Nowadays we manage everything: personnel management, self-management, emotion management, time management, office management, event management, building management, and the cuckoo knows what else. With today’s article, we also manage. We manage our hamster bike with 20 life hacks.
The goal is 20 hamster wheel management strategies, i.e. 20 life hacks, that will help you to cope better with your hamster wheel. No matter whether it is professional, private, independent, or externally determined.
Because one thing is certain: “Leaving a hamster wheel and throwing a job” is not immediately a good strategy for everyone. For some, that may not be an option. Even if I am very concerned that you can find your passion and thereby leave your hamster wheel, this is not always the right way. And as often discussed with readers and seminar participants, the old hamster wheel can be replaced by a new one without you noticing.
Life Hacks 1) Learn to appreciate your time
We are driven or as I like to say: “We are shot through everyday life like pinball balls”. Develop a feeling for your time and learn to appreciate moments. Your time is the most valuable asset. You don’t walk the streets and give away your money to all sorts of people. Don’t do it with your time either.
Life Hacks 2) Take care of variety within your routine tasks
I say how it is. There are routine tasks. And below that are things that are not so tingling. If this cannot be changed, we can still try to change the circumstances. Music helps me, for example. Simply put your headphones on and the right mood will set in for the 08/15 tasks. Or change the place. Or the order. Or. Or. Or. Come up with something!
Life Hacks 3) Automate your ToDo’s
From emails to keyboard shortcuts to text modules, you can automate everything or save a lot of time. It makes sense that you know your everyday tools well. In my experience, a lot of things in the office hamster wheel take so long, for example, because many people are not familiar enough with their tools, i.e. the software. A craftsman has to master his tool perfectly, otherwise, it won’t work. Think about where there are optimization options for your tools.
4) “Take in hand” each piece only once
When you’re editing something, get it done as much as possible. When you open an email, do it, delegate or delete it. Do not push or start unloved tasks from one side to the other and then continue “later”. To begin. Get ready.
Life hacks 5) Always allow 20% more time for projects
We tend to overestimate ourselves and underestimate the time that things take. No way. Don’t just calculate. Don’t plan closely. Normally plan as always and then add 20% of the time, effort, or costs. Then it fits.
6) Write down your goals
That may seem strange to many now. But each hamster wheel (no matter how much it is determined by others) has its freedom and therefore its own goals that you can set yourself. Put them too! Write them down and make them clear, feasible, and time.
Life Hacks 7) Use the energy of the moment
If something works, let it go. Don’t stop because you think it’s time to take a break. Feel when you are in the flow and let it flow. Even shift up a gear, accelerate, forget everything around you. And above all: remember how you got into this state and make it repeatable!
8) Make a status quo in the evening
Everyone is talking about morning rituals. How to properly start the day so that what becomes. But how to let the day go is discussed less often. In the evening I drink tea, sometimes also a whiskey, listen to Sinatra or Bach and review the day. I make myself clear what went well and what needs a little push. And I lay the foundation for tomorrow, for what comes first in the morning. Then go to bed. And switching off is possible.
Life hacks 9) Avoid unnecessary interruptions
Fits quite well with the flow point. Create an environment where the flow is possible. I already know: in the office, this is a challenge. But think about how you can manage to get some of your tasks done undisturbed. I promise you will be amazed at how quickly certain things are done. Fight like a lion for a few uninterrupted minutes!
10) Know what you don’t want to do, leave it or delegate it
I know your concerns that come to mind immediately. That will not do. I don’t know how to do it. But very slowly. Many have not even made clear their unloved to do’s. First step: clarify what is really bothering you in your tasks and then look for solutions in the direction of “do no more”. However, you can do it. It won’t work for everything, but it will work for more than you think. Just take 5 minutes to think about it!
Life Hacks 11) Spend at least a quarter of your day with other people
I know what I’m talking about. Working alone is cool because a lot goes on. And it is hell at the same time because after a while you are missing your counterpart. Just another person who is there. Known to hamster cyclists in the office, this is well known to lone-fighter-I-corporate entrepreneurs. So surround yourself with people. No matter where and how.
Life Hacks 12) Negotiate a freer division of your working hours
Here, too, you will think: “This may work for others, but certainly not for my job”. Here, too, my guiding principle applies: First take 5 minutes and think about it in peace before you judge prematurely and let your inner dialogue ruin everything. Here, too, you will be surprised at the results you will get with your supervisor if you have thought about it beforehand.
Life Hacks 13) Do something every day that is fun and gives a satisfying result
For me, it is part of the morning or evening ritual, namely to think about something I want to do, which is fun and brings a result that I can be proud of that day. Make it a habit to be proud of yourself.
Life Hacks 14) Know where there are bottlenecks and eliminate them
Many tasks, projects, plans, etc. have a weak point somewhere, a bottleneck where things could get “tight” and where problems are almost inevitable. Be aware of the bottlenecks and don’t be surprised when they enter. Even better: If there are real “bottlenecks”, eliminate them (ideally in a team) before you start, or create the accompanying circumstances.
Life Hacks 15) Connect similar tasks
There are tasks that can be bulky. For me, the topic of “email” is something like that. Emails are handled in one piece. Open program, work through, close, get out of the bulb. Something similar happens to me with blog comments, reading other blogs, financial stuff, social media activities, and much more. Think about what can be done from your tasks “in one wash” and be surprised how much it saves you in hamster bike time.
16) Eliminate email junk
Many who know me know it: I have declared war on emails. There are many strategies to get rid of the madness, the first one would simply be to EXIT. If you get newsletters that don’t interest you (not excluding mine), don’t just delete the email and get annoyed about it every time, but unsubscribe.
17) Speak more than you write
The last blog article has dedicated itself to this topic, here again in a nutshell. All of us hamster bikes would not be so dominant if we learned again to put real communication before virtual communication. Pick up the phone if you want to clear something up and don’t type around.
18) Develop a sense of which of your to-dos require less attention and care
We often give attention, energy, and time to things that either don’t deserve it or where the yield would be almost the same with much less effort. Every task can be reconsidered in this regard. And maybe you can leave one or the other completely. Try it out?
19) Work with text modules
Have you ever thought about how often you type the same sentences, formulations, or word combinations over and over again? There are little software helpers that do this for you. For Mac, for example, Text Expander for PC Phrase Express.
20) Don’t Do More Than You “Must”
A small message to the perfectionists among us. Sometimes 80% is enough. Or in other words: there is no 110%. I know companies where there are competitions to see who stays in the office longer or who has the most – of course unpaid – overtime. There is a similar thing in the private sector. The example of “sport” is the best to describe this. At the end of the day, you should feel good. It is not your job to prove something to others.
