Use the Alpine method for efficient time management

Preface

I don't know when to start, and insist on going to the company 1 hour in advance every day to set out the plan for the day. And his daily plan, monthly plan and annual plan are related. So I always think my time management is good. It was not until recently that I listened to the company's online course "Efficient Time Management" that I discovered that time management also has some methodologies and laws.

My current time management problems

1. Time is often not enough, and it is difficult to "complete the day on the same day" according to the planned tasks.
2. There is always a big difference between actual planning and actual completion.
3. Although the daily plan summary is occasionally carried out, it has not changed the existing problems.

I believe this is also a time management problem encountered by most people. So how to use time management methods and laws to solve these problems.

The three laws of time management

Parkinson's Law : Work will automatically expand and take up all your time-it's still early anyway.
Murphy's Law : If things have the possibility of going bad, no matter how small the possibility, it is possible.
Ilich’s Law : After a person has worked for a period of time, his efficiency will decrease, so he needs to take appropriate rest and adjust.

Alpine Law Enactment Day Plan

Efficient time management uses ALPEN, the Alpine method. ALPEN refers to:

A List tasks

Types of work tasks include:

1. The tasks listed in the weekly/monthly plan.
2. Transfer tasks that were not completed the day before.
3. Newly issued daily work.
4. Need to deal with appointments and meetings.
5. Routine tasks.

L estimated time

Estimate the time required for each task based on experience values.
Estimating time is a process of experience accumulation, and the experience value will be constantly revised at the beginning.

There are several considerations for task time estimation:

1. Tasks can be divided into independent tasks and cooperative tasks (more time reserved). Independent tasks can accurately estimate the required time, while cooperative tasks involve communication and collaboration with others, and the time of others is uncontrollable, so more time should be reserved.

2. The big task can be divided into several small tasks and completed in stages. In this way, the task can be reasonably allocated to the future time.

3. Shorten time for routine/repetitive tasks.

4. Allow more time for things that may go bad.

This involves Parkinson's law and Murphy's law.

Parkinson's Law (Regular/Repetitive Tasks): Work will automatically expand and take up all your time. Routine, repetitive tasks have more time reserved, the more time they will be completed. Properly shortening the time will help improve work efficiency.

Murphy's Law: If something has the possibility of going bad, no matter how small the possibility is, it can happen. For new or unfamiliar tasks, set aside more time.

Estimate the time to learn to disassemble, reserve and reduce tasks reasonably.

P reserve maneuver time

40% of the total time is reserved for unexpected events. If no accidents occur, future work can be advanced. (PS: It may be difficult to reserve time when the actual work is busy.)

E sort and allocate reasonable time

Use the four-quadrant method of time management to allocate time reasonably, determine the priority of tasks, and consider deleting and authorizing some unimportant tasks.

The four quadrants of time management are divided into:

1. Important and urgent matters should be dealt with immediately.
2. It is important but not urgent and can be carried out in an orderly manner.
3. Not important but urgent, you can choose whether to deal with it.
4. It's not important or urgent, it can reduce tasks.

To allocate time reasonably, you should also give yourself some rest time. This involves Ilich's law.

Ilich's Law: After a person has worked for a period of time, his efficiency will decrease, and proper rest will improve work efficiency and quality.

N inspection review

Inspection purpose:
After implementing the plan for a period of time in accordance with the above methods, you can understand your own time use rules. Then make targeted improvements for frequently occurring problems. For example, if there is not enough time, should you consider disassembling large tasks and splitting them into small tasks and spreading them out in the future.

Check steps:

1. Check whether the task list is complete.
2. Analyze the time required for each task.

Benefits of using the Alpine time planning method

1. Understand the daily tasks and time required.
2. Prioritize tasks.
3. Authorizations and deletions promote focus on key tasks.