With the advent of mobile applications, humanity has a new dilemma: which diaries - paper or electronic - are more convenient for planning? The answer to this question is to each his own. So we decided to dedicate this material different systems reference .

Bullet Journal

This technique was created by the American web designer Ryder Carroll. According to him, the system helped him build a successful career, and he has worked with such successful brands as Adidas, IBM, Cisco and HP.
Bullet Journal has a whole list of so-called " symbols' that need to be mastered. We will try to convey everything as simply as possible, without unnecessary terms.

Step one. Number the pages.
Step two. Create a title. For example, a schedule for June starts at page 16, a list of movies to watch at page 58, and a huge work project at 45.
Step three. Tell me, who doesn't like to keep lists? Ryder Caroll suggests devoting a few pages to listing books to read, cities to visit, and global shopping.
Step four. Let's start scheduling. On the left page, write down all the dates with days of weeks for the current month. Opposite the date, write down only those events that will happen with 100% probability: birthdays, going to the dentist, deadlines, and so on.
Step five. On the right page, write down all the goals and tasks for the current month. And don't forget to put it in the title!
Step six. List items for the day. At the same time, the use of all kinds of symbols (circles, squares, checkmarks, and so on) is welcome.
Step seven. After a month, transfer all outstanding items to a new schedule.

GTD - Getting Things Done

Another popular method of organizing your life. Here, too, no special terms can be dispensed with. In my opinion, you will have to spend some time to use this system on the machine. And its minus is that you have to mark in the diary almost every step you take.
So let's start with markers.

open circle- a task to be completed.
Circle with one crossed out stripe is a task that is currently being performed.
half filled circle- the task is half completed.
filled circle- mission accomplished.
Circle with a cross- The task has been cancelled.
Filled circle with arrow- the task is already being performed by someone else, there is no need to monitor the process.
Exclamation point- the task must be completed first.
Circle with a dot– you need to constantly remember this task.

This is the whole essence of the technique. You write a To Do List, enter markers and clearly see what needs to be done when and after what. For convenience, you can enter the numbering.

1 – 3 – 5

Many people have heard about this method of planning. It is suitable for those who are just beginning to comprehend the art of setting priorities.
According to the famous Pareto Efficiency Rule, 80% of results come from 20% of effort, and vice versa. Therefore, you can spend a lot of time, and get absolutely nothing in the end. This is what the 1 - 3 - 5 method is designed to deal with. You evaluate the importance of the task in order to get the maximum return in the future.
The idea of ​​the method is that for each day you plan 8 actions. It also helps to get rid of the desire to do everything at once. The first goal is the most important. It refers to the fact that the blood from the nose needs to be done.
The next three are necessary actions, but they are inferior in importance to the first goal. If there are no problems with self-organization, then you will also fulfill them. The remaining five are minor tasks, the implementation of which is not a top priority.

Method for lovers of numbers

His emphasis is also on setting priorities. To get started, give each task a score from 0 to 2. They are ranked in order of importance. 2 - the primary task that must be completed today, 1 - the task is important, however, in extreme cases, it can be completed later, 0 - daily tasks and minor duties that need to be remembered.
To do, at the end of the day, rate the completed items on a five-point scale.

This question can be answered in different ways. Time management experts say that only to-do lists and no unnecessary information should be entered in the diary. You can also address and phone numbers, if the diary has a special section for this. True, they advise writing down the cases in as much detail as possible: for example, not “call Marya Ivanovna”, but “Check with Marya Ivanovna the relevance of shipping documents”. In the first case, the call can be made, but if you did not find Marya Ivanovna on the spot, then it turns out that the matter was formally completed, but it did not have any productive result.

Those who are not familiar with the principles of time management enter into the diary any information that does not fit in their heads: a list of products, abstracts from a meeting, customer wishes, addresses, phone numbers, notes, smart thoughts, interesting sayings and quotes, and so on. As a result, they often lack pages, especially if , and only one page per day is allotted for recording. How to comply golden mean? What to write in a diary and what not to?

Of course, you can write whatever you want. But there are several ways that will help you not to lose the really necessary information in the stream of records.

Make a habit of making a to-do list for the next day every night. At the same time, things should be divided into “hard” - tied to a specific time, and “flexible” - those that need to be done, but not at a specific hour. “Flexible” cases, in turn, need to be ranked into very important, ordinary and unimportant. The first need to be in time at all costs, otherwise some kind of sanctions will follow. The latter require less attention, and if they are put aside, then nothing particularly terrible will happen. Cases from the third group are performed when there is free time.

If you have a habit of taking notes during a meeting or business conversation, you shouldn't do it in . As a rule, it is not designed for large texts. You can write everything on a separate sheet and attach it to the desired page with a paper clip.

Choose according to your goals. If you like to have all the information at your fingertips and enter phone numbers and addresses not in your mobile phone, get the option combined with the alphabetical phone book. So you will not lose the necessary phones and will not clutter up the pages with unnecessary entries. If you have a habit of jotting down extraneous information in your diary, such as favorite quotes, smart thoughts, or recipes, buy a notebook with a small extra undated block. Fortunately, the modern industry offers a lot of options for every taste and budget.

Get a second one. If you absolutely do not have enough space for work and home records, then divide them into two notebooks. Let the first plan your day from 9 am to 6 pm (the time you spend at work), and the second will include a fitness workout schedule, grocery list, meetings with friends, recipes and other pleasant things. If you do not have the habit of taking work home, then you can keep a work diary at work. The main thing is not to forget to fill it with things the next day before you go home.

We hope that these simple tips helped you figure out what to write in your diary and how to keep it so that there is enough space for everything. Daily entries help to streamline your life, make it more measured, relieve stress and increase personal efficiency.

Why do I even need to keep a diary? It is generally accepted that in order to organize your day. A day, yes, but a week, a month, and even a year. A well-organized diary will help you:

• be more collected;
• to do much more than you could before;
• don't forget about important dates and small assignments that for some reason always disappear from my head.

And the diary is a great tool for positive motivation. Because when you cross out all the things done for today at the end of the day, a feeling of satisfaction and pride in the work done immediately settles inside you. And these feelings motivate you not to slow down and work-work-work on. Small steps towards the cherished dream!

How do I choose a diary?

In fact, any notebook or even a thick notebook can become it. Let's see what suits you. Let's start simple: the number of sheets and the cover. If you are going to keep a diary at home, sitting at your desk and not carrying it with you, then the number of sheets can be any - at least 600. And the cover in this case you can afford a soft one, because you will still write on a hard surface.

If you still want to carry a planner with you and write down things “in any convenient place at any convenient time,” then the optimal number of sheets is 96-128. Plus, it has a hard cover so you can write in it even on your knees.

The format is preferably no larger than A5, so as not to take up much space in the bag. OK it's all over Now! And choose the colors and design of the cover to your taste, so that the diary pleases your eye.

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Life hack: If you don't like the selection of covers at your local bookstore, buy a plain notepad, print out a couple of your favorite pictures, or just buy some stickers and the cover will be designed in your own style.

Now a little about the "insides" of your future assistant. The paper inside can be checkered, lined, dotted, unlined, multi-colored, and even ornamented.

Which one to choose? Depends on you. Do you like to draw? Take an unlined one, and your sketches will decorate your plans for every day.

Keeping up with fashion? Then take it to the point - fashion bloggers often demonstrate their designed diaries in this format. Tired of white paper in school notebooks? Patterns and colorful sheets to help you! Well, if you are the one who is much more pleasant to write in algebra notebooks than in Russian, then take it to the cage, you won’t be mistaken.

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Where do I begin?

You can start right from the schedule of each day (then skip to the next item if you like it when everything is simple and clear). But if you prefer to take everything seriously and thoroughly, let's start with the calendar and goals. At the beginning of each month, draw a spread for this.

You can get by with just a calendar or just a list of goals, or you can put both options on the spread at once.

Then, turn the notebook over and draw one page horizontally - with a calendar. Make the squares with the days not as small as the calendar on your phone, but large enough to fit a few words. With a calendar, the whole month is at your fingertips: mark important dates, enter events, deadlines there and do not forget to put a bookmark on this spread so that you can return to it and check everything.

The second page is your list of goals for the month. You can divide them into subcategories (for example, "school", "sports", "extracurricular activities", "home help", etc.), or you can make a single list. Goals can be anything: "learn to play the guitar", "learn 100 new words in English", "come up with a surprise for a friend's birthday."

Life hack: you can make challenges out of goals. If you have a sweet tooth and would like to cut back on sugar, instead of the tedious “eat less sweets,” write “challenge: a week without chocolate” or “three slices of chocolate a day.” Basically, improvise!

How to schedule correctly?

The main goal of your diary is to effectively manage your time. There are only 24 hours in a day, 7-8 of which we spend on sleep, 2-3 (at best) on the road, 6-7 on study (and that's not counting homework!), And we also need to have time to eat, watch a series , meet friends, devote at least an hour to your favorite business and get stuck on social networks ... In general, there is always a critical lack of time. It is a clear schedule that will help you look at your “windows” between the main classes and set aside time for what you previously “wanted to do but didn’t have time to” do. What are the options?

Option number 1: reversal = week. This option is suitable for those who are more or less time oriented, and who have "I'll be there in 10 minutes!" takes no more than twenty minutes. If your "10 minutes" can stretch for an hour and a half, then the second option is better for you. Well, for now, about the first! Why a whole spread for one week, if all seven days can, in principle, fit on one page? To not be bored!

Life hack: stock up on colored pens, markers, scissors, glue, a stack of colorful magazines, and stickers.

Cut out your favorite pictures, collect motivating quotes (you can also find them and cut them out of magazines, or you can google them and arrange them with colored pens), use stickers with your favorite characters/clothes/drinks/sweets. Firstly, cutting and decorating puts thoughts in order and calms (like anti-stress coloring pages). Secondly, colorfully designed diary pages instead of a bare schedule, as in a school diary, inspire and delight the eye.

Therefore, you will need a whole spread: between the scheduled days, pictures, stickers, quotes and everything you want to put for this week will flash. You can divide seven days into two pages: Monday-Thursday on one, Friday-Sunday on the other (or weekdays / weekends). Or you can do all seven days on one page, and on the second place a huge collage that will motivate you.

Start by writing down the highlights for each day: write the beginning and end of classes, mark the time of training or any extracurricular activities that you attend.

Look where and how much time you have left and estimate what you usually spend it on.

If on social networks and eight episodes of a cool series, then it’s better to write down something for this time that you have long wanted to do and that, perhaps, will help you get closer to the dream of your whole life. Dilute it with lessons, an hour's rest (here you can deservedly stick on Instagram and do whatever your heart desires), meeting with friends - that's your week and scheduled!

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Option number 2: page = day. This option is suitable for those who want to learn how to manage their time and who have long been a habit of being late. It's not scary. The intuition of time is really an insidious thing, and if you were not born with it, then you have to somehow get out. A clear schedule for the whole day in this case can play into the hands.

On the left, you write the hours: from wake up to lights out (6:00, 7:00, 8:00 and on to the list). You can change the minutes. If your classes start at 8:15, then replace 8:00 with 8:15, etc. The main thing is that the difference between the points should be an hour and a half, no more. In each passage of time, write down the tasks.

Life hack: some things do not depend on you: traffic jams, queues, cancellations - so add at least 10-15 minutes to each event so that you have a margin of time. Even if something still went wrong: the performance was canceled, you were late to the cinema due to eight-point traffic jams, do not rush to get upset or angry. It's not your fault and not even the fault of those who stood in front of you in traffic. Little troubles happen so that later you appreciate the little amenities more! ;)

Whatever option you choose, do not forget about the design: it will cheer you up when you look at the diary to see what you have next on your schedule!

Trackers

Tracker = tracking. A very useful thing that you can take one or even several spreads in your diary. There are a lot of them: sleep tracker, habit tracker, goal tracker, mood tracker, etc. In general, choose what the soul lies to!

A sleep tracker is a great idea, especially for those who want to change their routine to a more adequate one. Now let's talk about one of the ways to do it. We write the numbers horizontally from 21:00 to 13:00, this is time. Vertically - from 1 to 31, these are days. Every day you paint over as much as you slept.

For example, on the first day you went to bed at 23:00, and woke up at 6:00. Then you paint over this entire gap between 23 and 6 horizontally.

Be sure to note how you felt that day. You can come up with some signs for yourself, or you can get by with the words “good / normal / bad”, etc. So you can keep track of how many hours your body needs in general to rest, when it is better for you to go to bed and what time it is better to get up.

Posted by teaandtwigs (@teaandtwigs) Jul 25, 2017 at 10:42 PDT

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The volume of information and the degree of its availability today are so great that it is simply impossible to remember everything that we learn every day. And if you add to this employment modern man and a huge number of things that he has to do, we get that at the right time it becomes problematic to “get” some information from the corners of memory. That is why many people use diaries in their studies, work, business and everyday life. But in order for this to give results and really simplify life, you need to be able to draw it up correctly. Next, we will talk about how this is done.

General information about diaries

It’s worth starting with what general orientation your diary can have. Depending on it, the design of the diary may differ both inside and outside. This is due to the fact that using this tool you should be as convenient and comfortable as possible. Moreover, keeping a diary should be pleasant, you should enjoy this process, such an activity should become something like a hobby.

Now you can find a variety of design ideas for diaries from many manufacturers. Therefore, you can choose for yourself exactly what will meet your needs and wishes. We will not consider all types of diaries, but list only the most common:

• Regular diary. A simple notebook can serve as such, in which there is a place for planning tasks for the day. This type of diary is used by most people, because. it is convenient to keep notes, make notes, mark the dates and times of meetings, fix birthdays, phone numbers, addresses and other data. Keeping a regular diary takes place according to a system that a person invents for himself.
• Personal diary. It can be called a diary, because. It is intended primarily for removing emotional tension, "splashing" on paper disturbing thoughts. Psychotherapists and psychologists advise keeping such diaries, especially for those who are prone to excessive emotionality, anxiety, worries,. And there really is an effect - after such a "practice" people relax, normalize their mental condition. Personal diaries are kept, as a rule, in free form.
• business diary. Designed for businessmen, business people, workers with a busy schedule. A business diary allows you to structure your affairs, not to forget anything, to have all the important information in sight. It should be clearly structured and divided into time intervals: hour, day, week, month, year. The results of the work and success that a person achieves largely depend on the organization of the diary.
• Electronic diary. This includes special computer applications and programs, but in recent times utilities for smartphones and tablets are becoming more common. Electronic diaries are incredibly convenient, equipped with a lot of useful features, the ability to customize sound notifications, etc. For people leading an active lifestyle and appreciating mobile devices, they are simply irreplaceable.

In general, today on sale you can find an incredible number of diaries, including highly specialized ones - “users” designed for specific purposes. We will not dwell on them in detail - just go shopping and see what is on the shelves.

We'd like to continue by looking at a few diary design ideas that you might find useful. But first, let's digress to an amusing video about the benefits of these tools.

Three good diary page design ideas

The ideas below can be used with any kind of diary. As a matter of fact, you can use them by taking only paper and a pen to work, but we still recommend using diaries, because, firstly, you don’t have to constantly fiddle with a bunch of different sheets of paper, and secondly, having mastered the system , you will turn your diary into an effective assistant in doing business and achieving goals.

Dwight Eisenhower Diary

Even an ordinary diary turns into a professional planner (an advanced version of the organizer) with many useful features. It will be useful for businessmen and people who want to always keep all their affairs and tasks in order and under control; people who understand the value of a temporary resource.

The Covey diary consists of two parts: the main part and the tab. The main part is lined pages for drawing up daily plans. This includes tasks and cases that either require speedy completion, or those that need to be done at exactly the appointed time. The second tab is intended for weekly and monthly entries reflecting the main goals, as well as the values ​​​​of a person (a separate place is allocated for it).

The page layout looks like this (you can use this example as a template):

It is thanks to the clear delineation and prioritization of tasks, deeds and goals (what to do now, what to do tomorrow, what to do next month, etc.) that the Stephen Covey system diary helps a person to be effective. With it, you can do not only daily and weekly planning, but also make global plans leading to success and achieving goals.

Diary according to the system of Gleb Arkhangelsky

The diary is clearly structured, so that tasks are divided into primary and secondary. But this is not the only feature - another feature is that it is very interesting to work with this tool. To do this, on the pages the author in a humorous, but, of course, accurate and capacious form, describes various everyday tasks.

Also on each page there is a place for the event of the day (you, of course, define it yourself). It turns out that along with the banal conduct of business, you also conduct something like personal diary, which you can turn to to brush up on plans and events, and at the same time get a boost of emotions.

In addition to this, the diary has a separate “Intermediate joys” column, indicated by the “Gift” icon, where it is convenient to add time for entertainment: meeting friends, going to the movies, shopping and other amenities of everyday life. And so that the user is not distracted, this column is located at the bottom of the page.

Arkhangelsky's diary is constantly being finalized and you can find several versions of it. For reference, here is one example of page design:

As you noticed, at the top of the page there are columns "Frog" and "Elephant". These creatures have already become classics of time management: frogs are understood as small, but not very interesting and pleasant things that need to be resolved as soon as possible (these frogs need to be “eaten”). And elephants are complex and large-scale tasks. To "eat" an elephant, you need to "cut" it into small pieces, i.e. split one big deal into several smaller ones.

As for the “Tough meetings” column, you can enter not only specific meetings, but also important matters tied to time. And the column "Flexible tasks" refers to everything that can be done during the time free from hard meetings and cases.

At the end of the day, you need to look at everything that you managed to do, choose the most important and pleasant and write down in front of the “Sun” column. After a month, it is very convenient to review your notes to visually see how much work has been done. The same column perfectly demonstrates how correctly the priorities are set, and what things turn out to be the most significant.

And one more thing: at the very bottom of each of the pages are tips on business and time management. There are 365 of them in total, i.е. these are recommendations for every day that can be used in work and business (and even study), and this makes this diary an even more effective and interesting tool.

In addition to all of the above, we want to note that you do not have to run to the store and buy one of the diaries discussed above. You may well just use the proposed page design ideas for any other diary, even made by yourself. Simply put, to get a good tool for planning and managing time, it is not at all necessary to spend a lot of money. If you are ready to apply a little ingenuity and imagination, as well as devote some free time interesting activity, we suggest you make a diary with your own hands. Believe me, there is nothing difficult in this. This activity is perfect for spending time with children.

DIY diary

Creating and designing a diary (including the Bullet Journal diary) with your own hands does not present any problem. You just need to be smart about creating its outer and inner parts, having prepared stationery in advance: colored pencils or markers, cardboard and whatman paper, white and multi-colored paper, glue, double-sided tape, etc. Read on for more information on what might be useful.

The outer part of the diary

The outer part of the diary is its face, so you need to approach the creation correctly and correctly. In the process, you can use ready-made templates in landscape or notepad format (they can be bought at stationery stores, downloaded on the Internet or ordered from a printing house) or a base made by yourself.

When designing the outside of the diary, it is useful to work with various decorative materials. For example, if you take colored cardboard, you can make beautiful cutouts from it and make an application out of them, which will serve as a decoration for your product. And girls can be advised to play with decorative beads - it is ideal for laying out patterns and images (according to a sketch, of course). Although, a men's diary can also be decorated with the same material, if you lay out a geometric pattern or a pattern in ethnic style.

By the way, vintage style diaries look great. If you stylishly combine black, gray and brown colors, you can achieve an impressive appearance. But do not limit yourself to beads - use leatherette, leatherette or some other artificial material (no one forbids working with genuine leather, it just comes out much more expensive).

An equally important part of the visual design of the outer part is the clasp. Today there are a huge number of variations of those: zippers, rivets, straps, buttons, buttons and others. There are no restrictions here, and it all depends on your imagination, wishes for the diary and compliance with the chosen style.

Decide on the type of diary, its purpose (work, meetings, cases, personal notes, etc.) and format. It is from this that you should build, and this rule applies to the design of not only the external, but also the internal part of your organizer, planner or diary.

The inside of the diary

FROM inside the diary, everything is no less interesting than with the external one. It can be called the leader, because it directly affects the comfort and convenience of working with this tool, as well as pleasure and, of course, personal efficiency. Attention should be paid to two important components - these are pages and their markup.

Of particular importance is the quality of the pages, as well as their color design. It is better not to use too saturated and bright colors, because. working with them is not very convenient - they complicate the perception of the text (and generally unnecessarily load the visual apparatus). Therefore, pages should be unobtrusive, soft and moderate tones. Try pastel shades - the eyes do not get tired of them at all (besides, they have an anti-stress effect).

Now a few words about "filling". One of the main principles of the design of the diary is the numbering of pages. If they are numbered, you will find information much faster and easier. The next important point is markup. If you have not just a diary, but a planner or organizer, then in without fail its pages should be divided so that there is room for dates, times, and entries.

Otherwise, the design of the pages inside the diary occurs as it is convenient for you. Dream up: on the pages you can place background pictures, photos of relatives, images of your goals, mandalas, quotes from great people, or something else. Do not forget that the design of the pages can also occur according to the diary templates that we talked about above.

The records themselves can be made in some interesting form, including encrypted. Of course, it is not advisable to use a cipher to conduct ordinary everyday affairs, but if some important information needs to be classified, then this is quite reasonable. The cipher should be clear only to you, and the key to it (it should also be clear only to you) can be written on the last page of the diary. This way you can be sure that no one will find out what he should not know, and at the same time you will not need to hide the carrier itself.

We think that we have conveyed the main idea of ​​the article, and now it will be easier for you to arrange a diary. But still, it would not be superfluous to say a few more words about the Bullet Journal, which we mentioned above. We also highly recommend you to master this tool for effective organization of time and affairs.

Bullet Journal

The Bullet Journal was invented by the famous web designer Ryder Carroll. For several years he was looking for a way, and as a result he created this unique instrument.

The main feature of the Bullet Journal diary is that it matches its owner as much as possible. Simply put, this is not a ready-made template that you need to adapt to, but a system that you yourself adjust to yourself: design, think through and apply.

Bullet Journal can be called a mixture of a diary and a glider. It is suitable for recording interesting thoughts and ideas, tasks, goals and plans (including long-term ones), as well as for quickly finding the information you need using special symbols. Tasks and cases can be easily transferred to other times and dates without losing sight of anything.

Carroll's diary will be an excellent alternative to telephone and notebook and even apps like Trello or Evernote, and suitable for those who likes to prioritize and clearly plan business and everyday life.

Anyone can create such a tool. First you need to buy a good notebook (or notebook). It should not be too small or large (A5 size will do), too heavy or light. The main thing - to work with him and carry him with you was convenient and comfortable.

It is very important that the pages of the notebook are numbered. If not, number them yourself. On the first page (you can leave several pages) there should be a table of contents that you will fill in during the maintenance process - fix the sections of your diary and the pages they occupy.

The next few pages should be dedicated to the annual spread. On one page, you can fit three months, dividing it into three equal parts. Big plans and goals, significant events and dates are written here. Annual reversal helps with general assessment plans.

Next comes a new reversal - for one month. Carroll himself recommends placing a column of the day of the month on the left side of the spread, writing the days of the week next to it. Opposite each number, it is convenient to record events whose dates will definitely not change (trips, business trips, etc.) On the right side of the spread, you need to write down all major tasks and issues that are not tied to dates, but which certainly need to be done in a particular month.

And finally, it's time for the daily entries. All the following pages are allocated for them (after each month, a spread for a new month is created). Tasks should be itemized, and the items themselves in the list should be marked with special icons, for example:

• point - daily affairs and petty worries;
• circle - events, meetings and events;
• dash - thoughts, ideas and notes;
• asterisk - especially important things;
• exclamation point - especially urgent matters.

When one task is completed, a cross is placed instead of the symbol. At the end of each day and week, you need to look at the tasks that remain unresolved and determine if they are still relevant. If not, feel free to cross them out, and if so, mark them with an arrow or a “>” sign, i.e. transfer to later (next day, week or month).

You can also use other characters. For example, with the “$” sign, mark everything related to finances ($+ is income, and $- is expense), etc. It is only important that there are not too many icons, so as not to get confused. And for convenience, on a separate sheet of notepad, you can write down all the icons and their decoding.

As you can see, making and maintaining a Bullet Journal diary is quite simple. In principle, this is a worthy replacement for any other diary, and we advise you to try working with this wonderful tool if you wish. We are sure you will like it! And to make this system even more understandable to you, we suggest watching a short video on this topic.

We wish you success and timely completion of all cases!

Planning and keeping a to-do list is a whole science. The now popular direction of the time manager is studying various tricks, which facilitate the preparation of plans and control over their execution. Special techniques will make the process efficient, as well as ensure the effectiveness of daily planning.

Why you need a diary:

• Definition of priority tasks. Having sketched out a to-do list, you can immediately visually evaluate the important ones and weed out the unnecessary ones. In addition, you can immediately calculate the approximate time to complete and the reality of the task.
• Reminder for regularly recurring plans. A novice accountant must know the dates for the submission of all reports, and planning in the current month must take into account weekends and non-working days and possible postponement.
• Leave time for rest. By evaluating the approximate volume of daily tasks, you can eliminate possible processing or downtime. Your work schedule will be as optimized as possible, which will also allow you to devote time to family and leisure.
• Describe the algorithm of complex problems. It is known that any business, even requiring maximum concentration, can be divided into several stages. This will allow not only to complete the task successfully and quickly, but also not to burn out professionally.
• The motivation of actions improves. Even a glimpse of the list of completed tasks can be encouraging and boost self-esteem. In addition to routine tasks, allocate a page for personal achievements, in which you enter your successes, even if they seem insignificant to outsiders.
• Efficiency increases. By highlighting and completing the most important tasks of the day, you will have much more time than without prompts. It is important to start with the most complex and lengthy projects so that you can later switch to easy ones, and not vice versa. Also, professionals recommend starting the day with the most unpleasant thing (in the terminology of the “frog” time manager). After completing it, your mood will immediately improve, not only because everything went well, but even from the realization that the “frog” is over and everything is over.

It is advisable to keep a notebook next to you at all times. If necessary, write down here important contact information, sample documents, links to sites. Having saved all the necessary information in one place, you do not have to waste time looking for a piece of paper that you accidentally lost or disturb your colleagues.

How to keep a diary

Clear rules and boundaries for recording important cases are best avoided. It is more convenient for each person to stick to their own vision of planning, even if it is a business diary. Usually, it is most productive to make plans for a month, but keeping records for a year or more is also practiced. You can try to first fill out a list of urgent and regular plans for a week or two, and then expand and supplement your list.

Important points for keeping a diary:

• To maintain a list of important plans and tasks, any recording method convenient for you is used. It can be a business organizer, an electronic notebook and even a school notebook “in a box”, the main thing is that the list is always at hand and updated regularly.
• Regularly it is necessary to check with your plans, cross out those already completed and add new ones. This will help free up memory for really important information and not keep all the dates and events in your head. It has been proven that our brain (with the exception of prominent examples: Caesar or Einstein) can simultaneously be busy thinking about no more than four to seven tasks. For a modern accountant, this is completely unacceptable, because every day you have to perform many diverse tasks at the same time. That is why putting the planned tasks on paper will help you focus on doing the work, and not planning it.
• Be sure to prioritize. It is advisable to set one or two important things for each day (occupying a decent amount of time), as well as a few additional ones. Keeping a diary will help you avoid time pressure at work, as well as correctly allocate time for completing tasks.
• Without timely monitoring, keeping a diary becomes meaningless. It is advisable to check your progress daily, and in case of failure to put notes on the reason and postponement. Gradually, this will develop one of the best habits - to see everything through to the end.
• Planning tomorrow start today. It is best to make a to-do list for tomorrow in the evening, in which you can transfer all outstanding items.

Special techniques allow you to evaluate your progress in the long term. It can be a list of plans for a month or even a year ahead, not only in the personal sphere, but also for professional activity.

Examples of such plans:

1. List of books for reading.
2. Course of lectures or seminars.
3. Learn a foreign language.
4. Visit certain places (cities, restaurants, museums).
5. Visit distant relatives or friends.
6. Improve your professional qualifications.

Along with production tasks, you can also set aside time for personal achievements. The diary is your personal space where you can mark all the dates that are important to you, plan a vacation and make notes about the birthdays of loved ones and friends. It is also good to allocate space for general information, for example, write down a to-do list for "after work", daily shopping, appointments or trips.

Keeping a diary helps develop self-discipline, as well as increase the efficiency of your professional activities. It is very important for an accountant to keep reporting dates under control, as well as to correctly distribute working time. This will help to avoid rush jobs, as well as give due time to family and rest.

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