

Ask YC: What methods do you use to manage your time? - vikram

I've been trying GTD.
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FleursDuMal
\- Start work at 9am

\- Work for five hours till 2 (with short break for snack), only on very
important stuff, no distractions/interruptions like email/chat etc. This time
is for writing, designing, coding.

\- After lunch, work on emails, planning, organising, less important stuff etc
for 2 or 3 hours

\- Finish at 6, personal stuff afterwards

As long as there are no distractions, and I get 5 hours of uninterrupted,
valuable work done every morning, then I end up being very productive. Much
moreso than the old 14 hour days I used to work where all activites run into
each other and blur into endless drudgery.

~~~
vikas5678
This according to me is the only way of getting any useful work done...get 5-6
hours of solid work done before lunch.

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ambition
I don't think there's a single method that is optimal for all people. For
example, I think there's an inflection point in your optimal strategy when
your tasks pass the point where you can actually do all of them.

For myself, I like to reframe the issue. Instead of "Look at all my tasks,
which one is highest priority?", which takes lots of mental energy, I just
concentrate on NOT doing things that don't support my goals. This allows me to
tackle small chunks and build momentum.

One of the best ways to get something done is to NOT do things that don't
contribute.

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admoin
I find GTD extremely attractive, but any attempt to implement it in my life
(and I've tried a few times), has been an abject failure. A few things I've
found helpful, though, to minimizing time-wasting generally are:

1) Stop playing video games, or if you can't bear the thought, add some
"friction" to make it harder to do without thinking (in my case, I have a few
favorite Windows games, but since I have a MacBook, I need to open a VM to
play the game. That additional requirement forces me to think whether I really
have the time to do it.

2) Do repetitive tasks in groups (sort of obvious).

and 3) (I've had some success with this, but it's extremely hard to stick to)
Don't leave your email client open unless you absolutely have to- continually
interrupting the current task to see the most recent ad from Amazon, or some
email forward, is a huge time sink. Surprisingly few emails are actually
urgent.

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prakash
Structured Procrastination, RescueTime, and some tips from Marc Andreessen:

<http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/06/the_pmarca_guid.html>

~~~
jharrison
The point about using 3x5 cards to keep track of stuff you actually get done
and then to make a quick hit list for tomorrow seemed especially useful to me.

I just found out about <http://gootodo.com/> which allows you to use email to
manage your lists, too. Gootodo lets you send it emails using specially
formatted recipients that determine where in your todo list the email item
goes. Then you just have it mail your your list in the morning. It might not
satisfy the "where did all my time go today" itch but it sure seems to do the
trick for tomorrow's tasks.

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jdvolz
1) Work on 1 computer, receive email on another (KVM switch works well for me)
2) Always follow this order: write code, write blog, read blogs. 3) Stop
eating out -- it's not actually faster (at least when you work from home
making something right there is faster and cheaper) 4) Just do it. Don't
procrastinate. Don't check things online (download stats, visitors logs,
etc.). Don't distract yourself with work that doesn't get you anything. 5)
Stop watching TV when you have something interesting or arduous to do. Finish
it first. 6) Stop playing video games when you have something interesting or
arduous to do. Finish it first. 7) Don't over think posts on news.ycombinator.

\-- Get back to work. :-)

~~~
tx
It's funny how often now people say "write blog" in context of working: "sit,
code, write blog, read blogs". I would even say that "twittering" on a regular
basis feels almost like a job for many.

The word "blog" has completely lost its original meaning. In fact there aren't
any real blogs left anymore. Most of them are more like expanded resumes
(programmers acting smart) or nothing but souped-up press-releases (corporate
"blogs") or sales pitches mixed with recruiting efforts (guys like joel).

Are you sure you write a blog? Does it have anything not related to work? Like
real topics we all think about and discuss in a public setting: like jokes,
sex, politics, sports? If not, it's not a blog, it's your personal PR outlet
where you're simply selling yourself.

Sorry for ranting. :-)

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ebukys
I stop trying to manage my time and just DO the things that I need to do.

~~~
dustineichler
I agree although...this might help too.

I assign a dollar amount to a task or just create a block schedule for a few
important tasks and prioritize that way.

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zoltz
Not sophisticated, and only a first step to get some kind of traction, but
using it can make a real difference to me:

a) Define your main project

b) Choose an activity that you like and that comes naturally as
procrastination

c) Choose a reasonable time ratio between them, and respect it

As an example, every hour of surfing the web _has_ to be (sooner or later)
compensated by three hours of work on the main project.

~~~
euccastro
It feels better if you do the same backwards: for every x hours of work on the
main project you _reward_ yourself with an hour of surfing.

Also, saying you _have_ to do something is disempowering language that drives
you to rebellion. Remember yourself why you _want_ to do it. Think of the
consequences of both doing it and not doing it. If after that you still don't
want to do it, don't do it.

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DocSavage
A Ouija board and Mac Mail's todo list. Some spirits keep spelling out "GTD"
(the book remains on my shelf), but I just haven't found the time to read it.

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qeek
There is a plenty of good web applications for this. I use OrchestrateHQ for
to-do lists, 30 Boxes as a calendar and 37signals' Backpack for notes.

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sanj
HN's procrastination block.

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asdflkj
It's a good idea to manage tasks, not time. Which is what GTD aims to do,
isn't it? And only the chores should be managed--things that you wouldn't
spend your time doing if you had the choice. Real work should be enjoyable,
and when you try to manage it, it turns into a set of chores.

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a-priori
I use Things as a task manager as a sort of 'GTD-light'. I haven't found the
need to follow any particular system religiously.

I also use RescueTime to keep me in line.

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wanorris
I keep a todo list in my text editor and work on high priority items on the
list until they're done. That's about it.

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kirubakaran
I use Smacklet.

<http://www.smacklet.com>

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ivankirigin
Todo lists for direction, RescueTime for tracking, 8aweek for blocking
wasteful sites.

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CHIEFARCHITECT
A combination of a Tangible Vision, Mindmap and a task/objective list

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edw519
For me, this pretty much sums it up:

"What's the best thing you could be working on, and why aren't you?"

from

<http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html>

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LPTS
I use omnifocus. It will be perfect on iPhone. Now, it's only of limited use.
I use it more for organizing my thinking then my day down to the hour. I find
if my thinking is organized, and I know how to do what I want to get done,
managing time just happens without requiring further effort. If your thinking
isn't organized all the time management in the world won't help you.

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noodle
what the hell is time management?

