A-Rules (5): How to Manage Your Time? Start with Priorities

~ AlisherFaizullaev ~ Leave a comment

A great deal has been written about time management. It’s a crucial topic for people in various professions — from executives and entrepreneurs to students and homemakers. There are countless methods for managing time: creating to-do lists, maintaining calendars, delegating tasks, setting short-, medium-, and long-term goals, and overcoming procrastination. Yet, in the flood of advice and techniques, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

In my opinion, time management is not as complex as it seems. Its essence boils down to one thing: understanding and adhering to your priorities. When you clearly know what truly matters to you and have a solid understanding of your key life goals and tasks, the entire system of time management becomes clear, logical, and straightforward.

For instance, imagine a manager juggling multiple projects, attending strategic meetings, and being responsible for team development. If they recognize that their top priority at the moment is completing a major project that determines the company’s future, they can redirect their efforts and time to that specific task. They may need to temporarily delegate other responsibilities to colleagues or opt out of less critical meetings. A clear understanding of priorities allows the manager not only to manage their time effectively but also to maintain focus on the most important tasks.

Defining priorities may not be an easy task, but it is the cornerstone of effective time management. Once priorities are clear, the system of time management begins to work effortlessly.

A-Rules (4): Both Internal and External Motivation are Important

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Motivation for a person is like a car’s engine: a motivated and purposeful person is obviously capable of achieving much more than someone who is disinterested and indifferent. Without great motivation, there would be no great achievements.

There are two types of motivation: internal and external. Internal motivation comes from deep within a person, their nature, inclinations, and interests. Some people have very strong and stable internal motivation. Such people try to engage in activities they find interesting no matter what. However, there aren’t many such people, and many of them, despite their enthusiasm, sometimes experience doubts and difficulties in maintaining their motivation. In short, even such motivated people sometimes need external motivation. For ordinary people, that is, most of us, both internal and external motivation are regularly needed.

External motivation is the driving force of our behavior, the source of which is external. This could be a kind word, a gentle touch, an enthusiastic look, an interesting book, recognition, money, etc. Of course, not all people react the same way to various external factors, such as material incentives or moral encouragement. Therefore, everyone may have their own system of external motivation, which is somehow connected to their system of internal motivation. It’s important to understand what truly motivates you.

Undoubtedly, internal motivation is the main thing. But we shouldn’t forget that even internally motivated people sometimes need external motivation. I, for example, receive great motivational support from books about interesting people. I know people who were greatly helped by popular books on psychology, leadership, and management when they began to doubt themselves and their internal motivation was weakened.

So, motivate yourself! Even if you have strong internal motivation, find meaningful sources of external motivation that are important to you: situations may arise when they become your support.

A-Rules (3): Do Good Without Expecting Reciprocity

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Reciprocity is one of the key principles of human relationships. When we receive a gift, we often feel the urge to give something in return. If someone invites us to their home, it seems natural to invite them back. Gratitude frequently follows kind words and deeds.

However, a literal interpretation of reciprocity can lead us astray. It’s not necessary to respond to every smile with another smile or to every compliment with a compliment. This is especially true for acts of kindness: true kindness is selfless and does not seek gratitude or reward. People often say that good deeds eventually come back to us, but that’s not the point. By doing good, we make the world a better place, and our reward is living in a slightly kinder world.

When we expect something in return for our good deeds, we risk disappointment because not everyone notices or appreciates kindness. And that’s okay. True goodness comes from the heart, is unselfish, and brings joy to the giver. It is one of life’s simple yet profound pleasures.

Do good for the sake of doing good – and enjoy the process without expecting anything in return.

Conversation with Dr. Marcus Holmes on the “Diplomatic Nexus” channel

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Excited to share my latest YouTube “Diplomatic Nexus” interview with Prof. Dr. Marcus Holmes from the College of William & Mary, Virginia. We discussed diplomacy through the lens of political psychology and neuroscience.

#diplomacy #psychology #neuroscience

A-Rules (2): Develop Your Strengths

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People often say that it’s best to do what you love. Many believe this is the path to success, assuming that deep immersion in an interesting field contributes to achieving outstanding results. In contrast, work that doesn’t inspire interest can quickly become tedious, making significant achievements difficult.

Such reasoning has merit but is not always true. For example, I might enjoy singing or playing the piano, but without natural abilities, it’s unlikely to reach a high level of mastery. The world is full of interesting activities, but not all of them can help a person realize their potential and achieve success.

A more reliable path to professional self-realization and satisfaction is to focus on what you’re genuinely good at. When you excel in a particular area and it comes relatively easily to you, there’s a high probability that over time you’ll grow to love this type of activity and derive pleasure from it. Of course, this isn’t an absolute rule, but in most cases, this is exactly how it happens.

Therefore, an effective way to find your calling is to carefully examine your natural talents and inclinations. Concentrate on what you do best, develop these skills, and then both genuine interest and professional success will follow.

A-Rules: Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

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Comparing yourself to others can sometimes bring joy or consolation when you discover that you excel in something. However, more often it leads to disappointment and frustration. There will always be those who have achieved more, who are richer, more attractive, or luckier than you, who are less sick and whose lives seem to be going better. Unfair? Possibly. But the world is full of injustice, regardless of whether we want it or not.

Every person is unique. It’s better to find yourself and your path in life, understand your nature, and realize your own potential. In other words, maximize what you can achieve without looking at the achievements or shortcomings of others. For some, the path to greatness or accomplishment lies through music or politics, while another may find happiness in the work of a rural teacher or running their own restaurant. Of course, everyone can compare themselves to themselves: to who they were yesterday, a year or ten years ago, or to who they see themselves in fifteen years, or to their ideal “Self”. This can turn out to be a useful exercise. At the same time, such comparisons also have certain drawbacks, because a person is constantly changing and is never exactly who they were before.