"Time Drive: How to manage to live and work" Gleb Arkhangelsky. Reading Gleb Arkhangelsky - Time Drive: How to manage to live and work Time Drive full version

Time management is not only diaries, plans and deadlines. It is a technology that allows you to use the irreplaceable time of your life in accordance with your goals and values.
Building your own time management (TM) system
Step 1. Rest
You need to rest rhythmically during the day, five minutes per hour. The stronger the switch during the five-minute a, the better you will rest and recuperate.
Vladimir Mayakovsky expressed the principle of maximum switching in a simple slogan: "Comrade, remember the simple rule: you work while sitting - you rest while standing!"
Laziness is not always bad. Often this is a normal defensive reaction of our body. creative laziness are simple.
If you are already lazy, then 100 percent, without trying to do something else at this time, think, solve problems, etc. Pure laziness is a pure feeling of the fullness of being and the universal harmony of the universe.
Consciously make a decision: "I want to be lazy - and I will do it." Without hesitation and remorse.
Before creative laziness, load the brain with information on an important creative problem for you. But do not think about the problem during laziness itself!
Subject to these rules, creative laziness will become an inexhaustible source of new ideas and solutions. And also - a wonderful ohm and recuperation.
Sleep efficiency is greatly improved by consistent bedtime and wake-up times. Your body gets used to a certain time, falling asleep and waking up becomes easier. It is also advisable to ventilate the room well and do not eat a few hours before bedtime.
What to do when you get sleepy at work? If you can not afford a full day's sleep, then there are alternatives:
A little afternoon nap in the car, if you have one. Do not spare 20-30 minutes for this, they will pay off with a much higher afternoon performance;
“microsleep” for 10–15 minutes right at the workplace or somewhere else: in a meeting room, in a chair in the far corner, etc. To disconnect from external interference, you can put on headphones with your favorite music.
When planning time, it is important to remember that the "fullness", "saturation" of time, its "quality" is no less important than its purely arithmetic quantity.
Step 2. Motivation
How to get involved in the work, so as not to waste time on the buildup, sorting out the little things and not finding the strength to take on the main thing? AI has a good concept of "anchor". This is any material binding (, color, word, movement, ritual) associated for us with a certain emotional state.
Owner of a network of gas stations, Kyiv. “I do complex intellectual work to the music of Joe Dassin. I'll explain why: I had the best job during my student years in a hostel. Young, a lot of strength, in parallel two higher educations and another job ... And there were four tape cassettes for the entire hostel, and all four were Joe Dassin. That's how this music became an "anchor", including energy resources, as in youth."
Anchors make it easier to switch from work to work.
The next question is: how to get involved in the task, if it is quite complex and energy-intensive? The “Swiss cheese method” will help to spend less time and effort on the buildup. Try to complete the task not in a logical order, but in an arbitrary one, “gnawing out” small pieces from different places - the simplest, most pleasant, etc. For example, when preparing a report, you can first select illustrations, write a few paragraphs that are simple and understandable to you, and etc. After a while, so many holes will form in your “cheese” that it will not be difficult to “finish” it.
Another way to spend less effort when working on complex tasks is “intermediate joy”. Break the work into several stages and assign yourself a small reward for completing each stage.
There are things in our life that require, perhaps, quite a bit of time, but are unpleasant. Call an unfriendly client; finally call a plumber; ask your boss for a pay raise, etc. In time management, such tasks are called “frogs”. A large unpleasant problem can be easier to solve by breaking it into a large number of small “frogs”.
The smaller the deadline for the task and the larger it is, the more difficult it is, as a rule, to force yourself to complete it. This is especially true for very large tasks, in the terminology of time management - "elephants". For example: writing a dissertation; development of a plan for the region; in the house; language learning; improving your physical fitness.
The only way to "eat an elephant" is to cut it into small, measurable "steaks" and eat one such steak every day. At the same time, it is important to cut the “elephant” into such “steaks”, each of which really brings you closer to eating the “elephant”.
An easy way to bring all your "elephants" and "frogs" together, and motivate yourself to complete the necessary tasks every day, is to start a table of regular tasks.
On the left, all your daily "steaks" and "frogs" are written out. On the right side, you mark their completion or non-completion every day. If any of today was not expected - leave an empty space. If it was supposed, but not implemented, put a dash. If done, check the box.
Next to this table, it is useful to write down a few "intermediate joys." For example, list non-urgent purchases that are pleasant for you and agree with yourself: “for every next 15 ticks in any column, I buy the next pleasant thing.” You will be surprised at how much faster your long-term business is progressing.
Step 3 Goals
Try not to see yourself as a “specialist in such and such a department” or “manager of such and such a service”, forget for a while that you are part of a large system, depending on bosses, clients, many rules, etc. Look at himself as a Personal Corporation, CJSC "Ya". This corporation has all the same controls as any firm, for example: personal strategic planning (setting long-term goals); (study of the labor market); personal (money accounting and planning), etc.
We proactively plan for the future of our "personal corporation", expressing our dreams in the form of long-term goals. We do not expect favors from nature, but we take them ourselves. To do this, we need to clearly understand what we want from life. This is not as easy to do as it seems.
Try to imagine one day in your life in 3-5 years. Don't limit yourself to what you "should" or what you think is "possible" just yet. It is better to describe this vision of the future in writing, in the form of a 1-2 page essay.
It is important to distinguish between “native” goals (a doctor from a small town writes about how he will create a medical center. It is clear that this goal has been gained through suffering, deeply thought out, a person really understands why people need it and why he needs it) from “a photocopy of a glossy magazine page "- an imposed goal ("I leave my snow-white Porsche, I come to my snow-white office, managers in snow-white shirts run to follow my valuable instructions ...").
The next step is to try to identify your core values, based on which you can formulate long-term goals.
The next step is to formulate a personal mission. One of the Western consultants said well:
Goals are what we take from life, win, get.
Mission is what we give, bring into this world.
Now it is useful to identify the key areas of your life. For example: personal ; a family; friends; hobby; ; ; well-being, etc. Key areas will help us not get lost in the chaos of affairs and set life goals more accurately.
In classical management and time management, it is recommended to set goals using the SMART technique - from the words specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound.
For example, not just “I want to hold a good position”, but “I want to become a top manager in a telecommunications company, with an annual income of at least ... USD, no later than the next three years.”
Step 4. Working day
The indisputable truth of time management: the plan of the day should be. The plan does not exist in order to drive yourself into a rigid framework and not respond to changing external circumstances. A plan is just a way to navigate in changing circumstances.
Plan the day from the evening - the last working day closes well, it is easier to switch to non-working hours and, a new day begins with a fairly clear and definite picture of upcoming affairs, and not with chaos. Comfortable in more stable and predictable activities.
Planning a day in the morning goes well with solving “clarifying tasks”: agreeing (or confirming) the time of meetings with counterparties, issuing instructions and clarifying information to subordinates, etc. It is convenient in less predictable activities when the importance of “clarifying tasks” is higher.
Determine which of the common types of diary suits you best: with a week view - convenient for coordinating meetings and tasks of different days among themselves - or with a day view - convenient for a large number of tasks per day.
Rich opportunities for improving planning in the diary are provided by such a simple thing as a bookmark. On it you can:
Write out tasks that are not rigidly tied to a specific day, so that they are always in front of your eyes;
Keep a list of the most relevant contacts at the moment;
Write out "topics for reflection": not tasks that require execution, but thoughts that require.
But the most useful use of such a bookmark is to use it as a "strategic card": write down your long-term goals on a bookmark in your diary. Such a “strategic cardboard box” will constantly remind you of the goals, and you will not drown in the routine.
When planning a day, we are dealing with three types of tasks:
"hard" meetings - tied to a specific moment in time ("presentation at 12.00");
"flexible" tasks - not tied to hard time ("find out the presentation time");
"Budgeted" tasks - large priority tasks that do not have a hard deadline, but require a large resource of time ("prepare for the presentation - 2 hours").
The day planning algorithm is as follows (on the example of a diary with an overview of the day).
1. In the free space (usually located in the diaries to the right of the time grid), make a complete list of "flexible" tasks (not tied to the exact time).
2. Highlight 2-3 priority tasks in red. The implementation of "flexible" tasks start with them.
3. On the time grid, schedule "hard" meetings - tied to the exact time. For priority tasks that require a sufficiently large resource of time, budget for this time.
4. Fill in the time between "hard" meetings during the day, starting with the "red" tasks.
Step 5. Planning
The ancient Greeks had two different words for time. "Chronos" - linear, astronomical, measurable time, the usual time for diaries and organizers. And "kairos" is a convenient moment, convenient circumstances for doing something.
Many tasks are almost impossible to tie to a hard execution time. The ability to fulfill them is connected with the presence of the necessary "kairos", the context, the totality of favorable circumstances.
A contextual planning system can be set up in any regular diary. To do this, do the following.
Identify contexts that are relevant to you (usually 5-7 are enough).
Create sections in your diary or categories in Outlook that match these contexts.
When approaching any context (“kairos”), it is enough to look into the corresponding section of the organizer and refresh the necessary things in your memory.
Another way to manage "kairos" tasks in the diary is to write them down on sticky notes and attach them to the days you expect "kairos" to come.
An interesting example. They say about Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin that when reading a devastating review of one of his works, he wrote out the name of the author and the title of the review on a piece of paper, which he put in a special crystal vase. When the "kairos" "caustic mood" came, Pushkin took out one of these pieces of paper from a vase and wrote about the author of the review of the epigrams y.
In order to keep all these tasks under control, you only need three main sections in your planning system.
1. Day: tasks for today - the plan of the day in the diary.
2. Week: medium-term tasks - the implementation of which is predicted in the next week or month.
3. Year: long-term goals - all others.
What is needed is not a rigid plan for a period, but rigid transfers of tasks between sections. Namely...
1. In the evening, when planning the next day, the “Week” section is viewed. Everything “ripened to completion”, the most relevant, is transferred to the “Day” section.
2. Once a week, when planning the next week, the "Year" section is viewed. All the most relevant is transferred to the "Week" section.
Such a system allows:
On the one hand, do not drive yourself into the framework of a rigid plan, do not try to prescribe the future in too much detail, making plans for the week / month;
On the other hand, do not give everything to the will of the waves, guarantee yourself that the right task will be remembered at the right time by regularly reviewing the “Week” and “Year” sections.
Step 6. Priorities
If I were asked to convey the essence of this book in one line, I would say this: "Waste your irreplaceable time on the Essentials."
The first thing the prioritization begins with is clearing your life of imposed affairs. At the level of a particular day, this means, in particular, the ability to say “no” to things that do not correspond to your goals, values or principles.
I'm not saying that it is necessary to give up mutual assistance and the ability to work in a team. Mastering the art of saying “no” does not mean becoming a person from whom you will never get help, who loses friends and good acquaintances. Sometimes it is useful to meet the boss's relatives and help a friend get a job. But if for some reason you don’t want to do this, don’t be afraid to politely but firmly refuse.
The next way to free up time for the main priority is to buy someone's time. The only way to do this is by delegating tasks, when we do not spend our time on the task, but buy, literally or figuratively, someone else's. We will understand delegation broadly: not only as transferring a task to a subordinate, but also transferring it “horizontally” to colleagues, purchasing an external service, etc.
It is important to understand that priority does not exist by itself. Each of us has our own system of criteria in our heads. For different people and for different tasks, these criteria and their “weight coefficients” are different. The concepts of “better”, “worse” and “priority” do not exist on their own, but only in relation to a certain system of criteria.
It is interesting to look at the experience of PricewaterhouseCoopers auditors, for whom prioritization is especially important, since each of them works in a large number of projects and under the supervision of several managers, each of whom sets his own tasks. At the trainings in different groups, approximately the following system of criteria was formulated.
1. The source of the task and its perseverance (the level of the leader who set the task, and the priority of the task for him).
2. The contribution of the task to the overall result (company goals, project goals).
3. Influence on the work of colleagues "horizontally".
4. Urgency.
5. Own interest in the task.
6. Complexity, time-consuming (difficult tasks - in the first place).
7. Availability of currently available resources (information, etc.).
Once you've prioritized your long-term goals comparatively, take a look at your calendar and determine roughly what percentage of your weekly budget you allocate to each of these goals. It often turns out that the time spent on different goals does not coincide at all with their priority: the most significant gets the least time.
Step 7 Information
Any person who wants to achieve success in our time cannot do without a personal "information management" system. This system should answer both the simplest questions, such as “how should documents be stored on the desktop?”, and the most complex ones, such as “when, how and what to study?”, “what, how and why to read?”, “how generate brilliant ideas in a situation of uncertainty?
Information management in personal work begins with a reading system. Here are a few simple reading guidelines.
1. Provide yourself with the opportunity to return to the desired (key) information.
2. Apply immediately. Read the page - put it into practice, only after that read the next one.
3. Prioritize your reading. I think it's more useful to pick two or three chapters that you really need, read them thoughtfully and get the most out of it, than skim through the entire book.
Area of immediate attention containing 7±2 objects "closely needed";
The area of distant attention is everything else.
The main rule of attention management: if you bring something closer to the center of attention, be sure to move something away from it.
This is similar to the Japanese kanban inventory management system. Your department is allocated several square meters of warehouse, they are surrounded by a clearly visible line. You can manage your warehouse balances as you like, but you have no right to go beyond this line and occupy more square meters than you are allotted.
Step 8: Absorbers
Timing, accounting and analysis of time consumption are tools for combating absorbers.
Timekeeping is easy. Take any notepad that you feel comfortable carrying with you. And from the very morning, start recording in it everything that you do during the day. Refer to the notebook about once every half an hour or an hour and fix all the cases with an accuracy of 5-10 minutes.
Minor interruptions and distractions (less than 5 minutes) you can tick in the boxes. At the end of the day, count the number of ticks, multiply by two or three minutes - and get a quantitative indicator for one of the most unpleasant and inconspicuous time thieves.
With the help of timing, you can get data on such issues, for example.
What amount (or percentage) of my time do I spend on long-term priority projects?
How much time do I spend on tasks that, in principle, I could delegate, but for some reason I do it myself?
What percentage of my time do I spend on sinks?
One of the most typical time wasters is the public transport or car. Here are a few ways to optimize your spare time: read or listen to audiobooks; aite - if you really aete; choose non-standard routes and times; learn (for example, learn a language); plan; make outgoing calls, etc.
Where do you get the time to introduce time management techniques into your practice? The first rule: use any "waste of time" for this. For example: in a smoking room, in a traffic jam or while walking, in the manager's waiting room, etc. The second rule: create a clear rhythm for improving personal efficiency.
1. Daily - one small clearing of rubble. Mail in the inbox, papers in the center of the desktop, tasks with close due dates in Outlook, and so on.
2. Weekly - introduction of new time management techniques. Conducted a total timing of the week; threw away all the papers and started a diary; came up with a folder structure for storing files in My Documents, etc.
3. Quarterly - "disciplinary week". We live right, we do not give ourselves concessions, we allocate half an hour a day for time management.
And most importantly, remember: investing time in time management is not a cost, but.
Step 9. "TM-bacillus"
How to "infect" your subordinates with "TM-bacillus"? First, with the help of the TM-bacillus, you need to use internal, voluntary resources, and only then - external, coercive resources.
The first step in a volunteer strategy is to lead by example. The effectiveness of this method is difficult to overestimate. Present, rather than declare, organization, punctuality, respect for the time of colleagues and subordinates.
The second step is to create motivation to use TM techniques. It is motivation (not to be confused with “stimulation”): not a system of rewards and punishments, but an understanding of why time can and should be managed.
Third step - move in small steps, but rhythmically. Offer subordinates new techniques regularly, at least once a week. The simpler and clearer these techniques are, the better.
Sometimes, in the implementation of time management, one cannot do without an administrative resource. How best to apply it? Better less tools, but - mandatory. Come up with simple and quick "carrots and sticks".
And in conclusion - the main principle: calculate the price of your time, the price of the unit's time. Try to express in money. And fight for time as hard as you do for money.
Time management of personal and family is not an easy task. You can hardly write a formal schedule here. You need to be able to negotiate. I propose a few simple principles as a basis for such agreements.
1. "We are together" does not mean "we do the same thing."
2. Everyone should have time for themselves.
3. The principles of mutual must be spoken out explicitly.
I believe that time management should be taught like swimming and reading: the sooner the better. If not from kindergarten, then at least from early or middle school age.
There is no need to invent anything special for students and senior schoolchildren. As a rule, they perceive with great interest exactly "adult" technologies - "I have everything like real managers." For primary school age, it is necessary to introduce more elements of the game, color, excitement.
Self-motivation ("elephants", "frogs", "carrots", etc.) - procrastination and postponing important tasks in children's time management is usually a key problem;
Overview table of daily affairs - as one manager said, now his son does not forget that in addition to “walk” and “watch TV”, there are also “do homework” and “take out the trash”, and meets him in the evening like this: “Dad, cheers, I managed everything today!”;
planning good grades - with the help of review tables.
Step 10TM Manifest
You can use the 35 Day Planning Methods and the 28 Self-Motivation Techniques to your advantage. You can go to the next level and establish a logical and structured personal time management system. And finally - you can master the ideology, feel the spirit, feel the fundamental principles.
Most of the frequently heard doubts about time management - for example, "dry and dehumanize", "damage human interaction", "incompatible with creativity" - are just a warning about the dangers of techniques applied without understanding the spirit of the methodology. Well, you can cut yourself with a knife and prick yourself with a fork, but that's no reason to eat with your hands. You just need to learn how to properly handle the tools. Including - with ideologies and methodologies.
The ideology of time management is based on simple facts and axioms.
Life is given to a person once.
Time is the stuff life is made of.
Time and human actions in it are irreversible.
Time management - the term is not quite correct (although convenient), you can not manage time. You can organize time. Under the "organization of time" I propose to understand the whole complex of questions about the relationship between man and Time, namely...
1. How to go quickly and competently, without overworking on the way - efficiency.
2. Where to go, how to choose goals - strategy.
3. Why go, how to realize and "crystallize" your values - philosophy.
Briefly, I would express the TM ideology as follows: "Thoughtfully and meaningfully use the irreplaceable time of life in accordance with conscious personal values and priorities." Everything else will follow - both techniques and their competent application without distortions and "harmful side effects".

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Gleb Arkhangelsky, Sergei Bekhterev, Marianna Lukashenko, Tatyana Telegina
Time management. Full course

The authors: Arkhangelsky G.A.– chapters 2, 7, 8; Bekhterev S.V.– chapter 4 (together with T.V. Telegina); Lukashenko M.A.– chapters 1, 5; Telegina T.V.– chapters 3, 4 (together with S.V. Bekhterev), 6.

Editor P. Suvorov

Project Manager A. Vasilenko

Corrector E. Aksenova

Computer layout M. Potashkin

All rights reserved. No part of the electronic version of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet and corporate networks, for private and public use, without the written permission of the copyright owner.

* * *

Introduction

21st century makes new demands on each of us, no matter who we are: managers and specialists, leaders, students, schoolchildren or owners of our own enterprises. The economic situation is changing rapidly, the volume of information we receive is growing day by day, competition is intensifying, including in the labor market. Under these conditions, the management of such an intangible and irreplaceable resource as time acquires exceptional importance. Time becomes more important than money.

In the new economy, where product life cycles are measured in months and weeks, the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to any unforeseen situations comes to the fore. Constant changes in activities - the introduction of new management systems, entering new markets, the development and launch of new products on the market - are becoming the norm in the activities of companies and organizations. Changes entail an increase in the volume of tasks performed by managers and specialists, give rise to the need to find time reserves for the implementation of innovative projects.

The growing pace of change requires modern specialists to make more independent decisions, the ability to independently organize and plan their work. Increasing external demands to the employee require him to be able to set priorities on his own (without contacting the manager) in conditions of limited time resources.

Therefore, one of the fundamental competencies of a modern professional has recently become the ability to effectively organize time at any level - personal, team, corporate, as well as the ability to coordinate their actions with the actions of others to complete the tasks.

You can learn how to rationally use the resource of time, act effectively and achieve success by learning how to properly plan your activities, manage your tasks and affairs (both long-term and short-term), set priorities, set goals and achieve them, distribute your workload, finding time for both work and leisure. And the sooner we manage to master the skill of effective time management, the faster and easier our path to the heights of mastery and success will be. After all, in order to build your career and reach the desired level, a person is given less than 20 years. And it is important to properly manage this time, not to lose precious and irreplaceable hours and minutes that add up to years on the way to your goal.

We give you the opportunity to learn and begin to put into practice time management techniques that will make your movement to the heights of success not only fast, but also enjoyable.

The history of the formation of time management in Russia

Time management is often perceived as a purely Western technology. However, the domestic school of scientific organization of labor and personal time has a number of its own achievements that have no analogues in Western science. Moreover, many of the developments of domestic researchers of the organization of time were borrowed by Western specialists. In the history of the development of domestic time management, three main stages can be distinguished.

First stage belongs to the 20s. 20th century - a period of rapid development of the economy and the scientific organization of labor (NOT). This is a time of labor enthusiasm, slogans and appeals, and at the same time a period of very competent and efficient management, management of the country's economy. The origin and development of time management at this stage was associated with the names A. K. Gastev and P. M. Kerzhentsev, whose ideas and experience were especially important for the further study and development of the organization of time.

Alexey Kapitonovich Gastev, director of the Central Institute of Labor (CIT), was personally acquainted and was in correspondence with Henry Ford. Knowing the ideas of Ford and Frederick Taylor, he disagreed with them in many ways. Unlike Taylor, who focused on the system and organization, and Ford, who improved production techniques, Gastev focused on the human factor. He believed that it is the person who plays the main role in the activity of the enterprise. Therefore, consideration of organizational effectiveness as a whole begins in Gastev with personal efficiency of the individual in his workplace. Some of his developments allowed one of the "fathers" of scientific management, F. Gilbreth, after reading the publications of the CIT, to say: "The Russians are deeper than us into the NOT."

07/18/1923 in the newspaper "Pravda" appeared an article "Time is building airplanes", which began like this:

“At one congress of Soviets I was sitting next to an American journalist. The meeting scheduled for 11 o'clock did not start until one o'clock, as is often the case with us. The journalist asked me:

- How many people are in the room?

“Three and a half thousand.

- Are there many locksmiths, turners, modellers among them?

- Yes, probably, workers of different specialties predominate in the hall.

Then my American, scribbling something in a little book, said:

“We lost 7,000 hours of work today waiting for the meeting to begin. With such an expenditure of labor, it was possible to build one or even two airplanes.

We waited for "half an airplane", and only then did the meeting begin.

Indeed, it is time for us to express our infinite delays in some real terms, for example, in the airplanes of our air fleet. Then we will soon realize the economic fatality of our laxity. Then we will learn to value time and work with precision.”

This article caused a wide response and became the catalyst for the social movement of struggle for time, which resulted in the creation of the League "Time". Its leader and author of the article was Platon Mikhailovich Kerzhentsev. In that amazing period in Russian history, without any state interference, people organized cells of the Vremya League, wrote articles, and “infected” those around them with the idea of a reasonable attitude to time. Practically in all newspapers sections "Struggle for Time" soon appeared. At the same time, the League imposed rather stringent requirements on its members, thanks to which they not only urged to the organization of time, but also presented what was called for. Unfortunately, the Vremya League, like most of the organizations associated with the scientific organization of labor, was closed in parallel with the collapse of the NEP (New Economic Policy). But the experience of the League has shown that it is possible to set the task of fighting for time on the scale of society and the state.

"Second phase" domestic time management began with the release in the early 1970s. books Daniil Granina"This Strange Life" 1
Granin D. This strange life // Sobr. cit.: In 8 vols. - St. Petersburg: Vita Nova, 2009. - Vol. 4.

It tells about the biologist A.A. Lyubishchev, who set himself a global goal in his youth: to develop a periodic system of biological objects, similar to the periodic system of chemical elements of Mendeleev. He calculated the amount of time needed to achieve this goal, it turned out to be much more than the average life expectancy of a person. Alexander Alexandrovich decided to look for reserves of time, for which he began to keep timekeeping of his activities, analyze his results, and plan his work. Here, for the first time, the idea of timing appears as basics personal time management systems. There was also an important idea budgeting spending time - a much more flexible method than usual for Western approaches planning. The book caused a wide response and considerable interest in the topic of organizing personal time. Lyubishchev's followers corresponded with each other, creatively developed his methods and developed new ones. Gradually, the main idea of the “Lyubishchev’s” approach crystallized – effective thinking as the basis of personal effectiveness, and timing as a tool for developing this mindset. In other words, personal effectiveness is not limited to a set of techniques and techniques; conscious time management gives the greatest result as method of thinking.

Third stage. At the end of the story about the domestic school of organizing personal time, it is necessary to mention such a unique phenomenon as the first online time management community in Russia and in the world, which today is the carrier and generator of the most modern methods for improving personal efficiency.

The community originated at the Time Organization website www.improvement.ru at the beginning of the new millennium, in January 2001, and combined several very important elements. Some of its participants are followers of Lyubishchev's traditions. Another significant component of the community is IT consultants, thanks to whose systems thinking, classical approaches to personal effectiveness are combined with modern technologies for analyzing and modeling business systems. The third element of the community is ordinary management consultants, managers and entrepreneurs who are close to the ideas of time management.

All members of the time management community - from the heads of large corporations to simple managers of small firms - are enthusiastic people who not only got acquainted with the theory of time management, but also introduce the techniques and technologies of domestic time management into their practice. And then they share their experience on the pages of the site www.improvement.ru, where the most interesting and relevant articles of many active members of the time management community are published. All the stories collected on the pages of the site are a real experience of using time management tools, techniques and technologies in a wide variety of areas and fields of activity. The most interesting articles are given as examples in the chapters of this edition.

A new turn in the development of time management in Russia is the opening in 2007 of the first department of time management in Russian universities at the Moscow Financial and Industrial University "Synergy" (until 2010 - MFPA). Thus, we can talk about the creation and development of a scientific and scientific-pedagogical school in the field of time management.

The formation and development of this stage is associated with the name Gleb Alekseevich Arkhangelsky, founder and permanent leader of the time management community, CEO of the Time Organization company, head of the time management department at Synergy MFPU, author of numerous business bestsellers. Gleb Arkhangelsky is rightfully considered the leading expert in the field of time management.

Thus, the time management community and the Time Organization company today are the main generators of modern ideas and technologies for increasing personal efficiency in the field of time management in our country.

Chapter 1
Goal setting

1.1. Time management as a system

The concept and definition of goal setting

It is easy to see that time exists independently of us, so the term "time management" (time management), or "time organization" is rather arbitrary.

Time Management- management of a person's own activities, organization of tasks and distribution of all resources.

The concept of personal management time" appeared due to the fact that it is the most valuable of all human resources. Time is an absolutely non-renewable and very limited resource, so all management processes should be adjusted taking it into account.

Modern time management is not just a set of tricks from the field of "how to meet deadlines" or "how to conduct meetings correctly." This is a system for managing yourself and your activities.

Time management as a system consists of four elements. Let's consider each of them (Fig. 1.1).

First element(bottom rung of stairs) efficiency(it also includes success). If we consider life as a kind of journey, then at this stage it is determined how best to go in order to get to the goal on time and as little as possible tired, i.e. the first stage is the answer to the question “how to go?”.

How to prepare well for the test in the shortest possible time? How to organize your time so that you have time to work and study? What is the best way to rest?

This is time management in the usual sense of the word.

Second element – technology, to find the most successful solutions. This element of the time management system requires consideration of a number of other, very complex disciplines. For example, business TRIZ (the theory of inventive problem solving) and managerial struggle. These technologies are closely related to the strategy, they provide a set of tools for making strategic decisions, including in the field of personal strategy. Techniques for enhancing personal effectiveness include a variety of other tools, from ten-finger touch typing and speed reading to numerous Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques.

How to quickly tune in to work, and not swing for an hour? How to find the right arguments to quickly convince the interlocutor? How to find a creative, non-standard solution to a problem in a short time?

You can get acquainted with the listed technologies in detail (and they are really very useful and in demand, especially in the management environment) by reading the books devoted to these topics. The names of some of them are given in the list of recommended reading.

Third element time management systems strategy. If technology can be compared to the answer to the question “what to ride?” (a qualitative leap compared to “how to go?”), then strategy is the answer to the question “where to go?”.

What are my strategic and tactical goals? Is there an algorithm to achieve them? Are my daily activities organized according to my goals?

Obviously, there is no point in moving very effectively in the wrong direction. And it is logical that when discussing the organization of time, questions of strategy arise.

And finally fourth element systems is a topic that sooner or later a person who takes his time seriously comes to. This is the theme philosophy. In the context of time management, the word "philosophy" means a very simple thing - the answer to the question "why?".

Why set these goals and not others? How to realize your life values? How to find the meaning of life and is it necessary to look for it at all?

So, the issues of time management and personal efficiency are not only closely related to the definition of our life goals, but are also directly dependent on how accurately and correctly we managed to formulate them. Therefore, we begin consideration of questions of the organization of time with goal-setting.

goal setting- this is the definition, construction of the goal, the formation of the image of the desired future.

Why is the goal so important for every person?

The answer to this question and an illustration of the fact that the goal is of paramount importance in our life will be the following story.

On the morning of July 4, 1952, fog spread over the entire California coast. 34 kilometers to the west, on Catalina Island, a 34-year-old woman entered the water, about to swim towards California. She decided to become the first woman to overcome this distance. Her name was Florence Chadwick. She was already famous as the first woman to swim across the English Channel in both directions. The water was freezing cold and the mist so thick that Florence could barely make out the boat that accompanied her.

Millions of people watched her on TV. The escorts even had to fire their rifles to protect Florence from the approaching sharks. The biggest problem she had to face in this record swim was not fatigue, but freezing water. 15 hours later, Florence, completely stiff with cold, asked to be pulled out of the water. She was unable to swim further. Her mother and coach, who sailed in the boat next to her, said that the shore was very close. They persuaded Florence not to give up, but when the swimmer looked towards the California coast, she saw nothing but thick fog, and again asked to be pulled out of the water. A few hours later, when Florence warmed up, she experienced the shock of her failure. She was pulled out of the water only half a mile from the California coast!

A reporter asked her, "Tell me, Miss Chadwick, what prevented you from swimming those last half miles?" “The fog interfered with me,” she replied. “If only I could see the ground, I could do it. When a person can no longer swim and does not see his goal ... "

“The fog prevented me - if only I could see the ground ...” - this phrase of Miss Chadwick became winged. Since she lost sight of her goal, she gave up before she reached it. The same thing happens every day to many people in all sorts of life and professional areas.

Knoblauch J., Weltier X. Time Management

1.2. Proactive and reactive approaches to life

Only a clearly defined goal can achieve significant results. If it doesn't exist, we can't draw up a plan of action because we don't know what we want to achieve. Even if some steps are taken, it is not clear whether they lead to a successful result, since there is no clear definition of what is. We get lost and disappointed, life begins to seem uninteresting and empty, and if so, then there is no point in moving forward. The idea of setting goals is not obvious to many of our compatriots who do not manage their lives, but only "go with the flow." I went to an English school because my parents told me to; learned to be a lawyer, because there was a suitable pull; I work "where they arranged" ...

Sad, isn't it?

Stephen Covey, a well-known American time management specialist, distinguishes between "proactive" and "reactive" approaches to life.

Reactive approach to life - this is her living by reacting to external circumstances, life according to the “how it happened” and “how it happened” type.

Proactive approach to life - building it at will, active influence on events and circumstances. With this approach, we ourselves shape our lives and recognize ourselves as responsible for it.

It should be noted that the problem of goal setting is not exclusively Russian or the countries of the former Soviet Union. A clear indication of this is the huge readership worldwide of Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 2

In which a proactive approach to life is considered.

Once, the experts of the "Organization of Time" company agreed with a well-known French corporation operating in the Russian market on the content of a time management training. The head of the training department, a Frenchwoman, could not understand why the topic of goal setting was needed. After a long discussion, she thought about it, and then said: “Perhaps you are right. Obviously, the problem of life uncertainty is really relevant for your country. In France, everything is different - there a seven-year-old schoolboy already knows his goals for the rest of his life perfectly ... "

In order to determine the proactivity of an arbitrary person taken, consider what he devotes most of his time and vitality to. But first, let's look at two concepts: "circle of concern" and "circle of influence"3
Kovi S. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Personal Development Tools. – M.: Alpina Publisher, 2012.

Each of us is concerned about a significant list of issues and phenomena: health, relationships with relatives and friends, our future, the security of the country in which we live, the problem of hazing in the army, etc. All this can be separated from processes and phenomena that do not special emotional or intellectual influence on our lives, and put everything that worries us into our personal "circle of concern"

If we analyze what is in it, we can see that we are able to influence some of the phenomena included in it, but not others. What is subject to personal control, we put in the second circle, internal in relation to the "circle of concerns", - the "circle of influence" (Fig. 1.2).

The degree of proactivity depends on which of the circles to focus on more. Proactive people give priority to the circle of influence. They direct their efforts, time and energy to what is in their power to change, as a result of which they expand their “circle of influence” (Fig. 1.3).

reactive people, on the contrary, they focus their efforts on the "circle of concerns" - they complain about the behavior of other people, about circumstances that they are not able to change, and blame anyone but themselves for their failures. They constantly consider themselves a victim, and phrases regularly slip into their speech: “I can’t do anything ...”, “I am who I am ...”, “If only ...”, “Nothing depends on me ...”. Negative energy emanates from them, which causes harm to others, and above all to themselves. After all, focusing on a reactive approach to life, such people often lose sight of those areas in which they could really do something. As a result, their “circle of influence” shrinks (Figure 1.4).

…He was a perfect example of a man who never tried to control his life. The sad truth was that he was just going with the flow, tripping over himself, invariably making excuses for his every failure and refusing to accept responsibility.

Many people act like him, as if they are just passing through life, moving from one day to the next. It's not that they don't have any desires or dreams about how they achieve huge success; but these dreams are accompanied by many justifications for doing nothing, based on convincing arguments, and they immediately block their way as soon as such people begin to think that it is possible - only possible! - the day will come when they will begin to fulfill these desires.

But something always gets in their way - the wrong season, urgent car repairs, or the fact that they were too tired last night. So they say, but the truth is that the only obstacle standing in their way is themselves...

C. Norris. The Secret Power Within Us: Zen Solutions to Real Problems

Focusing on the "circle of concerns", we allow ourselves to be controlled by the processes and phenomena that are in it. Only proactive thinking and behavior can bring about positive changes that will allow us to expand our “circle of influence”.

Is he always within the "circle of worries"? No, there are cases when the “circle of influence” of a person occupying a solid official position and having a high level of material well-being or the necessary connections turns out to be wider than his “circle of concerns”.

The model shown in fig. 1.5 reflects another reactive approach to life circumstances focused on the "circle of concern".

This picture characterizes the behavior of selfish people - they have enough opportunities, and they can influence a lot, but they do not intend to use these resources for the benefit of anything other than their small “circle of concerns”.

Note that for proactive people, the “circle of concern” is never less than the “circle of influence”. They tend to feel responsible for many processes and phenomena occurring in life. They tend to ask themselves the question: “What can I do to change an undesirable situation?” - and try to influence the events that are in the "circle of concerns", which are priorities for them.

Is it possible to somehow develop your own proactivity to achieve a dream? After all, any of us will have a million convincing explanations of why it has not yet become a reality. A lot of unfavorable external circumstances will be the reason for this, and most likely this is true. But what good is it that we have excuses? After all, they do not bring us closer to the dream. Does this mean that we are faced with a vicious circle: “lack of a goal - lack of an action plan - lack of results - disappointment - low self-esteem - loss of desire for further development and movement forward - lack of a goal"? Yes, but there is still a way out of it. By setting yourself small, simple, and achievable goals at the beginning, you can gradually pave the way to success. When the goal is achieved, we experience an incredible elation and self-confidence, it becomes necessary to define new goals for ourselves.

An interesting and very reasonable look at the technology for achieving the goal is given by one of the participants in the time management community (hereinafter referred to as the TM community) Andrey Panfilov in the article "Excellent technology of constancy of active action" 4
The full text of the article is available on the website of the TM community. Access mode: http://www.improvement.ru/zametki/otpad.

OTPAD technology

My approach to the problem of “moving towards the goal” comes down to a simple formula, to a technique that I called a little exaggerated, but with a loud word “OTPAD” - an excellent technology for constancy of active actions. ... The main idea of the OTPAD technology is that when moving towards the goal, you must not stop. Returning to a lost rhythm is much more difficult than maintaining it. Stopping, interrupting the movement negatively affects the whole process, and regular slowdowns and subsequent jerks will not bring you anything good, unless, of course, you specifically aim to create additional difficulties for personal growth. To achieve the goal it is necessary permanent action. Let it be a little, let it be a little, but move forward without stopping. Step by step, step by step, every day, continuously. Remember long distance runners, how do they move? Have you ever seen a marathon runner who, having quickly run 100-200 meters, stops to rest, and then runs again? I haven't seen it, because the athletes know the law that I'm telling you about. An interesting and useful property of that mysterious force that is called inertia is that it helps to keep moving, that is, if you accelerate and stabilize, energy costs immediately decrease. Folk wisdom says: "Water wears away a stone." This is one of the interpretations of this method, known to people for a long time. Each drop that falls on a stone cannot make significant changes in it, neither move it nor pierce it. But, dripping constantly into the same place, the water first flushes the hole, then the depression increases, until finally a hole is formed in the stone. Now the water has reached its goal, it can flow calmly, the barrier has been passed. So each of us, looking forward to the goal, should constantly do something that at least a little closer to the goal, and not stop. A couple more examples in the development of the same basic idea. Each of us has climbed the stairs more than once. How did you do it? Have you ever thought about jumping high up and flying over the entire flight of stairs to the next floor? Was it? Well, how did it happen? It is most convenient to climb, making steps of the same size and rhythm. Someone will go through the steps, someone will get up on each, but the more uniform the movement, the easier it will be to go. Let me give you another example. Remember how climbers climb the highest peaks. They sometimes move very slowly, several meters per minute, and sometimes per hour, but by continuing to move, taking step by step, they approach their goal and eventually reach the top.

Successful, happy, self-fulfilling people who have achieved a lot in life may or may not keep a diary, control tasks personally or with the help of a secretary, be supporters of regularity or, conversely, spontaneous response to circumstances, etc. Everyone has a different technique. But what unites these people, what they definitely have, is a clear understanding of their goals. And most importantly - the willingness to actively implement their ideas, regardless of "objective external circumstances."

So, a clear, well-defined goal brings success.

One of the studies regularly conducted at Harvard University in the USA on the topic "The process of becoming graduates of educational institutions over a long time period" gave the following results.

83% of graduates do not have any career goals in front of them. Their average salary is taken as a basis. It is used for comparison.

14% of graduates have a clear career goal, but have not put it on paper. They earn on average three times more than graduates from the first group.

3% of respondents set a clear goal for their future career and gave it a written definition. They earn about ten times more than graduates belonging to the first group.

The Harvard Study of Purpose clarifies another aspect: writing brings clarity to thinking. The one who keeps his thoughts only in his head and thinks that this is the goal is mistaken.

J. Knoblauch, H. Weltier. Time Management

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Time is not money, as some people think. Time has a much greater value in human life. Time is the most valuable resource that only a person can have, and it will not be possible to replenish it if it is already spent or lost, unlike money.

It was this position that became the basis of the life and work of one of the leading specialists in the field of t in Russia - Gleb Arkhangelsky. And speaking today about time management, it is simply impossible not to mention this person. It is for this reason that we decided to dedicate one of our articles to the personality and the main ideas and concepts of this interesting person and a true professional in his field.

Who is Gleb Arkhangelsky?

Gleb Alekseevich Arkhangelsky, as already noted, is one of the brightest time management specialists in Russia. He is currently a well-known business coach, the author of several popular books on time management, including "Corporate Time Management" and "Time Drive", which have become best sellers, as well as the CEO of his own company "Time Management", chief editor of the Internet portal "Improvement.ru", head of the time management department of the Moscow Financial and Industrial Academy and candidate of economic sciences.

Gleb Arkhangelsky was born in Leningrad. He graduated from St. Petersburg State University, where he became interested in time management issues. This required a combination of study and work.

After graduating from the university, Arkhangelsky began working in a bank, but his activities were in no way connected with the organization of time. The management instructed him to deal with the mushroom production project. But it was such a dreary and boring task that Gleb went to the management and honestly admitted that this activity, as they say, was not his, but. Quite a common situation, which, as implied, was to be followed by dismissal. But it was at this moment in the life of Gleb Arkhangelsky that an event occurred that can be called fateful.

Gleb's leader asked him what he would like to do. Gleb replied that he was interested in the time accounting and analysis system. And the desire of the future professional to deal with the issue presented in the most beautiful way coincided with the needs of the bank in . So Gleb Arkhangelsky began to do what he really likes, gradually establishing and improving his relationship with the most valuable resource that he has in his life - time.

Having subsequently left his job in a bank, the hero of our article decided to found his own consulting company "Organization of Time", the head of which he is to this day. The result of the efforts undertaken by this man was his reputation as the founder of the Russian school of time management.

Of course, it cannot be said that the issue of organizing a temporary resource was not relevant in our country - domestic businessmen and managers of various categories have always been interested in it, but it was Gleb Arkhangelsky who localized this problem and began to study it at the most serious level. Today, Gleb Arkhangelsky's seminars and master classes on time management are incredibly successful.

Here we recall that time management in general is a special technology that allows absolutely anyone to master and ultimately achieve maximum personal efficiency and productivity in any business, no matter what they do. This is what determines the relevance of time management, which we can observe today.

Ideas of Gleb Arkhangelsky

In general, the essence of the methods of Gleb Arkhangelsky is based on two basic principles:

Learn about good time management techniques
Implement these methods into your life gradually, but daily.

"Eat frogs in the morning"

One of the most effective time management techniques is to "eat frogs in the morning." The "frog" here refers to the most unpleasant thing that you need to do during the day. "Eat the frog" means to do the deed. By solving the most unpleasant task at the beginning of the day, you can not only save yourself from unpleasant worries, but also recharge yourself with positive energy for the whole coming day.

"Cutting an elephant into steaks"

Another great time management technique is "cutting the elephant into steaks." "Elephant" is some kind of global business, which cannot be completed in one go. To do this, you need to divide it into smaller parts, i.e. cut into steaks. A step-by-step solution to a complex problem is the way to its final solution.

Step by step execution of cases

Another effective advice of Gleb Arkhangelsky is to perform only one step at a time. It concerns . From the whole volume of things to be done and the tasks to be solved, you should choose one or two, and direct all your efforts to their solution over the next few weeks. Moreover, it is recommended to choose tasks that are focused on achieving.

Expansion of the area of activity

Here's another tip: once you have successfully completed a number of small projects in any one area, you need to start expanding the scope, i.e. start planning things in some new area, and then start implementing these plans, after breaking them into several components. Such a simple maneuver will allow you to achieve high results in the area to which you are accustomed, as well as gradually get out of it, doing new things.

Analysis

In addition to all of the above, there is another essential point regarding time management - this is analysis. In the course of his activity, a person must pay due attention to analytical work, which, in turn, can be divided into two components:

Analysis of your activities
Analysis of your inclinations

Analysis of your activities involves an analysis of what exactly your time is spent on, where most of it goes, whether they are present in your life, etc. Here it is very convenient to use traditional methods of analyzing time use, such as, for example, fixing the time spent over several weeks, keeping a diary, analyzing completed tasks at the end of the day, and some others.

And analyzing your inclinations involves asking yourself questions about your habits of using time. These questions are:

What activities that take more than 30 minutes a week can I do?
What tasks that take more than an hour a week to complete can I complete in half the time?
Can I delegate tasks that take more than 30 minutes a week to someone else?
Which of my activities during the day turned out to be the most effective, and which was the least?
How much time did I spend on during the day?
How much time do I spend on and self-improvement?
How much time do I spend on routine and emergency tasks?

In addition to these issues, there are also a number of others.

By analyzing the use of your time using this technique, you can see how your time resource is distributed during the day, and what inclinations you have within this issue. This will help you eliminate the quite familiar, but inefficient organization of personal time, replacing it with a more productive one.

Finally

"Corporate Time Management: Encyclopedia of Solutions"
"Formula of Time: Time Management at Outlook 2007"
"Organization of time: from personal efficiency to the development of the company"
"Time Management: Study Guide"

In addition, we can visit the resource of Gleb Arkhangelsky - "Improvement.ru", as well as sign up for his trainings and seminars (information is on the Arkhangelsky website).

If you are interested in learning about other specialists in the field of time management, you can do this by going to. Don't forget to check out the .

Reviews (46)

Everything ingenious is simple or about the benefits of mekhmat

I bought the book with a certain amount of skepticism, because I read a lot of Western opuses in the original on this topic, as well as all kinds of advice from domestic authors that come to me through various digest subscriptions on the topic that the dear universe will help to have time to live, you just have to put an hourglass on your desk and weave a Slavic filippovka doll from tow, which will immediately begin to perform the functions of a secretary-referent.

I will say right away that the author does not say anything new, we all do approximately the same, as prescribed in the advice of this book. BUT the great merit of the author lies in the generalization and systematization of all these disparate techniques, which ultimately allow the reader to form a whole system of time management.

Valuable is also the argument that allows you to use all the proposed methods meaningfully, that is, effectively.

It is very pleasing that there is no connection to any specific tools, diaries of a special kind, programs, etc. The main thing is to catch the essence, and then the author shares examples of who had cardboard boxes at hand, who had an iPhone. Though cut down reminders in the rock, the essence does not change from this.

So the book is useful, short enough, everything is written on the case, it is useful and does not cause regret about the money and time spent.

For me, planning my whole life is boring. But in this book there is something important for my worldview: RELEASE your life from everything unnecessary and wasted time. And spend the freed time on “relatives” (what the right word) for yourself goals, do what you like! This is easier said than done. But the book is filled to capacity with the experience of managers who brilliantly master the skills of time management. Whom to learn from, if not from them... Not everyone will be able to live in the rhythm proposed by the author, but many will be able to draw something useful from the book.

First of all, I would like to note the structure of the material, the highlighting of the main theses at the end of the chapter and the graphical display of data - it is very convenient and allows you to better perceive the material. The epigraphs to the chapters are also pleasing. Practical examples are a good reinforcement of the theory.

Figurative comparisons (“frogs”, “elephants”, “Swiss cheese method”) are well remembered, they introduce an element of humor and easily pop up in memory, while not forgetting what they mean.

In general, the idea of competent time allocation is relevant and important, you can’t argue with that. It's nice to realize that you have already done some of the things described in the book before, which means that you are not a completely lost person for time management.

But applying all the techniques is quite difficult, for example, I got the impression that timing for 2 weeks would take a lot of time and effort, it would be constantly distracting. Although of course it is clear that all these efforts are aimed at the result. But human laziness is a terrible property, which is very difficult to fight, it's time to create laziness-management. "Rules of creative laziness" is also very original.

The main disadvantage that I have identified for myself is the danger that in constant control of time a person may simply lose the ability to relax, not think about every minute and comply with the schedule and plan.

It also gives the impression that the book should not be read all at once, but gradually. Read part - implement these techniques, get used to them, read more - implement more. By the way, I heard this opinion from friends.

In general, the book is very useful, practical and, with the proper application of all techniques, should lead everyone to visible results.

For those who are drowning in everyday routine, who have low self-esteem due to the fact that a lot of issues remain unresolved, deadlines are missed, promises to do something are not kept, the book will allow not only to clear the rubble, become more organized, learn to value your own and other people's time. More importantly, the author encourages you to think about whether you need to try to do everything, whether you are pursuing your goals - perhaps to the detriment of your hobbies, communication with friends and relatives, rest and healthy sleep, finally. What do you want from life, what are you striving for, what are your true values - it is very difficult to answer all these questions even to yourself, but without knowing yourself, you cannot get out of the cycle of fuss, distractions and temptations, imposed goals. The author offers techniques not only for more efficient organization of daily work, but also for mastering the skills of self-observation, introspection, and conscious living of life.

Without answers to important questions about the value system, about global goals and the meaning of life, time planning techniques are meaningless - it's great that the author, without too much pathos, calmly but convincingly conveys this idea.

5 more reviews

Dedicated to my grandfather, Herman Arkhangelsky,

with gratitude for joining

to the tradition of managerial thinking

and for the timely presented book about Time

"This strange life."

From publishers

The book that saves time is the book of life!

Surprisingly, everyone will make good money on this wonderful book.

The author, Gleb, will earn. Not so much money as fame and popularity - and many new grateful students. The publishing house will earn - and again, not so much money as many grateful readers. And, finally, each reader will earn. And - unlike Gleb and the publishing house - three times. At first, he will earn a lot of positive emotions - after all, the book is written very easily, accessible and interesting! Then, with certain efforts on himself, he will begin to earn "temporary points" - first hours, then days and weeks of his time. And then the most valuable “earnings” will come, which bring very, very much. These are changes for the better - both in his personal life and in his career. You will really start to have time to live and work!

One of the readers once told me that my prefaces to books remind him of good Georgian toasts - they are moderately long and interesting. I understood the hint, I round off.

Well ... for a time drive!

Igor Mann Publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber"

Foreword: Our Time Capital

Dear reader,

we are all in an equal position before the inexorable passage of time. Whatever material well-being we have achieved, each of us has very little time. There are no millionaires in the realm of time. The time capital available to us until the end of life is approximately 200-400 thousand hours. And most importantly, time is irreplaceable. Lost time, unlike lost money, cannot be recovered.

"The art of being on time", time management, time management is one of the most necessary arts for a modern person. More and more information. Events are happening faster. It is necessary to respond in time, to keep within ever more stringent deadlines. At the same time, somehow find time for relaxation, hobbies, family, friends ...

Five years ago, when we created the Time Management Community, the topic of time management was little known in Russia. It was believed that in the conditions of the "broad Russian soul" and the Russian "off-road and slovenliness" it was impossible to plan time. Few people knew that back in 1926 there was a league "Time" that disseminated advanced time management technologies; few people were familiar with the rich history of domestic time management. The experience of participants in the TM community and corporate TM projects has shown that it is necessary and possible to plan time in Russia. You will find real examples of this in the book.

Time management is not only diaries, plans and deadlines. It is a technology that allows you to use the irreplaceable time of your life in accordance with your goals and values. Whether you use flexible planning or rigid planning, timekeeping or self-motivation, Outlook or a paper notebook - there is no difference. Technique is secondary. It is important to find your "native" life goals - and allocate your time in accordance with them. Wasting irreplaceable time of life on what is really want.

Three years ago, the Piter Publishing House published my monograph Time Management: From Personal Efficiency to Company Development, which has now gone through two editions. It was the first non-translated book on time management in Russia over the past 30 years, summarizing my author's developments and the experience of members of the TM community. Numerous responses led me to write a second book, a more popular format.

The first book was a "maximum program", containing all the richness of classical and modern TM tools, setting the foundations and boundaries of time management as a new discipline in management science. The book you are holding in your hands is the minimum program. Here, in the simplest possible form, the most necessary and widely used personal time management techniques are outlined. As in the first book - necessarily on real Russian examples.

The unusual title of the second book was not chosen by chance. “Time” is an energetic, technologically advanced, effective “time” of the Western world, well mastered by the Russian language. “Drive” is a root that has also taken root in the Russian language and is associated with two things: control, energetic movement - and, the second meaning, a vivid pleasure from what you are doing. As the Russian language has adopted these two roots, so we all, in my opinion, should learn an energetic, active, purposeful approach to our time. Let's add this energetic approach, this "time drive", to our traditionally strong trait - the ability to dream, create, set high goals. And then we will not be equal.

Our time capital is small. This applies not only to each of us individually, but to the entire nation as a whole. We have little time - the 21st century is in the yard, and in this century we have a lot to make up for, a lot to learn. Stop worrying about past failures, don't be afraid to set bold goals - and achieve them. To learn not only to dream, which we can do well, but also to turn dreams into reality in an organized, purposeful manner.