A New Frontier in Time Management: Transforming Daily Life with the Operating Rhythm

The next fiscal year is about to begin.
Today, I want to share about ‘operating rhythm’.

There are various tasks that must be done regularly.
Their frequency varies, such as daily, weekly, and monthly.
In the midst of our busy lives, we often procrastinate important tasks.

I consulted one of my mentors about this issue two years ago.
At that time, I was taught an effective method to address this problem, known as the ’operating rhythm’.

The key points of this method are as follows:

• Our time is limited.
• Clarify the goals you want to achieve and identify the tasks necessary to achieve those goals.
• Establish and schedule a cycle (rhythm) for performing tasks.

Taking inspiration from this, the method I practiced is as follows:

1. Confirm the goals you want to achieve.
   
2. List up the tasks necessary to achieve those goals.
   
3. Estimate the time required for the listed tasks.
   
4. Combine tasks that can be done together.
   
5. Decide on a cycle for each task.
   For daily examples:
   A task to share important matters of the day with your boss or colleagues is effective when done every day, as early as possible, for a short duration.
   Therefore, I set aside 15 minutes for this task first thing in the morning.
   
   For weekly examples:
   I set 30 minutes on Friday morning for tasks such as reviewing what was left undone that week and preparing for the next week.
   Additionally, e-learning for my personal skill development is scheduled for 30 minutes on Tuesday afternoons, when meetings are less frequent.
   
   For monthly examples:
   I set tasks to check if administrative procedures such as orders to partner companies are progressing smoothly.
   
6. Plan total time for these tasks is less than 30% of the day.
   
7. Finally, register them in a schedule management system like Outlook.
   Setting tasks on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis prevents me from forgetting to do them. Also, sharing the schedule with related parties prevents them from scheduling meetings during those times.

It’s been almost two years since I started practicing this method, and I’ve felt that procrastinating important tasks has decreased, and my work efficiency has improved.

However, as work goals change, it’s necessary to review the operating rhythm itself every three months.

Since the next fiscal year is about to begin, I reviewed my operating rhythm last week.