Ask HN: How do you manage time and execute your plans?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35688153

by samuel246 • 3 years ago

6 2 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Hi HNers, I'm interested in hearing about how you execute your everyday plans. While I believe that planning ahead is a useful approach for a productive life, personally for me, putting it into practice is very challenging.

So, I'm curious to know:

What's your personal approach for managing your time and executing your plans?

How do you ensure that you stay on track and achieve your goals?

Any tips or tricks you'd like to share?

gravitate• 3 years ago

I try not to bite off more than I can chew. This means not taking on too much or going down unnecessary rabbit holes when building something. I should feel adequate enough for the task, and not feel as if the task is insurmountable. Also the time-frame for the task should match the task at hand and not feel like an endless quest.

mbork_pl• 3 years ago

I have a pretty complicated system of planning (and executing) tasks for the next day. (The system started very simple about 2 years ago and grew organically with me.) My plans are pretty tight in the morning, when I want to do a lot of stuff very efficiently (my normal schedule from 5:20 to about 7:00 contains 8 tasks ranging from 1-2 to 25 minutes, has a resolution of 5 minutes and very small buffers until about 6:15, when it becomes a bit more lax), more lax from, say, 9-10 to 17-18 (usually tasks from 45 to 90 minutes, with 15-30 minutes buffers in between) and _very_ lax in the evening (1-3 tasks taking 5-10 minutes each). The system is heavily gamified (which works well on me, YMMV) and connected to Beeminder (note: I'm not affiliated with them, just a satisfied customer (and an author of one of the alternative clients)). One key observation is this: motivation is overrated, discipline is king. Another one is: plan for breaks and rest. And another: getting enough sleep is one of the top priorities. Yet another: consistency trumps short-term bursts of activity by a very large margin. (One of the key features of my system are generous buffers. Even if I fail to perform 75% of my planned stuff one day, it doesn't matter much in the long term, because it's just one day.) Also, measuring time you need to do things is very helpful when planning/estimating.

Just a few random thoughts - I can expand on every one of them if you want.

Ask HN: How do you manage time and execute your plans?

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