Guest guest Posted February 23, 2007 Report Share Posted February 23, 2007 Enjoy, Misty L. Trepke http://health. TIME THOUGTS Posted by: " Pratibha Samuel " pratibha_samuel pratibha_samuel Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:58 am (PST) Time management best practices Effective to-do list Master project list Project plans Project files Effective filing First things first Inflow management Scratch pad Time charts Reminder systems Handling interruptions effectively Identify bad habits Use a time management system Time management worst practices (Bad Habits) Always saying yes Attempting too much Drifting into trivia Inadequate inflow management Management by crisis Overscheduling and overorganization Perfectionism and gold-plating Piles of paper Poor planning Using your memory to keep track of things Wishful thinking Time Management Worst Practice: Using Your Memory to Keep Track of Things Many people use their memory to keep track of active projects, things they need to do, and commitments they've made. They behave as if their brain is a computer capable of storing and recalling every detail of their work and personal life. The reality is that our brain is not like a computer at all. When you rely on your memory to " remind " you of things you are working on, commitments you've made, things that still need to be done, or where you need to be at some future time, you are putting a tremendous strain on it. This is increasingly true as our work shifts away from the predictable routine of manual work into the highly variable knowledge work. Your memory is just not made for storing and recalling this type of information. Your brain has to work extra hard to try to remember all these things, and there is a point at which it cannot handle it any more. This is where the common feelings of overwhelm and anxiety come from. Relying on your memory to keep track of your projects and tasks is a worst practice for several reasons: It leads to feelings of anxiety and overwhelm well before you reach your real limit. Most people are capable of working productively on several large projects and an assortment of smaller tasks and errands all at the same time. However, by keeping all this information in your head, your memory places an artificial limit how much you can handle. Having to remember a large number of small details can easily overwhelm most people. You might forget important projects, tasks, or commitments. When you keep track of things using your memory, it is easy for them to fall through the cracks. Sometimes they are trivial things, but they can easily be important or even critical. The more stuff you need to remember, the more likely it is that you will forget something important, and the harder your brain has to work to make sure that doesn't happen. It is difficult to plan things solely in your head. It may be possible to do it for small projects, but for any reasonable sized project, it becomes increasingly difficult. Even if you could plan a complex project in your head, why would you want to? Could you remember all the details the next day? How about the next week? You waste time recalling previous decisions and plans. People waste countless minutes trying to remember where they left off on a project, or what they need to work on next. Even more time is wasted rethinking decisions and plans that they've already made but can't remember in detail. These lost minutes can add up to hours and weeks over the course of a year. It creates distractions and preoccupation. Using your memory to keep track of details can make it difficult to get fully focused and absorbed in your work. It is difficult to concentrate when your brain keeps nagging you about something you need to do. This " nagging, " or general feeling of preoccupation, is your brain's natural way of trying to make sure it doesn't forget something important. When we are concentrating, we can only focus on a couple of things at most. When your brain is nagging you about something completely unrelated, it has the side & #8209;effect of breaking your concentration and prevents you from being as productive as you could be. http://www.timethou ghts.com/ time-management. htm DR. PRATIBHA SAMUEL Subscribe: healthhealingandhypnosis- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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