Time Management
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- imnotadesigner
I've been told my whole life by different people that Im very talented but Im lazy. Yes, Im a huge procrastinator and Im late alot but I never miss a deadline for anything (guess thats the only thing keeping me afloat).
Lately my Creative Director has been mentioning to me that I need to manage my time better and Im starting to realize that hes right. But how the hell do I do that? Where would one start? Is there a course on time management or something I could take or am I pretty much fucked?
- marychain0
stop posting questions on QBN?
- jk....or AM I?marychain
- yeah well Im working on a box set of 3 brochure hat are due first ting in the morning and Im on here...imnotadesigner
- I'm just kidding honestlymarychain
- I knowimnotadesigner
- MrOneHundred0
Ah, you’ll be fine!
- robotron3k0
this is how you do time management at work:
When you get an assignment at work, immediately drink 3 cups of coffee.
Now here comes the hard part, now that you drank that coffee, you're gonna need to pee. But don't go to the bathroom until you finish the assignment.
I can guarantee you'll be knocking out that job, no matter how difficult, in about 1.5 hours. That's time management.
- BannedKappa0
I hear ya...The internet is the best form of distraction. Facebook, QBN, forums, searches forget it!!!
I've got no advice for ya as I'm currently authoring a book on procrastination. Good luck!
- imnotadesigner0
yeah I seem to only get creative now when Im under pressure, and I usually pull all nighters. But this past week I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
I worked monday 9am until 6pm tuesday afternoon. went to bed and woke up at 3am wednesday to start working again, pulled another all nighter and got home thursday at 6, took the day off friday and crashed like a ton of bricks.
Can't be good for my health especially since Im almost 30 and feel like Im 50
- i worked straight through the weekend. im with you on that.cannonball
- ephix0
go to bed a bit earlier as a start.
- imnotadesigner0
I had a crazy deadline this week but. its not always that I work like that, I usually do all nights about 4 - 5 times a year.
- jfletcher0
I've done a few things to help manage my time.
I used to write a list of everything I needed to do every day right when I got into work. Then I work through then and cross things off as a I went. I found that even though I knew what I had to do in my head, having a list was more gratifying and made me more dilligent.Lately, since I work in corporation, I've been using Outlook. I know tons of people hate Outlook (get over it), but it can do wonders for time management. I now keep a running list of tasks for myself, and coordinate my calendar so I have time for work, my team, and standard meetings.
I don't know if that was any help at all, but it's helped me become more productive.
- ephix0
I find myself in the same boat a bit. Luckily I've had full flexibility. I love when the crunch-time is on and I do all nighters and get heaps done then take a few days off, however I find this affects me when there are no deadlines and its just day-to-day. I learnt that just going to bed earlier helps you get up earlier and actually helps motivation too.
- imnotadesigner0
lists are good. You just have to keep looking at them thats all.
I have a TO DO list but I just seem to be added more to it and not crossing anything off. I think my problem is that I take on too much work (freelance, photography, coming up with business plans) outside of my regular 9-5.
- there's a formula to orgazine your to do list - by what impacts your day the most, or how difficult the task is.SoulFly
- SoulFly0
Bro, I had, of I "have" this same problem. I cannot concentratre... Either I have ADD, or laziness, or a combination of sorts.
I always new I had this problem, but always ignored it, or always manage to get by. I worked better under pressure type thing.. oh yes... I adopted that thought many times, until - my manager told me "you have to get more things done - you always make deadlines and you have to get more done"... That was put down on my review, and that probably affected my 3% raise.
After a lot of research on focus and concentration, I came across this book- Eat that frog - it was great, and it was not complicated or long, I read it in one week. This book is awesome. One chapter was key to my problem- it teaches you how to create a task-list for your work... and it teaches you how to get moving with things fast.
In the last 4 years after reading this book, I never had to pull all-nighters again. Never been under pressure. Actually I got a job at a great company, mostly due to my design management skills...
Actually, i'm gonna read it again this week to refresh my skills.Here's the book on Amazon and it is only about $10 dollars
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-That-F…- Just ordered it, hopefully it'll help.
Thanks!imnotadesigner
- Just ordered it, hopefully it'll help.
- d_rek0
all nighters are usually bad when it comes to productivity... not sleeping affects a lot more things than just your ability to get something done.
This is a tough question to answer tho... some creative people can only perform when the heat is on.. others (like me) tend to work better at a steady pace, rather than pouring it all out at once. You really have to assess your working methodology and plan appropriately.
Some really simple things can make all the difference:
-Lists of things to do
-Calendars
-Briefs with times and deadlines for projects - be very specific with breaksdowns of times and dates
-Eliminate distractions in your work/studio space (this is probably the hardest thing to do). Yeah, sometimes our jobs require that we browse the web for resources but something simple like removing safari, ichat shortcuts from your dashboard really work. This way instead of being just a click away you have to go through extra effort to get to them. Televisions and video games should probably not be in your workspace as well.
-impose a schedule on everyday activities like eating, exercise and even when you take breaks. A little bit of structure goes a long way in creating stability in a lifestyle.Now i understand that some people were just born incapable of meeting deadlines and getting to places on time but ultimately these traits make you look unreliable. I would say if people around you starting to be vocal about your time management it's high time to start heeding what they say.
- SoulFly0
One thing that helped me the most, and it is something from the book a mentioned above is:
If you start your job at 8:00am - Do not check your email first, or check or phone messages first. The first thing you should do is get to work. Start working on your designs or whatever exactly at 8:00, or 8:30 or as soon as you turn on your computer. Then check your email or messages at 8:15.
The thing is, you get your brain moving, and you stay creative, and "into it" through out the day. Even if you get interrupted at lot during work, you still get everyone done smoothy, and solve problems better.
- imnotadesigner0
SoulFly
what you just posted makes sense. I can recall the days where I started designing right away, I actually stayed in the "zone" all day.
And the days where the fist thing I did was check me email a surf the web, I was productive at all and couldn't get motivated. This book sounds good.- yeah that also works projects you work from home, when you freelance.SoulFly
- cannonball0
One thing that's good to do is don not accept interruptions. For some reason people think they can bug you about random crap. Sometimes you gotta be like "fuck off im working".
- imnotadesigner0
I've always jokingly said when Im asked to describe myself "Im consistently inconsistent"
I gotta do something about that, and all you tips have been helpful. I just need to impose a bit of discipline in game and I know all be alright.
But is it worth seeking some sort of class/seminar/coach to do this?
- jfletcher0
I used to like, and to some extent still like, all nighters. I feel it's a great time to bond and just kick ass. Unfortunately in my position [manager] I have to be awake during the day and functioning. When I have to make product decisions or talking to a general manager, pulling an all nighter says "you don't know how to prioritize your work/time and you make bad decisions". However as a freelancer I would probably do it more.
- _me_0
- great clip.BuddhaHat
- great clip, saw it a wile ago and said "fuck, thats me" hahaimnotadesigner
- BuddhaHat0
Agreed, getting started straight away helps. Whether you ride, catch a train or drive, planning your day on the way to work helps for me too... and the boss has given us all blackberry's... u can't escape email and calendar appointments once you get one of them...
- ooooo those are bad. I bet you check it as soon as you wake up?imnotadesigner
- I check my email on my iPhone as soon as my alarm goes off....still lying in bed.jfletcher