Speaker #0Every two weeks, I will bring you a regular dose of inspiration, practical tips, and regular stories about personal development, wellness, and career growth. Whether you're looking for motivation, fresh perspective, or just a reminder that you're not alone, you are in the right place. So welcome, and let's dive in. Hi, welcome to a new episode of The Pulse. Today, I want to do an episode about time management. And I don't want to talk about the general rules, you know, of Pomodoro or whatever other techniques there is out there. I want to talk about some insights, some things that I put in place in my day to day in order to improve my time management at work and also personally in order to ensure that I get the most out of it. I'm also hyper-re-focused. And yes, there is a lot of methodologies out there, but at the end of the day, there is some kind of like rules that you can put in place in your life to help you deal with the overload of topics and to ensure that you get everything done for yourself. So I need to talk about this topic today. So let's dive in. When it comes to time management at work, I think, first of all, these days, at least it feels like it for me, I'm overloaded constantly with meetings. And I guess it's okay. It's part of the job to have a lot of meetings, at least for me within project management. I need to ensure that people are aligned, that the topics continue moving forward, etc. So there is a lot of alignment, a lot of decision making, and those requires meeting very often. But I do feel sometimes highly stressed when it comes to having time after the meeting to handle the to-dos that came out of the meeting and that I need to take care of. And sometimes I end up being back to back all day. And by the end of the day, I have made a lot of decisions, I have aligned with the team, but I have not been able to get work done when it comes to preparing presentation, preparing the next day, etc, etc, different topics that I need to take care of. And so for that reason, I've started to kind of implement a few things into my daily work routine in order to ensure that I get the time. First of all, My first hour in the morning is with no meetings. I always try to come in. I'm an early bird. So I'm here at 8 a.m. usually in the office. And between 8 and 9, I don't have any meetings. This is a moment that I look through my emails, that I look at what's my to-do for the day, that I ensure that I'm on track with the topics that I need to be on track of, and that I have an overview or I'm able to ensure that I'm capable of getting what needs to be done today being done today. Or at least what that can be planned is planned along the way. And that first hours is critical for me. It really has brought me a lot of values. I don't need to be on top of everything the rest of the day because I've spent that first hours to just feel like, okay, I'm in control with my calendar. I'm in control with my to-dos. I'm in control with what life is or work is going to throw at me during the day. What I have put in place, and I'll do another episode specifically on AI, is that I've built an agent for myself, which I call my work buddy. And that agent is usually scanning my calendar at the beginning of the day. We're looking at decisions that I need to make today, alignment that I need to make today. It's helping me also scan through my emails. Is there any deadline for the day that potentially I've forgotten that I need to follow up on? And usually it also gives me some insights for my week. in case it's a Monday or sometime I just ask on top of it. Let's say it's a Wednesday, can we track up what is left to do from that Monday? So it's really helping me on a day-to-day to keep the overall track and it's very accurate. Of course, I've developed it, it took me a while to develop it, but now it feels very much that it's looking into all my documents, it's looking into everything related to my work and I'm able to be very efficient. in the morning from that standpoint. So that's the first thing I put in place. The second thing, if we talk specifically about those kind of like early meetings, I want to also talk about the last half an hour of the day. I never just close, like finish a meeting and close. I always make sure that I have half an hour. And that half an hour is made for me to do some follow-ups, to be clear on what is left, if I have some emails that I haven't finished, if there are some tasks that are you in my to-dos and also almost prepare for the next day if something is critical and I know I will not have enough time or then I can plan for within that hours that I have 15 minutes or 30 minutes to finish a task that is very critical the next day. And for this, that 30 minutes at the end of the day. It's also very important in order for me to stay in that overall focus period. Then, of course, you can end up in back-to-back meetings or you can have some moments where you get some work done. And so for that reason, for sure, what is important for me is to try to make the day the most efficient. So on a regular basis, I would say every month or so, I try to look back at my calendar. And of course, within my calendar, I have kind of like those regular meetings that are there. But I also try to look at my calendar from more of a holistic way. And I look at how much time I wasted between meetings. And what I mean wasted is that no time is wasted purely because I most likely got emails done or I did a few things or I had some conversation. But if I end up in a meeting and then I have 30 minutes break and then another meeting for half an hour and then 30 minutes break. or potentially it's even sometimes 15 minutes in between meetings, that is not enough time for me to properly work on presentation, to properly follow up on analysis I need to do, or to ensure that I have responded to all the emails or that I'm on top of things. And so from that angle, let's say you have one hour meeting or like 45 minutes meeting, 15 minutes, 45 minute meetings, 15 minutes, 45 minutes meeting, 15 minutes. At the end of the day, you have three times 15 minutes but separate and within that separation it makes it a lot harder for you to manage. So usually I'm going to look at it from that standpoint to say well actually I had three times 15 minutes where if I had had them together it would have made 45 and within that 45 minutes I could have gotten most likely have a better focus time for myself in order to get a few things sorted that take longer time and this is The reason why I, in that context, always look at it and try to see could have those meetings be in a different timing. I know I'm not the only one in the meeting. I know it also impacts other people. So I always look at it. If it's a regular meeting that has been put in place, who are the people involved? Could they have a similar calendar looking like me? And if not, I'm going to try to kind of say, potentially in the future, say, okay, person A, you put 45 minutes. The person B put another 45 minutes. asking that person B, can you move it by 15 minutes later? So then they give me at least 30 minutes between the two meetings. So it's still like first hour, second hour, and try to see if this can make it work if I look at it from that perspective. So if you look at from blocks of hours, if you do, I don't know, 9 to 9.45, and if you have another meeting from 10 to 10.45, can that 10 to 10.45 be 10.15 to 11? And this is the type of things that I try always to to implement and it's not going to be a perfect thing so it's important to have a look at it on a regular basis hence why I do this kind of monthly review of scanning on my calendar I know also some some people have an agent for it these days in order to look at it I think I'm able roughly to look at what makes sense what doesn't make sense and I do the same thing on a quarterly basis where I also review my regular meetings does this meeting make sense do I still need it how much value is it bringing me I mean All meetings are most likely important, but sometimes I'm only optional. So I don't need to attend, things like this. And it's important to really be a bit cutthroat in order to ensure that you're managing your time well within your week, within your day even. The last piece that I do when it comes to my work calendar overall is I kind of at the beginning of the week. So when I said the Monday, I have that one hour blocker. I use that time a bit differently than the rest of the week. I use it to look at my week and actually look at even the two weeks ahead. And usually I know which topic I have to work on, which topic will require me time. And I already block time. So usually even if I do this on Monday for the week, it might be too late. So I already block most likely two weeks ahead. And in order for me to ensure that I have those blockers, I put like an hour, two hours. hour and a half, depending on how much time, in a certain area that are currently free. And I block it, depending on the team's behavior, how often I see that those blockers are then canceled because people need to insert meetings. I might start to put myself, even that I am out of office during that time, in order for me to make sure that people know this is not a time where I can do meetings. And it's not that I don't want to be available for my project team, but I think for me, it's very important to have time to get the work done. And therefore, those blockers are critical. So I always look ahead in order to put them in, because if not, then people are going to feel it. There will be more meetings to come, more insights. And it's important to have those blocker time. So this is a few things that I tend to do. One more thing, actually, as I was speaking that I wanted to talk about, I think these days I've heard so many times people saying that Friday afternoon, people are less in the office, are not working, and they're out of office, etc. I don't tend to agree on that. I've seen a lot of my colleagues working. But one thing that I know that I tend to do is I put myself out of office on Friday afternoon so I get the work done. And so my Friday afternoon, usually by 3 p.m., I have no more meetings, which is... perfect timing for me to work and to finalize everything that needs to be finalized, to have kind of that blocker that I was talking about. I do feel like Friday is easier. I'm working remote. I'm at home. I can have really a focused time without being not bothered because as I said, I don't want to say that people or colleagues are bothering me, but like fully focused without having outside influences impacting that timing. So. these are the few things that I put in place within my work calendar. I know that there is methodologies in terms of making those blockers even efficient when it comes to focusing on topic, etc. For me, as I am very sorted right away on my topics, I'm able to focus from minute one, because I have planned that morning what topic I need to tackle during that focus hours. Sometimes I even put it in the blocker what is the topic I need to work on, but I make sure to have those moments for me. to handle the day-to-day load. Because if not, it's going to wrap it up and roll all over it. And you will have no time overall. So that's on the work side. Let's now talk personal. On the personal side, you also need to manage your life. Most likely, you're a busy professional. You have a busy family life. Or you are doing a lot of activities. I mean, these days, the word busy feels constant around me, at least. And busy is good, but busy with intention is even better. And for that reason, whenever I try to do an activity, I try to ensure that I also do kind of block my time or do time management. So what I've put in place at the beginning of the year, actually, I had created a to-do list that was daily to-do lists where I would always have the next seven days. So let's say we were Monday. As soon as my Monday was done, I would already put it for the next Monday, what I would have to do. And then I realized that a lot of topics were on my mind and I needed to put it later. And while I created the backlog, it never felt like it was planned according to when it needed to do. So I changed it to being a weekly. So usually what I do is I create a weekly of things I need to get done. I try to organize them most likely by orders of that they're going to come. And I try to ensure that I tackle them. If there is a few points together, like I might do a color coding or something. But I just make it as simple as possible. The goal is to get it out of my head and to be able to ensure that it's planned for it. And that from a time management part, because it's nice to have it on a to-do list, but if you don't have the time to tackle it, that doesn't work. So I usually try to organize my day around some of these things. I am a morning person. So usually the first thing I like to do in the morning is to do sports. So my sports activity, I will do a walk with my dog. My morning routine is quite set, but in the evening I will wind down and I have a bit more free time to do things that require potentially less brainy activity, I would say. Well, like, because I'm exhausted from work and I've used my brain to the fullest, I might just want something a bit more light. And so in that context, this is where I'm going to start to tackle a few key topics. So if I need to do some cleaning, if I need to do some organizing, If I need to answer to some emails, etc., this is the moment I am going to do it. Usually I'm going to do it in front of the TV. So I go home, I walk my dog, and then I will just like have an hour for me to wind down to enjoy. If I have, of course, some activities, I'm already going to plan for it. And maybe those days are not the days I will tackle all my to-dos, all my tasks. And after having kind of like boxed those timings, so it's also important that I box usually, I have that one hour where I do all the efficiency, all the stuff around my house, then it's all like emails, then it's the moments that I'm just saying, okay, now it's done for the day and I will accept that I will not achieve potentially everything that day and I need to move to the next day. Now, of course, you don't want to leave, like if you do a 9-5, if you have a corporate job, you don't want to leave just for your weekends. You want to enjoy your evening. So I always try to look ahead and plan some moments within my schedule for friends, for families, for things that I want to enjoy, walking my dogs, etc. So I don't, I'm not a type A to put everything on a calendar, But I try to ensure I have a certain balance in those different... period of time and that I kind of boxed what needs to be boxed in order to ensure that I don't end up being going into a spiral of how only tackling a certain type of task. So this is also valid for the weekend. Yesterday I wanted to do a bit of a cleaning and then I have a certain period of time where I was working on my master thesis. I wanted to walk my dog. I wanted to go grocery shopping etc And for that reason, I kind of put my alarm and I set 15 minutes. And for 15 minutes, it was like going around the house and doing a bit of like rough cleaning. So the next 15 minutes was for to do vacuuming, etc, etc. And I was working with 15 minutes, 15 minutes for like two hours. And that was what I was going to do for the day. And then the rest was more about winding down, enjoying, etc. In order to be focused also on the people that I want to be focused on at the moment. that I need to be. So when I'm on the walk, I don't want to be like on my phone trying to answer email while I'm walking my dog. I don't want to be when I'm on the phone with someone, I don't want to be like, uh-huh, and then just cleaning around the house. I want to be focused on those people. I want to be focused on what I do. Also, if I want to do an activity or if I want to do sports, I don't want to have my mind filled with topics. As long as I kind of try to make a rough agenda for myself during the day with clear timing. then I'm usually going to be able to fit everything in, or at least the most important one. And this would be my next point within that. You may have a very long list of to-dos. I feel like between tackling bills, taxes, cleaning the house, groceries, or anything else that is admin related, there is a lot that is on a constant basis coming. And then you have your family, and then you have organizing, I don't know, a holiday or a trip. And... and organizing the next week and cooking and etc etc etc the life can become very overwhelming and you can feel like you're never sitting still and never having a moment for you and this is where I put those moments in in my calendar so I accept potentially to only achieve 80% because I want to make sure within that calendar I have some time for me and this is something that It is very important and I've learned to... tackle very well these days is to have that moment of just like not doing anything that is requiring of a to-do and and really focusing on an activity that is only filling my soul only making me happy and is not an active I have to type of task so I think this is one piece that I've put in place and then the other piece talking about now we are in November 1st actually as I am recording this you And it's very difficult with the short days to ensure that you do everything that you want to do because it gets light, like dark very early, then you have no more light, etc. So this is also something that I've put in place within my time management is to define what do I do? When do I do it? If I want to go on a walk with my dog, I'm going to ensure I do that walk during daytime. And therefore, that is an activity that is going to be... automatically going at a time where it's hopefully sunny, that is hopefully not too cold, but at least that there is daylight and that I can really go for a one hour, one hour and a half walk with him to enjoy that moment. And so that means potentially my admin is going to be done in the evening when it's dark. I might have to do also vacuuming later in the day. But at the end of the I try to balance it all. in that format. So for me, the most important things to manage my time is to have a clear idea of what's my to-do list and in order to fit in everything at once without overwhelming it. And the most important part of that is to know when what needs to fit into that schedule so that I don't feel like it's overpowering me. Yeah, I think that's it. Time management. I think it's not an easy one. I think also giving yourself some grace is important. What I've done for that is to accept that some things I will be slightly late. I always try to not be more than 15 minutes late. But I think if you are late with a friend or if you need more time for a certain task, either you accept to let it go or you will be slightly delayed. But the most important is not to overwhelm. every single day of your life with busyness and to try to find moments for your own personal fulfillment. So this episode is short and sweet. I hope hearing about how I handle a few things is helping you. One thing that I wanted to leave you is to say that today there is a lot of tools out there. There is a lot of things that can help you organize your life. But at the end of the day, the most important is the intention you put in and what is important for you. Sometimes I do feel like we are overwhelmed with things that are not needed automatically. And it's important to understand what I need to do, what is mandatory and what is nice to have and what is going to fulfill me. I give you an example. You have to do your admin. No choice there. So it's important that you block the time on a regular basis or you making an appointment for your winter tires or whatever else is out there. On the other side, do you have to do an extra baking, an extra cake for your kids? Or is there maybe a way you can ask for help or a way you can also bring something already made? Sometimes it might be a bit easier to not be automatically perfect, but to still feel like you're showing up just... in a different way. So I had to organize breakfast the other day and I said to my colleague I won't be able to I had to organize actually two events and I said I'm not going to be able to bake both times and my colleague was very happy to help me by baking a cake the first day and I bake a cake the second day and that was also something that was super helpful. I brought pretzels, I brought different things, grapes etc. But at the end of the day, I accepted also to ask for help and that I was not alone doing it. So also this is something to keep in mind. You're not alone doing those things. It's valid also at work. You may want to ask for help or you may explain that you're lacking time or opportunities and decide if it's what makes sense for you to do. But always consider the musts, the must do. Always consider what is nice to do. you Still consider a bit of time for yourself because the must do can become overwhelming. So be very sharp with the must. What do you must attend? What do you have to be there against? Like it's mandatory versus what would be nice that you're there because you bring value or because you're needed or because it's nice that you're doing something for people, whatever it is. But at the end of the day, you are limited. in your day we each have 24 hours we each need a good sleep and therefore you need to have enough time for everything else and that time we'll talk about the the will i think i've talked about it in another episodes but overall it's important to understand what you spend your life on and have a certain piece of that life to be on your personal like development on your personal fulfillment and not on everything else. And I think we can get caught up in taking care of others, in doing everything for others, and forgetting ourselves. So it's very important within that time management that you have that freedom and that free time. I also, as you may have heard before from many others, you know that boredom is something that is built, like helping your creativity. And I truly believe that. So I struggle with boredom. But I always try to have a moment where there is nothing planned in order to help build that creativity. If not, it's just going to be a constant And the will is never stopping. So you have to take a moment for a breather for yourself in those times. So I highly encourage you to think about those things within your time management and your life organization. Because if not, life gets very busy. actually Even this podcast, I try to give myself or to organize it in the best time management way. And I have announced today, this morning, that this episode will not come out on Sunday. I've decided to switch to Tuesday for that particular reason, because I realized that my time management meant that every time on Saturday, the day before, I was recording in a very quick way and trying to edit. And that required a couple of hours. Yes, I had prepared during the week and during... And I already had in mind what I wanted to talk about and I had some thoughts, etc. But it still takes time between recording, between editing. And if I wanted to have the episode on Sunday morning, I really felt my Saturday was all of a sudden limited when it comes to time. And I want to record during daylight because it's easier than during nighttime. So all those things were starting to pile up. And I said to myself, well, why do I have to do it on Sunday? Why can't I do it on Tuesday? and then that basically gives me Saturday or Sunday to record, Sunday or Monday to edit. So Monday night I could edit and then deliver it on Tuesday and still I would get it. Of course, I would love to have to be a week ahead. So always to have an episode ready or potentially I could have recorded last weekend, but you know, I was away, I was traveling, so I couldn't record and a lot of things happened and it's regular life part, life things. So it's important to understand, do you have to deliver something on one day and If not, when is it truly due or can you give yourself some grace? You still do it because you don't want to just say, okay, I stopped something or I just push it back in my to-do list and it never gets done and it's an endless backlog. But at the end of the day, you have to find what feels right for you within that schedule in order to fit you in and to fit the people that matter in and to feel everything that matter to you overall. So this would be my thoughts. I wish you a very nice day. Talk to you soon. Bye. And that's a wrap for today's episodes of The Pulse. If something resonated with you, I would love to hear about it. So drop me a message on Instagram, LinkedIn, or leave a review wherever you're listening. Your feedback fuels this community and I much appreciate it. Make sure to follow The Pulse on your favorite podcast platforms and on social media so you never miss an episode. And if you're craving for more, check out the show notes for links, resources, and ways to connect. Until next time, keep trusting your journey because growth happens one step at a time. See you soon. Bye.
