The common overworking problem:
Nowadays work is taking over much of our time, If we didn't maintain a good work-family balance there could be increased family conflicts, stress, a family time filled with work...etc,
That time pressure can also lead to job dissatisfaction.
people started to question old assumptions about how work is done and how to show commitment, when and where to work and how to make progress in work.
The myth of Dedication & Productivity :
Most people believe in volume-based dedication theory, If someone is working overtime that means they are dedicated but that's not true,
Achieving more on less time is true productivity, productivity doesn't mean increasing your working time, it means effective use of existing time.
one common question, " My work needs more time how can I avoid that? "
The answer is two simple points from one excellent book The 4-hour workweek by Timothy Ferris
1. The 80/20 rule
2.Parkinsons law
The 80/20 rule:
80% of your income is from 20% of your work
Track all of your work activities and their results, the ratio may be 90/10, 85/10,95/10,75/25 but the average is 80/20.
Declutter all the 80% of unimportant work, focus on the 20% of work which contributes most of your income, The unimportant activities also include your bad habits.
By this rule, you can use your time for important work activities and can save the time which you used for minimal income activities, you can use the time for another income source / for your family.
Parkinson's law
This is similar to the 80/20 rule, the simple explanation in Ali Abdaal's words is that " work expands to fill the time ",
For example, some students study only the last three months before exams but they get an average or sometimes above-average score, the reason here is short deadlines increases your focus and also push you to complete the task.
so give your tasks a short clear deadline.
How to find which task is important?
you can choose the high income-producing task
you can choose a task that will get you close to your goal
you can choose something which makes you healthy and happy
there is no parameter to select an important task, ask yourself if the task will make you feel good /happy /productive? if the answer is no ,then its not important.
How can I apply this...
One simple way is, to write a to-do list, just list the 20% important tasks and give them a clear short deadline, prioritize and finish them first, and you are done for the day.
Conclusion,
By slowly adopting this technique you can quickly finish your work so that you can free up more time for yourself and your family, Now you don't have to choose, you can balance them perfectly...
Remember nothing is rigid, you can edit and add anything in these techniques according to your lifestyle, But don't change the basic idea ...
