The 20% Method to Achieve all your Goals

Solve problems in time & project management, work efficient & resilient, learn mindfulness emotional intelligence & anti-stress-strategies

Simone Janson, Simone Janson, Simone Janson

• Publisher: Best of HR – Berufebilder.de®
• Year: 2024
• ISBN:
  9783965963191
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Crescita personale
• Subtopic: Carriera

In the 4th, completely revised edition of this groundbreaking guide, published by an award-winning publisher, renowned experts (overview in the book preview) combine their knowledge with interactive AI. This unique combination of decades of experience and state-of-the-art technology enables you to master challenges on a whole new level. Thanks to the innovative transfer of information, complemented by personal experiences of success, you can realize your goals and reach your full potential. Because 20 percent of the effort is enough to solve almost all problems and achieve its self-set or externally specified goals. But in the stress of our everyday hamster wheel, we lose sight of this simple mechanism all too easily: instead of focusing on what is really important, we believe we have to over-perfectly complete every task, even down to the smallest detail. But focus, i.e. concentration on the essential 20 percent, is the magic word when it comes to working efficiently and productively and putting ideas into practice, even if unexpected obstacles stand in the way of implementation. Because only 20 percent of our tasks are really essential. Good time management, mindfulness and resilience help us to focus on the essential 20 percent and work more efficiently to achieve everything we want. This book shows how. For its concept "Information as Desired, " the publisher won the Global Business Award as Publisher of the Year and received government funding. It is also a partner of the Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany. The goal to give you the best possible content on topics such as career, finance, management, recruiting, or psychology goes far beyond the static nature of traditional books: The interactive AI Extended Books not only provide AI-optimized content in several languages based on data analysis but also allow you to ask individual questions and receive advice tailored to your personal interests. Each book contains detailed information and examples for your successful use of AI. You can utilize AI software for free, download e-courses, collaborate with workbooks, or engage with an active community. So you gain valuable resources that enhance your knowledge, stimulate creativity, and make your personal and professional goals achievable and tangible. Expertise and technical innovation go hand in hand, as we take the responsibility to deliver well-researched and informed content seriously, honoring the trust you place in us. Due to the unique combination of human expertise and innovation, we can publish works that meet your requirements in every aspect. And furthermore, we want to offer you the opportunity to make your journey towards personal growth and success even more unforgettable. We understand that true change occurs not just in the mind but primarily through personal experiences and application. Therefore, we've conceptualized special success journey experiences tailored to each book for you. Be inspired to elevate your life to an entirely new level. By purchasing the books, you can also do good: The publisher dedicates about 5 percent of book sales revenue to socially relevant or sustainable projects. We provide scholarships, support innovative ideas, and contribute to climate protection initiatives. Publisher Simone Janson is also a bestselling author and one of the top 10 influential German bloggers according to the Blogger Relevance Index. Additionally, she has been a columnist and author for renowned media outlets such as WELT, Wirtschaftswoche, or ZEIT - more about her can be found, among other places, on Wikipedia.

Procrastination and Aufschieberitis in time management: It comes differently ...
// By Simone Janson

Why do not many people reach their goals through hard work? Often distractions and disruptive factors are responsible for our delaying something - or our own inner attitude. How can you change that?

What does Aufschieberitis look like?

Let's start with an example: Mr G. wants to plan his time precisely in the future and stick to this plan. But he soon notices that, despite the most precise planning, things are not going as he imagined. “In theory it all sounds nice, but in practice it looks different, because I have to react flexibly and the whole planning is simply too spontaneous for that,” he says of his frustration and pushes the topic of time management with this excuse first to the side.

But it doesn't have to come to that. Of course, especially in professional life, external factors are often to blame for the fact that you do not achieve everything you set out to do: Difficult customers, a defective computer, bankrupt employers or a car breakdown. Unfortunately, you have no influence on this. But it always depends on how you deal with such difficulties. And some factors that prevent your successful self-management are simply homemade. If you have problems actually putting your planning into practice, you should work on it.

Overcome your "weaker self"

By reading literature on the subject of time management, you are taking the first step towards optimal self-management - but only the first step. Now you have to put your knowledge into practice. And to do this, you have to really want the change, because if that is not the case, you will not implement your planning consistently enough in the often stressful everyday work. But be patient with yourself: You cannot change all of your habits immediately.

If you want too much all at once, you will fail and then likely give up in frustration too quickly. In order to prevent something like this, you should first of all make it clear where you have the "weaker self" that is preventing you from optimally implementing your planning. First, consider when you use excuses similar to those used by Mr G. in the example above. Then analyze the motives behind these excuses.

Causes of procrastination - an overview

If you know what the root cause is, you can usually take action right away. The following overview should help you:

excuse	Cause behind it	Your course of action
"Today I have too much to do, I will start implementing it tomorrow."	You're postponing implementation.	Either start implementing it immediately, because you have no time to lose. Make a schedule of when you want to implement which planning step so that you stay on the ball.
"There is so much to consider, I don't even know where to start and in the end I don't stick to the matter."	You want to implement all the tips at once and lose track of things and lose interest.	Start with manageable problems. One step at a time - you don't have to do everything right away. Don't do too much at once. Stay patient and optimistic.
"There are so many different methods, I don't even know which one to start with."	You want to try all of the time management methods at once instead of figuring out which one is ideal for you.	Plan what methods to start with. You don't have to try all of the methods; it is enough if you try a few (Pareto principle), otherwise you run the risk of getting bogged down. Find out which method works best for you.
"Some tips are so banal, it's not worthwhile for me to deal with them!"	You think simple methods are less helpful because they are so simple and you would do them that way anyway.	Also, try simple methods. You will be surprised how effective even simple techniques can be. If you had guessed it yourself: So much the better!

"I can start, but I won't stick with it anyway."	They are simply inconsistent with the implementation.	Be consistent. Realize how important time management is for optimal work. Reward yourself for implementing individual techniques or force yourself (you can find out more about this below). Even small steps bring you further. Take a look at the other excuses: What is preventing you from being consistently implemented?
"If I plan too much, I cannot react flexibly." Or: "Time management is only effective if I really do everything."	These are two extreme positions on the same thing. They either think time management is totally unnecessary or only effective if you put everything into practice.	Avoid perfectionism. The attitude of either doing everything or nothing at all will get you nowhere. Remember that even small improvements are a success.
I've tried a few techniques, but I'm not sure if it makes sense.	You have no way of checking your success. This could make you lose interest.	Check whether something has already improved - for example by checking whether you have kept the contract with yourself (see below). Or ask someone else for feedback. Important: if you see improvement, you'll move on.

Write down your plan carefully

If you are still unsure whether you will implement your planning consistently, you can use an unusual tool: Write down exactly how you imagine the implementation of your personal self-management program in the next four weeks. Schedule as precisely as possible when you want to achieve which target. Don't do too much to yourself. When you write them down, make your personal goals clear again, visualize where your strengths and weaknesses are and which methods and tools you want to use.

You can now look for someone else - a partner or friend, for example - who will use this plan to check whether you have kept your resolutions. You can also agree on minor penalties and rewards. Perhaps this external pressure motivates you to consistently stay on the ball. Or maybe it is enough if you simply team up with someone who also wants to improve their work organization, and from now on you will motivate each other. You can also formulate your specifications as a contract with yourself: Make clear agreements and include the date and signature. But also agree on smaller sanctions if you breach the contract.

Do you sometimes say "No!"

You should leave 40 percent free in your schedule for unforeseen events. However, this 40 percent free time may not be enough. This can happen because you cannot manage to refuse other people's requests and wishes. There can be very emotional motives behind this in daily dealings with other people, for example. the fear of offending someone with a rejection, the desire to please or the need to want to help others. The tips presented below will show you what to do in such a situation.

The sound makes the music - especially when you say “no”. When they feel pressured or overwhelmed, many people tend to say, exaggeratedly violent and unfriendly, "No!" accept. Always stay polite and pack your "no!" like the examples below show you.

Self-employed people in particular are confronted with a particular problem: they have to earn money and therefore accept as many jobs as possible. At the same time, you want to establish yourself in the market and offer every customer the best possible service, which, however, usually does not bring you any additional income initially (even if good service pays off in the long term through customer loyalty and word of mouth). However, you are doing yourself a disservice by trying to take all orders and fulfill all of your customers' requests; Soon you will not do anything thoroughly and reliably, miss appointments and finally have to cancel because you simply have no choice. Your customers will then be more dissatisfied than if you had rejected them straight away, because the customers also have specifications and plans that they want to adhere to and which, thanks to you, may no longer be able to do so. You lose confidence in your company and you are soon seen as someone who undecided does everything a little but nothing right. It is better to reflect on your objective (see above) and resolutely “No!” At the right moment. accept.

Typical problems with saying “no”

The following examples show situations that typically occur with the self-employed. The tips explain how you can solve the respective dilemma.

Dilemma	Solution	The tip for you
Ms. W. is a communication consultant. A customer is bullied in the office. Ms. W. feels overwhelmed because psychological conflict resolution is not her area. But she feels sorry for the customer, she wants to help her and spends sleepless nights herself.	Ms. W. explains to her customer exactly what she can do for her: Analyze communication and train repartee. For the psychological problems, however, Ms. W. refers to an appropriate specialist. The customer is satisfied and seeks a psychologist in addition to communication advice.	Don't make your client's personal problem your own if it has nothing to do with your business. You are not responsible for anything. Look for the best alternative for YOU and the customer!
Journalist P. is already working on a large article when he is offered a second one that is very important to him. He won't be able to do both at the same time. Either he takes over the second or he doesn't. Or?	Journalist P. explains the situation to his client. Together you will find a solution: The second project can be split into a series of articles so that initially less effort is involved. The second part comes later.	There are more and more alternatives, not just “yes” or “no”. If you offer the customer alternative options, you will find alternatives together. Most customers can be spoken to by just explaining the facts.

As an antique dealer and restorer, Mr. G. specializes in Spanish Art Nouveau. A potential new customer wants a Bidermeier chest of drawers to be restored. The job would bring good money, but Mr. G. is not an expert in this: he would have to familiarize himself with it again and other jobs would suffer from this time expenditure.	Mr. G. refuses the order. But explains to the customer that his profile does not fit the order and refers to another small company that specializes in ... The customer will keep Mr. G. as a trustworthy contact person in the back of his mind and recommend him	Do not just say “no”, because that has a dismissive effect, but explain why you do not have time at the moment or why someone else is better suited for the task.
Schreiner C. built and delivered a cupboard. The customer now asks how much the assembly will still cost. At the same time he mentions that he would like to order a large dining table with chairs in the near future, if the price is right.	Schreiner C. has the choice: he offers the assembly free of charge or at a low price in order to retain the customer. However, he has no guarantee of the follow-up order, and at the same time he neglects important work that brings direct money. Or he demands the regular assembly price. If the customer does not pay for this, he will forego the assembly order.	Make conscious decisions. Think about what your original objective was (good service, low prices, quick work, etc.) and then set priorities. And just because you say "no!" you don't have to do that. You are free to choose what to accept and what not - always!
Ms. H. is a web designer and network administrator. But her main customer always comes to her with minor computer problems.	As a special service, Ms. H. offers the customer computer training, as unfortunately, as she states, she will be on the road a lot in the coming months because of an important project.	Offer help for self-help. Explain to the customer how it works. When they keep coming back to you, it's clear that the customer, who should know better now, is just comfortable. Then you can invoice the extra service with a clear conscience.

A clear, as narrowly composed performance professional as possible helps you to say “no”. It makes it clear to other people right from the start which services you specialize in and which services you do not offer. If someone asks: “Do also…” you can say “no” with a clear conscience. In this case, the “no” even creates trust because others know exactly what you can expect and where you stand with you.

Do not get bogged down

Maybe you know it: You just wanted to quickly write a few invoices, search the Internet for the latest news from your industry or load a new program onto your computer. You do this and that - and suddenly, without realizing it, the day is over and you haven't done your real work. Instead, you've got bogged down with a lot of little things and don't even know where your time has gone.

However, once you have analyzed the activities that wasted your time, as described above, you can see where your time has gone: take another look at your list and don't just focus on how much time you spend Have worked sensibly effectively or relaxed in breaks, but also how much time you wasted unnecessarily. You can now proceed methodically against this loss of time.

Do you need to do this work this way now?

First, question the purpose of your time-consuming activities. The following scheme shows you again how to proceed systematically. After a detailed analysis, some activities turn out to be necessary, but have to be organized differently (how, step 2 shows you). However, you can relieve yourself of many other tasks. This includes routine tasks that you only do out of old habit, precisely because you have always done it that way.

Example: Ms. K. is the owner of a gift shop. In the run-up to Christmas it is very busy. Despite the stress, she writes Christmas cards to all the customers in your file every year. Some customers haven't bought anything from her for years, here the Christmas cards are simply wasted effort and an unnecessary cost factor. Mrs. K. would do well to sort out the old customers.

Find a better time

But even if work should be necessary - it certainly makes sense, for example, to send good customers a Christmas greeting - the question remains whether you really have to do this work yourself. In many cases, you could have someone else do simple tasks cheaply, efficiently, and quickly (more on this in the next chapter). Ms. K. could, for example, transfer these small tasks to a student. But you could also ask yourself whether you absolutely have to do this work now in the run-up to Christmas. In summer, during the holiday season, she often has nothing to do for days and is bored in your shop.

Vacation time would be a much better time to write the Christmas cards in advance. And you too will certainly have one or the other idle phase in which you can do such work in between. Your personal analysis shows you where these are. Now plan these rather unimportant tasks specifically in such phases. To save time, you should also analyze whether you are doing the tasks efficiently. Check whether you are not working in a cumbersome way out of pure habit and how you can simplify this way of working and thus make it more efficient without the result suffering: Use technical aids such as suitable software or a better computer or automate work processes, for example by setting frequently used functions on your computer directly (in Office applications, for example, this works with macros). In our example, Ms. K. writes all Christmas greetings by hand and then folds the self-made cards by hand. You would save a lot of time if you bought folded paper beforehand and then printed out the greetings on the computer. Then you would only have to write the greeting once, instead of many times over and over again, you wouldn’t need to be afraid of typing errors and at the end you would only have to sign and put the cards in the envelope. Only wh...