Forward Time Management

- "So you did not manage to release the product by the end of December as planned?"

- "We didn't as almost half ot the month was eaten by the holiday season - Christmas and New Year"

Oh how many times I heard that... Due to the surprise of Christmas and New Year happening barely a week from each other at the end of December we could not complete this or that. Yes, some people are really surprised Christmas in on Dec 25 and New Year starts on Jan 1. This is not a joke. This is a fact.

Same with Summer holidays. There is always lament about the backlog after returning to the office after a week or two of vacation absence. Another surprise.

People often talk about personal productivity tools. As you may know, I do not use almost any of that. Instead, I have developed a discipline of walking thorough the calendar, day by day and seein how much I would be able to accomplish in a day / week / month ahead. That helps me offer reliable commitments and avoid overpromising to partners and coworkers.

This September is a very good example. Already in early August I knew September would be super busy, with three international trips and many threads active. My vacation planning (in August) included therefore a couple of "buffer" days to deal with the August backlog before September kicks in. Otherwise I would be burred by the avalanche of post-vacation items falling on me.

Longer term time allocation and planning is super helpful to achieve a well balanced productivity, without stress and lamenting about "unexpected" developments.  Developments which should have been known, had a proper look at a calendar been made. Blindly pushing things by a week or two, without spending a monet to see if there is real chance to complete them then, is a bad strategy. It will typically end with a lament and blaming the unexpected Christmas in December.