carry out these tasks, despite the fact that they spend a lot of time on them. If they must be done, try to spend a minimum of your time on them.

Sometimes it may seem that 24 hours a day is sorely not enough to get everything done. A correctly drawn up daily routine will allow you to clearly plan your day so that there is still free time left.

What do you need to know if you don’t know how to create a daily routine?

There are four basic rules. First, plan your future day in the evening. It’s good to do this schematically and put the sheet in a visible place. This way you can save time. How to manage everything? Here is a sample daily routine:

  • 7.00 - rise.
  • 7.00-8.00 - morning exercises, hygiene procedures, breakfast.
  • 8.00-12.00 - work.
  • 12.00-13.00 - lunch, rest.
  • 13.00-17.00 - work
  • 17.00-19.00 - sports.
  • 19.00-20.00 - dinner.
  • 20.00-22.00 - personal time, family time the next day.
  • 22.00 - going to bed.

Secondly, plan only those tasks that you enjoy doing. If you do something you don't like, you will quickly get tired and begin to experience discomfort. Thirdly, set your priorities correctly. Get yourself a diary (dated) and write down things in order of importance. For example:

  1. Problems that require immediate solutions.
  2. Important, but not very urgent matters.
  3. Tasks that can be completed another day. A dated diary is necessary not only for setting goals, but also for various ideas that come to your mind. It is impossible to remember everything, but this method will allow you not to miss important thoughts.

Fourthly, find time to relax - this is a must. However, if there are still unfulfilled tasks, try to solve them on the day off, since tomorrow you will be back at work.

Time is money

Every business person knows how to make money. But how to manage time - only a few. There is even a special science - time management. It is taught by those who do not know how to create a daily routine so that time works for a person, and not vice versa. You need to start by analyzing and identifying holes into which useless time is leaking. It may only be ten to fifteen minutes. However, even these are important. They may not be enough to complete the tasks assigned for the day. The second thing you need to do is outline your goals: both short-term and long-term. It is clearly formulated desires that move a person towards their achievement. Otherwise, success will not come. After this, you can plan your time. There are seven very effective tips that will help you cope with the task:

  • The 70/30 principle. It is impossible to plan the whole day. Set aside 70% of your time and schedule tasks. Leave the remaining 30% for unforeseen circumstances and force majeure.
  • Today - for tomorrow. Don't be lazy in in writing make up the future. This will allow you to manage your time wisely and arrive at your scheduled meetings without being late. At the end of the business list, you can write praiseworthy phrases: “You did great! But don’t relax!” or “Keep it up! But there’s still a lot to do!” They will motivate you to solve your problems.
  • Remember that the main activity occurs in the morning, so try to plan most of your activities for the pre-lunch time. It becomes easier psychologically when you realize that half of the assigned tasks have already been completed, and there is still a whole day ahead. Then lunch time can be devoted to short rest and personal calls. And after the meal, hold a couple of not very important business negotiations or a small meeting.
  • Take breaks! Be sure to rest every hour for 10-15 minutes. This method will allow you to work more productively and not get tired ahead of time. In moments of relaxation, you don’t have to lie on the sofa or smoke in the toilet. Use this time profitably: do a warm-up, water the flowers, rearrange folders on the shelf, read the press or get some fresh air.
  • Be realistic about your capabilities. You will waste a lot of time and health on achieving unattainable goals. Set yourself tasks that you can definitely solve.
  • Always clean up your work area at the end of the working day. This will help save you a lot of time in the future and will allow you to put your thoughts in order. Always keep important things in the same place and within easy reach.
  • Get rid of those things that you don't need. A person is used to leaving things “for later”, in case they come in handy. Look around you, if you haven’t used something for several months, without a doubt throw it in the trash.

To plan your time, you can keep a diary, notepad or regular notebook. Write down goals and objectives, thoughts and ideas there. And be sure to create your daily routine. A successful person can be seen from afar!

Owl or lark: does it matter?

Scientists have long divided people into two categories, depending on the degree of their productivity in different time days. These are the last ones to wake up easily in the morning. In the early hours they are cheerful and active, but by the evening they are tired and cannot do important things. Owls, on the contrary, have difficulty waking up, and their maximum activity is achieved in the evening and at night. Obviously, when planning a daily routine, it is necessary to take into account the person’s psychotype. And, for example, important meetings for night owls should not be scheduled in the morning.

However, in the modern world, early risers have an easier time, since most of the work in the office or production begins early in the morning. Scientists are confident that any person, in principle, with a strong desire, can change their biorhythms. Each of us is capable of turning from a “night owl” into a “lark”. However, this will require willpower, patience and the ability to adhere to certain rules in achieving the goal.

The biological clock

Regardless of what biological type a person belongs to, he in any case obeys the basic laws of nature. And they say that at different times our body behaves differently. And in order to use time correctly, getting everything done, you need to know about it. The biological clock begins its work long before you wake up. It looks something like this:

  • 4 o'clock in the morning. The body is preparing to awaken, cortisone, a stress hormone, is released into the blood. This time is dangerous, as there is a high probability of heart attacks, exacerbation of chronic diseases, bronchial asthma, etc.
  • 5.00-6.00. Metabolism is activated, blood sugar and amino acid levels increase - the body “starts” the work of all systems.
  • 7.00. An excellent time for breakfast, as food is easily and quickly converted into energy.
  • 8.00. The daily peak of the pain threshold is reached. At this hour, toothaches intensify, the head hurts with particular force, and the bones ache. It is better to reschedule your appointment with the dentist until the afternoon, when the unpleasant syndromes will not be as pronounced.
  • 9.00-12.00. By this time, energy reaches its maximum, the brain works well, blood circulation increases - the optimal period for fruitful work: both mental and physical.
  • 12.00-13.00. Lunch time. The stomach digests food well, but brain activity is noticeably reduced. The body begins to require rest.
  • 14.00. Performance is still reduced. However this best time for dental treatment.
  • 15.00-17.00. Blood pressure rises again, mental processes are activated, and a peak in performance is observed.
  • 18.00. Optimal time for dinner so that the body has time to digest the food before bed.
  • 19.00-20.00. This watch is ideal for taking antibiotics. The nervous system is the most sensitive. The watch is intended for quiet family affairs or friendly gatherings.
  • 21.00. This period is suitable for memorizing a large amount of information, since the brain is tuned to memorization.
  • 22.00. A great time to fall asleep. The body is adjusted to restore strength and energy for the next day. If you fall asleep now, sound and healthy sleep provided for you.
  • 23.00-1.00. Metabolic activity decreases, pulse slows, breathing is even. Deep dream.
  • 2.00. At this time, you may feel cold, as the body becomes especially sensitive to lower temperatures.
  • 3.00. The hour when suicides most often occur. People have depressive thoughts. Better go to bed if you haven't already.

Plan your daily routine taking into account your biological clock. Then everything will work out for you!

The Jack Dorsey Experience

Jack Dorsey is a successful entrepreneur and founder of the social network Twitter. At the same time, he serves as director of the world-famous company Squer. How does he manage to combine work and leisure? It is likely that few people will like the daily routine of a businessman. But Jack's experience is truly impressive. He works 8 hours at each job, that is, 16 hours a day. However, only from Monday to Friday. He leaves the remaining two days for rest. Its success lies in the fact that it is thematic plan work for every day, which he strictly adheres to. At the same time, he performs the assigned tasks in both companies. A manager's working day looks something like this:

  1. On Monday he deals with administration and management.
  2. Tuesday is dedicated to manufactured products.
  3. On Wednesday, Jack is busy with marketing and public relations.
  4. Thursday is aimed at establishing and maintaining connections with business partners.
  5. On Friday, new employees are recruited and general organizational issues are resolved.

Of course, the daily routine successful person very reminiscent of a workaholic's schedule. However, he always finds time for walks fresh air and for relaxation.

Daily routine of a successful person. Example: Winston Churchill on working at home

Everyone understands that Winston Churchill, as head of the British government, had irregular working hours. However, despite everything, he managed to do everything and stick to his daily routine. You will be surprised, but waking up at half past eight in the morning, Winston was in no hurry to get out of bed: lying down, he read the latest press, had breakfast, sorted out his mail and even gave out the first instructions to his secretary. And only at eleven o’clock Churchill got up, went to wash, get dressed and went down to the garden to take a walk in the open air.

Lunch for the leader of the country was served at approximately one o'clock in the afternoon. All family members were invited to the feast. Within an hour, Winston could easily communicate with them and enjoy the company of loved ones. After such a pastime, he began his duties with renewed vigor. Not a single day of Winston Churchill's work passed without a long nap. And at eight o’clock the family and invited guests gathered again for dinner. After this, Winston closed himself in his office again and worked for several hours in a row. Thus, the head of the British government managed to combine work with personal communication with family and friends. And this certainly made him a person not only successful, but also happy.

Daily routine for working from home

The daily routine of a businessman working from home is extremely important. The nature of some people's work allows them to work remotely, without even leaving home. As a rule, such workers are not used to spending time planning their workday, although this would be very useful for them. Often they work at home without any routine: they sit at the computer until late at night, then wake up late in the afternoon, exhausted and lethargic. Such workers are unlikely to ever become successful. It's another matter if you stick to proper routine day, you can achieve success in your work. And also be happy in your personal life and at the same time maintain your health. Here's an example of how to create a daily routine:

  • You need to get up early, no later than 7 am. Take five minutes after waking up morning exercises, take a shower and have a hearty breakfast. After this, you should not immediately rush to work. Rest a little more, let your body wake up and get into a working mood.
  • You can work from 9 to 12. Do things that require mental stress, as at this time your memory is activated, your performance improves and your brain works better.
  • 12.00-14.00 - devote these two hours to preparing lunch, eating and afternoon rest.
  • Afterwards you can start working again, but no later than 18:00.
  • From 18 to 20 pm, devote yourself to those activities that bring you pleasure: walks in the fresh air, activities with children, reading fiction etc.
  • At 20.00 you can have dinner with the whole family and gather around the TV to watch an interesting film.
  • You need to go to bed no later than 22:00, because the next day you will have to get up early again.

As you can see, a total of 6-8 hours were devoted to the work. However, it is your daily routine that will allow you to perform it effectively and without compromising your health and personal life.

How to fall asleep quickly?

It is obvious that adequate and sound sleep affects our activity throughout the day. Therefore, it is important to go to bed on time and be able to fall asleep. Follow these tips:

  1. Read an interesting book before bed. This is much more useful than watching TV or searching for news on the Internet. While reading, the brain relaxes and it is easier for a person to fall asleep.
  2. Stop exercising a few hours before your desired sleep time. This is necessary so that blood pressure returns to normal, muscle activity decreases and the body is ready to rest.
  3. Walking in the fresh air will have a beneficial effect on the time it takes to fall asleep.
  4. Don't eat heavy food before bed.
  5. Before going to bed, ventilate the room thoroughly.
  6. Always wake up at the same time in the morning, even if you still want to take a nap.

It is obvious that a well-slept and well-rested person looks healthy. He is cheerful, cheerful and determined to solve assigned tasks productively during the working day.

A housewife is also a person

If it seems to you that a woman who sits at home with or without children does nothing, then you are deeply mistaken. In order to understand how busy a housewife’s every day is, you only need to be in her shoes once. Therefore, planning time is as important for her as the daily routine of a successful person. This will help you find at least a couple of hours for personal matters and not become a slave household. In order to systematize her work at least a little, a woman is asked to keep special records. The table below shows how planned activities should be ranked.

As you can see, you need to make a plan for important and not so important things for every day. They will be performed regardless of daily duties such as cooking, washing dishes, walking a pet, and so on. Cleaning the entire apartment every day, you quickly get tired of doing everything superficially. We suggest you pay attention to one room per day. However, this must be done carefully and responsibly. This way you will kill two birds with one stone - you will practically not have to do general cleaning and you will not get tired to the same extent as from cleaning the entire apartment as a whole.

Let small tasks include goals such as changing bed linens, replanting flowers, and more. Also try to complete your daily duties in chronological order. This way you will reduce the time it takes to solve them. For example, when you get up in the morning, first make your beds, and then start preparing breakfast. Wash dirty dishes immediately after eating, rather than saving them all day (unless you have a dishwasher).

Remember! You must have at least one day off. Don't plan anything big for Saturday and Sunday. Write down on your schedule the things you can do with your family. For example, going to the grocery store. Be sure to involve your household members in the work and do not hesitate to ask your husband for help. Fill out this table for the week ahead. Then you will learn to systematize your life and be able to find time for walks with friends, shopping for clothes and other pleasant things.

Work - time, fun - hour

It is impossible to work without a break. Even a business person needs to take at least one day off. We will show you how to spend it to the benefit of yourself and your family:

  1. A working person spends too much time in the office or study. Therefore, he simply needs forays into fresh air. A day off is the best time for this! Go with your friends for a picnic in the nearest forest. Pick berries or mushrooms. In the summer, be sure to go to the beach by the lake or sea. Take a boat trip on a catamaran or boat. Play beach volleyball or rent bicycles. Whatever you do, it will certainly benefit you.
  2. On weekends, the city often hosts various kinds of fairs, festivities, or just small themed parties in the park. There you can take part in competitions, enjoy the performances of actors, listen to live music, eat cotton candy or popcorn, meet old friends.
  3. The cinema is also a great excuse to relieve the stress of the past busy week. Choose a movie that will interest the whole family. And after the cinema, you can go to the nearest cafe and treat yourself to delicious pizza or ice cream.
  4. If you're unlucky with the weather over the weekend, you can stay home and play Board games. Or watch your favorite show. Reading interesting book will also bring a lot of pleasure.
  5. You can plan a shopping trip for the weekend. And to prevent it from looking too mundane, assign each family member to be responsible for a specific department in the retail facility. And order him to strictly adhere to the shopping list.
  6. Saturday and Sunday are wonderful times to receive guests. And, of course, don’t forget about your parents. They also need your attention and care.

If you are a business person, do not neglect rest. Be sure to plan your day off. This will allow you not only to maintain your nerves and health, but also to begin the next one with new strength and fresh thoughts. working week. Thus, in order to achieve the intended result, you need to learn how to manage your time. Your daily routine and how many tasks you have time to solve largely depend on how competently you can plan your time.

To do this, get yourself a diary and be sure to create a regime that you will strictly adhere to. Study the experiences of successful entrepreneurs and follow the advice that suits you. Determine your biorhythms and create a daily routine based on your capabilities. Set your priorities correctly, this will allow you to save energy and time on minor tasks. And don't forget about sleep and rest. This is an essential part of the daily routine of a successful person.

The famous German management specialist L. Seiwert developed certain rules for planning working time:

    Plan your working day by 60%, leaving 20% ​​for solving unforeseen problems and 20% for creative activities (for example, professional development).

2. Carefully document and control the consumption of time, which allows you to have a clear understanding of it, determining future needs for it and its correct distribution.

3. Differentiate the tasks of the upcoming period into long-, medium- and short-term ones, setting the priority of actions to solve them.

4. Always consistently finish what you start.

5.Make flexible plans.

6.Plan the actual volume of tasks, calculated in accordance with the capabilities of the team.

7. Use special forms and cards to plan time.

8. Transfer unfulfilled tasks automatically to the plans of the next period.

9. Reflect in plans not only the actions themselves, but also the expected results.

10. Set exact time standards and provide for this or that task exactly as much time as it really requires.

11. Implement the principle of self-discipline, establishing exact deadlines for the completion of all types of work.

12. Determine priorities in matters.

As practice shows, the main reasons for lost working time are: 1) lack of clarity in setting goals and determining priorities; 2) lack of planning of working time or its poor organization; 3) low level of discipline of subordinates; 4) weak leadership, inability to work with subordinates, partners, and visitors.

Planning working time is one of the main tasks of a manager, as well as planning the activities of the organization as a whole. In our country, managers have not yet learned how to do this and devote 4 times less time to this process than their American colleagues. As Western economists note, planning must begin with a clear statement of objectives. To do this, a list of tasks and possible obstacles is drawn up that will require special time to overcome. Analysis of this list in the future will allow you to adjust the plan and eliminate unimportant points. In addition, time planning allows management to critically think about their own ideas and find effective ways to solve them on time, creating a certain reserve of time. Planning allows the manager to concentrate on the main thing, taking into account the deadlines and time for solving the main tasks. As a result of planning, the structure of the working day improves and the possibility of creating a schedule arises.

The plan provides for solving existing problems in rational order . First of all, work with a fixed deadline or the most labor-intensive, time-consuming work is planned. It is undesirable to put off unpleasant things; it is better to do them before others. Next, routine work and daily duties are planned. The last items in the plan are minor and occasional tasks that do not require much time (reading current correspondence, walking around workplaces). The main thing is that during the planning process an exact completion date is set.

But it happens that the upcoming planned amount of work cannot be completed at the specified time and then it is necessary to postpone it to a later date.

Careful documentation of time and monitoring of its use is a prerequisite for planning. There are several types of time use plans: long-term, medium-term and short-term.

By using long-term plans The structure of the time required to implement major life goals, designed for many years, sometimes decades, is determined. This could be work related to obtaining an education, promotion, etc. Medium term plans- annual, in which time is allocated to solve large specific production tasks.

Short term - include a breakdown of time for solving problems that specify medium- and long-term plans. These include: quarterly, monthly, ten-day, weekly and daily . Starting with monthly plans, time is calculated in hours. Among short-term plans, the most important is the daily plan. It includes no more than a dozen problems, among which a third are the main ones, carried out in the first place. These things, as well as the most unpleasant ones, are usually planned for the first half of the day (in the morning). This allows them to be completed by evening. In the daily plan, similar tasks are grouped into a block, which significantly saves time and allows you to avoid jumping from one task to another.

Breaks are also taken into account in the daily plan. They are determined based on the person’s performance and the time that has passed since the start of the working day. Fatigue increases with increasing time from the start of the working day; naturally, this reduces the productivity of a manager or specialist.

In the modern world, when developing daily plans, we take into account peculiaritiesindividual biorhythms . It is necessary to plan the working day so that the most difficult hours fall during the “peak performance”. This “peak” for “larks” is in the morning hours, “pigeons” are most active in the middle of the working day, and “owls” are most active in the evening.

Knowledge of all planning techniques and methods allows you to correctly distribute tasks depending on their complexity, difficulty, responsibility, tension within the working day and optimally alternate them.

The best option for recording a daily plan is to present it in writing. This does not allow you to ignore the tasks included in it, unloads your memory, disciplines you, and makes your work more focused. It is also easier to analyze the implementation of the plan using records.

The development (drawing up) of the plan takes place the night before in several stages: tasks are formulated (transferred from the monthly or ten-day plan, transferred from the previous day’s plan, unresolved to date), the required working hours to solve them are determined, “windows” are left in case of need solve urgent problems, plan 5-10-minute breaks after every hour of work, and highlight priority tasks.

The manager's work plan is clarified in the morning together with the secretary, taking into account new circumstances that suddenly arise. In general, the daily plan should be flexible, at the same time it should clearly adhere to the regulations related to inviting people (visitors, holding meetings, etc.).

Brief conclusions on the topic

Working time is the most important factor of production, the careful use of which can have a huge effect. But this attitude to working time is based on a deep study of the structure of its costs and the identification of unused reserves.

Analysis of working time costs is carried out using timekeeping and photographs of working time, which are often called time diagnostics, which makes it possible to identify significant losses and identify ways to improve its use.

A big role in improving the use of working time is given to its planning, which is one of the main tasks of a manager. It is the planning of working time that allows the manager to concentrate on the main thing, taking into account the deadlines and time for solving the main tasks.

Standardizing and planning the working time of performers and managers significantly increases the efficiency of its use and has the best effect on the final results of the departments.

Planning work time is not just a set beautiful words, but a knowledge system that can bring benefits both at the individual level and across the entire enterprise.

You will learn:

  • What does rational planning of working time at an enterprise provide?
  • What methods of working time planning exist.
  • What are the rules for effective planning of working time?

It is no secret that the effectiveness of an organization is not least influenced by the return on the daily work of management personnel. Lack of modern techniques and methods of work, refusal to improve the worker individual style the leader and his subordinates lead to the fact that difficulties in organizing the work of such a team become an axiom.

Components that determine how ready a leader is to successful activities, are quite simple. These are his skills, abilities, professional knowledge and, of course, personal qualities. Nevertheless, one should not discount the analysis of cause-and-effect factors that cause problems and difficulties, as well as the desire to overcome them and improve the quality of one’s work. This is where it comes to the rescue rational use the manager of working time, in other words, its planning. After all, it is designed to eliminate defects in the daily work process.

The effectiveness of working time planning is based on activity goals depending on their duration: short-term and long-term. Such a management basis does not require additional effort, since all designated actions and activities received their deadlines during the organization process.

The goals set by the manager have two functions: to determine the actions necessary for their implementation and to stimulate their implementation. When a leader sets a clear task for himself, his actions become conscious in its implementation. Goal setting is a kind of driving force that charges the actor with energy until the very achievement of the result.

In order for planning the balance of working time to be as effective as possible, the manager needs to resort to the tactics of “planning periods” (they can be different time periods: a year, a month, a week, a day). The peculiarity lies in the individuality of each such range, which implies the creation of separate plans that would reflect the corresponding time period.

Thus, the main positive emphasis of proper planning of free time is the gain of time itself. The manager will be able to effectively and efficiently achieve the described work goals, while spending as little time as possible. In the organisation individual work The role of planning can hardly be overestimated: after all, it helps to prepare for the achievement of set goals and structure the time allotted for work.

How to delegate tasks to save 25% of your working time: checklist

To cope with a huge flow of information and develop a business, it is important to manage time rationally and not waste energy on routine matters. To do this, you need to correctly delegate tasks to subordinates and monitor their implementation.

Using the checklist prepared by the editors of the Commercial Director magazine, check whether you are managing your working time correctly or making mistakes in delegating tasks and staying late at work.

Working time planning methods

Pareto principle

Wilfred Pareto (1848–1923) formulated the principle that, within a given group, the objective importance of some small part will be significantly greater than its relative weight within that group. Pareto used the 80/20 formula in his model, which began to be used everywhere.

  • From 20% of goods sold you can get 80% of the profit.
  • The 80% of remaining products will only generate 20% of the profit.
  • 20% of mistakes cause 80% of losses.
  • 80% of other mistakes cause 20% of losses.

Fans of working time planning have not bypassed this principle either. If we project it onto the work of a manager, the result will be as follows: to achieve 80% of the results, you need to spend only 20% of your working time. The rest of the time spent brings only 20% of the total result.

In the language of the labor process, this would mean that easy and enjoyable work, which requires a minimum of effort but a decent amount of working time, should not be a priority. It is necessary to start activities with maximum consideration of the importance of each task. Vital issues should come first when planning work.

To fully implement the Pareto principle in matters of rational planning and accounting of working time, it is necessary to analyze all tasks in terms of the percentage of their contribution to the overall result, and also distribute them into ABC categories.

ABC planning

ABC analysis is based on experience demonstrating that the proportions of cases of higher and lower importance are often approximately equal. The letters A, B and C are used to distribute the importance of tasks regarding the implementation of goals into three classes. This principle has caught the fancy of many managers.

You can also use this analysis in planning the use of your working time. The main thing is to remember that you need to distribute working time in relation to the importance of tasks, and not their labor intensity and weight in in general terms activities.

ABC analysis is based on experience based on three pillars.

  • Category A tasks (the most important) receive 15% of the manager’s total tasks. Despite their low relative weight in planning, they contribute 65% to achieving goals.
  • Tasks of category B (important) make up approximately 20% of the total task indicator, and their importance is also rated at 20%.
  • Category C tasks (as the least important): they are allocated about 65% of the total figure, but their importance is negligible - only 15% of the relative weight.

Accordingly, when planning working time, ABC analysis focuses its attention on the initial completion of tasks from category A, since the lion's share of the final efficiency work activity They are the ones who bring it. Next in order are questions from group B, the contribution of which to the final result should also not be neglected. And finally, you can decide what to do with the remaining tasks of category C: include them in planning your working time or delegate them.

The Eisenhower Principle in Time Planning

The Eisenhower Matrix (priorities) has earned widespread recognition as a tool for planning personal and work time.

It consists of four fields (quadrants), where each of them corresponds to a specific category of tasks. Categories are based on two principles: importance and urgency. Their relationship is best illustrated in the figure below.

Quadrants are filled in only if the cases entered into them correspond to a specific field. To fully understand how this matrix works, you need to identify the tasks that correspond to each quadrant. It is worth remembering that the matrix will only be effective for tasks throughout the day or other short period of time.

  1. Quadrant 1: Important and Urgent

The heart of the Eisenhower matrix is ​​precisely the first quadrant, since it contains main secret- it is left empty. This will indicate that the person has the skill of effectively planning working time to achieve goals.

The presence of cases vying for the first quadrant indicates constant rush jobs in the life and work of such a person. Consequently, a person is not accustomed to the distribution of his affairs and responsibilities, but instead puts off everything he can until last moment. And, when deadlines are pressing, he gets to work.

Of course, it is best to prevent possible situations, if you think about everything in advance. After all, there is a well-known principle according to which it is always more difficult to eliminate consequences than to foresee all possible troubles. If such tasks can be done by other people, they should be transferred.

  1. Quadrant 2: Important and non-urgent

In planning his work time, Eisenhower identified the tasks from the second quadrant as the most important tasks. If a performer consistently completes a task placed in a given quadrant in a timely manner, then he can afford to spend as much time on it as necessary. He will not be haunted by vanity, haste and various negative consequences. It's a lot like going to the doctor: how a preventative eye exam will prevent more serious problems with vision, and the right time to work on the report will allow you to avoid urgent night overtime.

Planning and recording of working time within the second quadrant is done in such a way as to achieve the employee’s personal goals.

And although the sword of Damocles in the form of urgency of work does not hang over workers, which allows them to focus on the quality of work, we should not forget that there are still deadlines, and they need to be monitored, since failure to complete a task in the second quadrant automatically transfers it to the first. And this outcome is fraught with consequences for planning personal time.

  1. Quadrant 3: Urgent and Unimportant

The type of cases corresponding to the third quadrant does not allow you to concentrate on more important matters due to its urgency. And such matters are easy to confuse with matters from the first quadrant. However, it is worth drawing a line between urgent and important, since these concepts are not synonymous. There is a simple way to make this determination: you need to ask yourself whether this or that task brings you closer to achieving a given goal. Typically, cases from the third quadrant receive a negative answer.

Most often, everyday issues are included in this quadrant: dry cleaning clothes at the end of the season, helping neighbors with an urgent matter, unimportant meetings and negotiations. There is another example - computer repair, but here you should be extremely careful: if this equipment is needed for work, then its repair will become a task of paramount importance (that is, the first quadrant), and if it is used only for entertainment, then the place for this problem is in the third quadrant.

The affairs of this quadrant not only do not fit into the planning of working time, but even distract from the main goals and take away valuable time. It is best not to pay attention to them, if possible. How can you determine the importance of a task for yourself? Very simple. The question you should ask yourself is: “What will happen if I don’t do this?”

  1. Quadrant 4: Unimportant and not urgent

This category includes matters of our everyday life that have nothing to do with work: social networks, forums, surfing the Internet, computer games, watching TV series. Yes, such activities are definitely enjoyable, but they are not required.

In general, this activity significantly reduces the productivity of the working day; Eisenhower called activities in this category “personal time wasters.”

Take, for example, a series lasting 200 hours - in recalculation, you get a whole week of wasted time, which could have been used with much greater benefit.

Therefore, it is necessary to identify your personal eaters and strive for strict control over them by planning not only working, but also personal time.

There are also routine tasks in this quadrant, which for many are not so pleasant: for example, washing dishes, cleaning, cooking. Here, too, it is worth seeking a compromise with those people with whom you live in the same house, in order to plan an even load.

Healthy indifference: instructions for those who do not believe in time management

The instructions, which were prepared by the editors of the “Commercial Director” magazine, will tell you how to find harmony in life even in hopeless situations, explain which attitudes imposed by society and the media you urgently need to get rid of, and tell you what to do if you don’t even have enough time for a day to get the job done.

Working time planning table

Let's give a simple example in table form.

Tuesday

Subtask

A comment

Check your to-do list

Commute to work

Phone calls

Get the numbers of two contacts from your work email

Writing an article

Materials Analysis

Writing an article

Translation additional materials With foreign language and basic text typing

Don’t forget to provide footnotes to sources and correct hyphens on dashes

Going to the editor

Meeting

Wednesday

This example clearly demonstrates the principle of constructing work plans. If necessary, tables can be deeper, with more space for notes. It doesn’t matter what program will be used to implement, say, individual planning the working time of a manager/specialist. Table - The tool is universal, it can be drawn even on plain paper. What is really important is to be able to adapt it to yourself, your tasks and goals, and determine for what time intervals it will be used: by day, week, month.

How the working time fund is planned

The initial planning stage consists of analyzing the initial parameters of the system - the presence of activity to improve the working time fund (WF) and its directions. This is followed by an answer to the questions: who is responsible for this activity (specialists, services) and its planning? To what extent are working hours taken into account? Is work time spent monitored? Are the reserves of the Federal Reserve Bank disclosed? Are measures taken to reduce the loss of working time at the planning stage? What methods are used for this?

The next stage is the analysis of the use of the PDF. Within its framework, the dynamics of workers' output is studied (time-bound - hourly, daily, annual) and the factors influencing it are identified; analyze the state of the FRF and identify unused opportunities to reduce individual species no-shows; study observation data on the operation of the working time fund, etc. More information about methods for analyzing the use of the working time fund can be found in educational and methodological literature.

The information base for the analysis of the FRF consists of data from statistical and timesheets of working time; summary of primary accounting (sheet about downtime, overtime, elimination of defects); self-photographs and photographs of working hours; data from surveys and questionnaires.

The analysis examines the application of the entire PDF and its components- full-day and intra-shift funds within various levels of the enterprise ( structural divisions, enterprises in general, professions and groups). This approach makes it possible to identify bottlenecks that should be addressed first. The result of the analysis is an assessment of the reserves for improving the use of the FRF and, accordingly, increasing the efficiency of working time planning.

The results obtained are used to plan useful working time. This event includes preparing a planned balance sheet budget, comparing its components with enterprise standards, as well as saving working time on unproductive costs. Methods for distributing the balance of working time have received adequate coverage in educational materials and manuals.

Planning and analysis of working time have acquired specific features in a market economy. For example, compulsory administrative leaves are beneficial for an enterprise in terms of its costs. Part-time workers have lost their reserve status.

In planning the Federal Reserve, a differentiated approach for permanent employees with full time, temporary workers; in part-time modes.

In order to most effectively organize and plan working time, the enterprise carries out special measures: socio-economic, organizational, technical and therapeutic and preventive. They are reflected in various organizational and technical plans, planning for improving working conditions, etc. The involvement of external participants should be discussed with local authorities and only then included in activity planning. Any event must be resource-based.

How to plan your working time correctly

Rule 1. Get up at the same time

This initial stage of any planning is very disciplined and promotes a surge of strength.

Rule 2. Positive mood at the beginning of the day

Work on your mood every morning, because it greatly influences the solution of tasks to achieve your goals. To do this, you can ask yourself three questions:

  • How will “today” bring me closer to success?
  • What should I do to make today as much joy as possible?
  • What should you do on this day to maintain your health?

Answering these questions and creating positive motivation often takes less than two minutes. Give them to yourself before starting your regular morning activities.

Rule 3. Start the day right

The key to a harmonious morning is strong night sleep And good breakfast. But many sacrifice them, using the excuse of lack of time. However, both missions only require prioritization during the planning phase of the daily routine - essentially, you just need to allocate your time so that you go to bed early.

Rule 4: Consider factors such as fatigue when planning your work day

Many people feel that their work productivity changes all day like a sine wave. This does not depend on daily biorhythms - on whether you are a “lark” or a “night owl”. It is worth finding out your personal periods of increased activity and placing the most important things in your activity planning for this daily interval. It is better to devote afternoon time to daily routine work that is not particularly important.

Rule 5. Take breaks on time

One of the basic rules for planning working time is a short rest, since it allows the body to regain strength and regain attention for work. Be sure to take short breaks from work; set the duration and frequency yourself. Remember to be regular.

Rule 6. Finish what you start

Try not to jump around in your work and finish the job you started. logical conclusion. Don't get distracted by smaller things, because they steal working time. Remember that each time you return to something you have already started, you will have to repeat old actions, and this will affect the balance of planning your personal activity.

Rule 7. Find useful application free time

Strive to fill all unaccounted gaps in your schedule (waiting in line, uninformative meetings) with useful activities. Determine its essence yourself by asking yourself the question: “How can I fill these minutes to get the maximum benefit?”

Rule 8. Stick to the 70/30 principle

You only need to record 70% of your working time in your diary. Otherwise, even if you schedule your workday 100%, you will not receive guarantees that all tasks will be completed, and even more: many actions will not coincide with the schedule. The purpose of planning working time according to this principle is to preserve nervous system from overload, preventing you from feeling like a machine and being confined to a rigid framework.

Rule 9. In the evening, make a plan for tomorrow

Plan your tasks for tomorrow at the end of today and do it in the form of a written list - this way you won’t miss anything. It is better to establish the importance of tasks in advance and distribute them into columns. This will make it possible to focus attention on the necessary tasks, and less significant ones can be moved in the event of force majeure.

Rule 10. Find time for rest in every hour

An immutable rule for everyone. The more often you can find time to relax, the more productive you will be at work later. During this period, you can clean up your workplace or home, wash the dishes, read a magazine or book, take a walk in the fresh air, and help others. If you cannot do this spontaneously, subject these actions to planning.

Rule 11. Be realistic about your capabilities.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with a huge amount of work, thinking that you can handle any mountain. Take a sober approach to assessing your own strengths and take better what you are guaranteed to cope with in a day/week/month; such planning of working time will be more effective.

Rule 12. After using an item, return it to its place

This approach to items on the table and in the office helps save time in the future. Make it a rule, after using an item, to return it to where you took it. Set specific places for different types things - a folder for papers, a pencil case, a desk drawer or a box for receipts.

Rule 13. Be active and healthy image life

It would seem, why does an office worker need sports, yoga, fitness, proper nutrition, and gymnastics? Then, a healthy body and good well-being best set the mood for positive energy and readiness for highly productive work activity, especially after its high-quality planning.

Rule 14. Do what brings you pleasure

The best way to self-organize in planning and implementing professional activities is to feel a sense of satisfaction and love for your work. Its advantage is that motivation does not have to be pulled out with pincers; it comes on its own and in large quantities.

Planning and organizing the manager’s working time

Tip 1. Review your plans for the day

To do this, you can use ABC analysis or the Eisenhower matrix. Even ten minutes of preparation for the workday can save up to two hours a day. Use them wisely.

Tip 2. Formation of blocks of similar cases

A constantly distracted person needs much more time to work than a focused and enthusiastic person. This occurs due to the need for another “take-off” and “immersion”, that is, a return to work activity. Blocks of tasks of the same type will help save working time: they are easier to fix at the stage of activity planning.

Tip 3. Give yourself personal time at work

Often visitors, subordinates or clients over the phone distract you from your direct duties. All of them create strong interference when performing really important tasks and disrupt the balance of working time. In this regard, it is impossible to be available to everyone throughout the entire working day- both in your office and over the phone. In the process of planning working time, masters of their craft organize periods for themselves when no one will disturb them. You can also use their tools, for example, set visiting hours, use an answering machine.

Tip 4: Allow limited time for each work task

The duration of a certain type of work is directly dependent on the time available. Even the smallest task is subject to planning: learn to devote exactly as much time to a task as it takes to complete it. For example, business meeting there is no need to delay, you need to discuss all the issues of interest as much as possible, but no more than an hour. This can be done using strict time frames and regulations. Be guided simple rule: “Time is money,” value and save it.

Tip 5: Use delegation

No time-respecting person should perform all tasks on their own. This approach has already been described in the principles and rules of working time planning: everything that can be delegated to other people (65% of tasks that consume time and effort, but do not bring significant results) should be delegated to them. This applies not only to the help of employees, but also to the use of help from third-party agencies, organizations, and consulting firms.

Tip 6. Break large tasks into components

People tend to shirk large or voluminous tasks and delay their completion in every possible way because the result seems too far away to them. This fact indicates poor personal time planning skills, but it can be circumvented. Almost everyone likes things that give the fastest results. Albert Einstein noticed this with the example of chopping wood. You can do the same thing with long-term goals and large projects: divide them into small tasks, plan them, and then methodically complete them over a certain period of time (for example, two hours a day). After, say, a week, the first results will appear - the goal of the first part of the project will be achieved (according to planning), this will give strength and motivation to continue working in this direction.

Tip 7. Give yourself personal deadlines for priority tasks

When you know in advance exactly what tasks will be a priority for the current month, you can mark them on the work calendar and consider them in your personal planning of tasks on a par with the same negotiations/meetings. Thus, when the need arises to schedule another event or action for this date, it will already be “booked,” which will once again remind you of the objective significance of the task at hand. This advice is of particular value in the matter of planning work activities.

Tip 8. Organize your workplace correctly

First of all, this concerns the order on the desktop. Only those documents that are necessary to complete tasks of category A should be left on it. This action has a psychological background: order on the table helps order in thoughts, and extra papers take up time.

Tip 9. Try not to let others burden you with additional responsibilities.

Managers often become interested in and engage in new activities, expanding their areas of competence. By coming out of personal interest to negotiations that an employee does not usually attend, he may end up in working groups or receive additional tasks that are not included in his plan and will ultimately become a burden on the main work and its planning. It is best to double-check all your actions to see if they are necessary within the scope of your position, thereby improving your work time planning skills.

Tip 10. Assess how important and urgent the things they suddenly want to involve you in are truly important and urgent.

Force majeure and other urgent matters are a common occurrence for any firm or enterprise, even if they strive to operate within the framework of strict planning. To solve them, all available resources are mobilized. If you agree to help in this situation, remember that it will take time away from important tasks in your schedule, so always weigh whether it's worth sacrificing.

Tip 11. Don’t act on impulse - make only informed decisions

Sometimes certain decisions are made as a result of an impulse, an uncontrollable impulse. But this provokes deviations in the schedule and interferes with the effective planning of working time to achieve the goal. If you feel a momentary urge to do something (for example, make a call), think carefully and weigh whether it is really worth carrying out your plan.

Tip 12. Set your priorities correctly

In a large flow of things - conferences, meetings, calls, texts - it can be very difficult to navigate, and when you take on everything at once or grab parts from different ends, you end up getting very little done. Here it is useful to remember such a method of planning time as a priority matrix, and start activities by completing clearly defined and clearly significant tasks, gradually moving towards less important ones.

Planning the working hours of the manager's secretary

The main responsibility and purpose of planning the secretary's individual working time is to relieve the boss as much as possible and help him distribute his time. It is his responsibility to increase the efficiency of using all possible hours and minutes for work activity. This means that the tasks and planning of the activities of the manager and secretary are interdependent.

First of all, the secretary helps in organizational, preparatory and managerial types of work, freeing up space for creativity for the boss. For this purpose, the assistant needs to know the daily routine of the higher level, the schedule of his tasks for all possible periods - day/month/quarter. Effective planning The secretary’s working time depends on the schedule of his immediate supervisor, since he is involved in preparing all meetings, negotiations and other matters (receiving visitors, processing documents) that are on the boss’s schedule. A key role in planning is played by the hierarchy of tasks according to their value and importance.

In addition, the duties of the secretary also include other work that does not depend on the boss’s daily routine (and is reflected in the planning of work activity): checking mail and responding to correspondence, document flow, control card file, etc. The assistant's time planning skills must be excellent. The starting points of his schedule are always repetitive actions, for example:

  • prepare the manager’s workplace;
  • tidy up your own workplace;
  • process all types of incoming letters;
  • view the control card;
  • provide management with a summary of the state of affairs and clarify the schedule for the current day.

Let's look at a simple example of planning working time in relation to the manager's schedule. The secretary's action program will look something like this. When the boss’s plans include a meeting at 11:00, then the assistant’s plan for 10:30 will include its organization with all the ensuing actions: reminders, photocopying of materials, cleaning the conference room, taking minutes. If at 14:00 the manager scheduled negotiations outside the office, then the secretary’s schedule will include items about calling a car and collecting documents. The list of work also indicates with whom and at what time the boss needs to be connected for a telephone conversation, which documentation needs to be corrected and which one needs to be filled out from scratch, etc.

The best option is to determine, together with your boss, a constant time interval for daily activities: signing documentation, receiving visitors. This will improve the work and help plan the working time of both the specialist and his assistant. When developing a work schedule, you also need to leave a decent reserve in case of sudden urgent and important assignments, phone calls and other emergency situations.

The secretary devotes the end of the working day to sending outgoing correspondence, and also plans events for tomorrow.

When the working day is over, and the manager is late in the office, the assistant can go home only if there is an appropriate agreement between them and he provides the boss with all the necessary data.

Before leaving the premises, the secretary removes all documents, closes cabinets and safes, turns off electronic equipment (this does not apply to the telephone, modem, fax), and puts the workplace in order.

Manager's working time planning

The essence of planning is preparation for the implementation of goals and regulation of working hours. The principles of planning a manager’s working time are not particularly different from general principles regulation labor activity. Rational use of your time resources involves understanding your functions, goals, objectives and time budget.

In the process of organizing a specialist’s working time, widely known planning techniques are used. The manager must follow these rules:

  • 60% of the daily work plan is allocated to planned work;
  • 20% of the time - for unforeseen actions;
  • The last 20% is best left for spontaneously arising tasks.

"Flat" organizational structures used in small enterprises to solve complex problems under conditions of significant uncertainty. Such units are characterized by the following disadvantages: excessive workload of managers, difficulty in controlling the actions of a large number of people, as well as difficulties associated with coordinating the work of units.

The time spent (especially if it is not noted at the planning stage) must be recorded with a mandatory indication of what and how it was used. This contributes to the fact that, having received full picture spending his working time, the manager will be able to more effectively organize its planning in the future; In order to develop a quality plan, tasks will be divided into short-, medium- and long-term.

Regularity, systematicity and consistency should be positioned as the basic principles of planning. It is necessary to follow one of the important principles of activity planning - the reality of goals: take on as many responsibilities as you can handle.

The rational use of a manager’s working time is based on his long-term plan. This is a multi-year system, taking into account which annual and quarterly plans are created. The latter can be coordinated with the annual and be divided into monthly periods. The daily and weekly plans fully comply with them and at the same time most accurately reflect the use of the manager’s working time. Planning work activities at the level of one day is an important step in the overall planning of a manager’s work activities; it is subject to constant monitoring and adjustment depending on the situation.

25 .07 .2016




– What did I want to get?
– What did I get?
- How did I get this?

I wish you success!

Elena Alexandrova,

You will be interested in trainings:

As a result, you will organize your tasks and goals, learn to plan effectively, prioritize, etc. From the training you will take away goals and plans for at least 10 years, the next year, 3 months and the next day. Those. You will begin to plan and manage time already during the training, and all you will need later to achieve your goals and get results is to use simple and practical planning technology in life.

As a result, each manager will leave the training with an up-to-date work plan for each day, which will allow achieve strategic goals company to his entire team. You will gain an understanding of what really creates responsibility, motivates and inspires people. Learn manage changes in work and life through planning.

How to properly plan a manager's working day Elena Alexandrova

How to plan your working day in such a way as to get as much done as possible and achieve maximum results? This question is most often asked by managers, because their main task is to ensure results.

How to plan your working day in such a way as to get as much done as possible and achieve maximum results? This question is most often asked by managers, because their main task is to ensure results. And although ordinary employees also often have a lot of work, they do what they are told. But a manager thinks differently - he sets tasks for himself, and there are always many of them, because he would never lead his department, company, business if he were indifferent to what is happening around him. Therefore, many managers try to hold an important meeting themselves, monitor the implementation of assigned tasks themselves, write business letters themselves, etc., etc. So it turns out that it is the managers who often do not have enough time to solve even the most important tasks.

In this article, I will tell you how a manager can plan his day so that the workload is acceptable, so that he does not forget about himself in the turmoil, and, finally, so that the results of even the most ordinary working day are pleasing. And this is done simply.

Step 1: Start by writing down everything you need to accomplish today.

Write with results - it’s shorter, it’s easier to concentrate on the task and there are no restrictions on how to complete it. Write not only work tasks - everything is worth planning.

Step 2. Enter the completion time for each task.

If you know the exact time of the meeting or call, write the period, for example 12:00–14:00. If the task does not take or should not take more than an hour, write only the start time, for example 11:00. If the exact time is unknown, think and write down how much it will take for each of the tasks, and write it down - 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.

This is a very useful setup for three reasons. The first is that you consciously limit the time frame and gradually learn to spend no more on a task than you planned. Secondly, you will be able to correctly estimate the time spent on different tasks. After all, we often consider the most important task to be the most time-consuming, but this is not always the case. For example, even the most important phone call will last between five and thirty minutes. And the third reason is that if you roughly estimate the time you need to complete all the tasks written down, I think you will not be very surprised by the fact that two or three days may not be enough to do everything. In general, we often deceive ourselves by planning in our minds or on paper a myriad of tasks that we want to complete in one day. Therefore, right now, honestly admit that it is impossible to do everything. And start consciously giving up what is not the main, important, priority.

Step 3. Now prioritize according to the ABC principle:

A – tasks that are very important, they need to be completed today, and only I can do this;
B – tasks that are very important, they need to be completed today, but someone else can do it. Delegate such tasks and immediately write down the name of the person responsible for implementation next to them;
C - a task that can wait (it is advisable to immediately select a time for it when you will perform it on another day), or this is not your task, or this is a task that you can immediately refuse.

Step 4. From all type A tasks, select five, maximum seven.

Choose them based on the principle: “If I complete these five tasks, I will still consider the day worth living, and I will be proud of the results.” It helps a lot not to get scattered. You can complete five tasks in a day, and if you have correctly identified your priorities, then these tasks will give maximum results.

It is very useful to have the time indicated in the lines - then those very important five tasks are very easy to “draw” with double-edged arrows of the “Gantt chart”, as shown in the figure. Then you will see whether your tasks overlap and whether you have enough time to complete everything planned.
This method is also good because it allows you to allocate time for force majeure, which is not uncommon in the work of a manager. Builders even have a saying: “Multiply the budget by two, and the deadlines by three, and you will get real numbers.”

Step 5. You need to build in time for unforeseen circumstances between the task arrows of the Gantt chart.

This way you will have free time to have a snack, think, prepare, finish, check, get there without delays and do a bunch of other small things that are not included in the five priority tasks of type A.

The listed five steps of planning a working day are the basis. But there are many to it little secrets. You should spend no more than fifteen to twenty minutes every morning on planning. And in the evening, be sure to sum up the results, just don’t cross out tasks, but put pluses or checkmarks next to them (this is a piggy bank of your results, and not what remains unfulfilled). By the way, unfulfilled tasks should either be crossed out if they are no longer relevant, or moved to the day when you find time for them.

If for some reason something went wrong during the day, assess the situation and honestly answer four questions:
– What did I want to get?
– What did I get?
- How did I get this?
– What will I do differently now?

Draw conclusions so that you don’t make similar mistakes again, and calmly gain strength before your next working day.

Also in the evening, it is advisable to “unload” all your ideas about tomorrow into your planner. Don’t evaluate time and priorities, but simply write down everything that comes to mind. This will allow you not to forget important moments and will give you the opportunity to rest peacefully, and not suffer from insomnia because you might forget something or something is bothering you - let the planner worry about you and remember.

The schedule of the planner page should be twenty-four hours, and not eight or twelve, as in conventional organizers - work can be different (for example, direct communication with another continent can only be at night), and work is not the only thing that requires your attention every day. This means that it is needed to make it more convenient to work with tasks, create a graphic schedule, and at the same time leave enough space for notes. But the most important thing, perhaps, is not even this. The thing is that people often assess the priority of a task based on the principle of “what screams louder”, “is on fire”, “worries”, “seems”, etc. And planning can bring really serious results only if you know for sure what these results should be.

So remember: planning your day begins with creating a list of desired results in the long term future. Why is this so?

Imagine that it is vitally important for you to get from point A to point B. Now imagine that something is stopping you along the way - obstacles, barriers, distractions. But no matter what you encounter along the way, you will still move towards your goal. Something may delay you, something will force you to change the route or find new way movement. The important thing is that you know exactly where you are going, and then no changes can lead you astray.

Therefore, the first thing every self-respecting leader, and especially a business owner, needs to do is to draw up a list of results in the future for at least a year, and preferably five or even ten years. This is your vision for the development of the department, company, business. And this is the basis for making daily decisions. It is also the basis for seeing opportunities around you. If you know for sure that you want to enter the international market, for example, next year, you will never pass by a successful meeting, offer, or partnership. If you don't know what you want to achieve and haven't set a time frame for achieving the goal, you will miss such opportunities by simply ignoring them or not noticing them. Therefore, start with a list of goals and determining at least approximate deadlines for achieving them. Even this may be enough to help you focus on results and set priorities correctly when planning your workday. It’s also good to include tasks in your daily plans that will directly affect achieving your goal in the future.

And to simplify your task, which allows you to take into account different directions life and work, and tie your goals and long-term plans into your daily planning. That is, first the goals, then, based on them, a plan for ten years, from this plan take out the goals that need to be achieved this year, from the plan of one year take out the tasks of the month, from the plan of the month - the tasks of the day.

And don’t forget that every leader needs vital skills, without losing the quality of the results obtained. And then planning your day will become a truly simple, convenient and practical way for you to get high results and pleasure from work.

I wish you success!

Elena Alexandrova,
business coach and director of BogushTime


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