The POSEC Method Is the Best Way to Structure Your Time
Managing your time throughout the day is key to achieving everything, but it’s easier said than done. Try the POSEC method, which reflects Maslow’s famous hierarchy of needs and gives you a daily plan that leaves room for satisfaction, which in turn will keep you motivated.
What is the POSEC method?
First of all, the conventional wisdom on the Internet claims that this method was invented by a man named Stephen Lam, but as far as I can tell there are no books or references to support this claim. There are links to blog posts and first-person accounts of how well this method has worked for some people, regardless of who came up with it.
POSEC stands for Prioritize, Organize, Optimize, Save and Contribute. This is not an ordered list of what you should do, but a method by which you should learn what you should do, and it uses Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as a guide. The Hierarchy of Needs is a pyramid diagram that shows how much you need to satisfy your physiological needs (air, water, food, etc.) before you can achieve real satisfaction. This chart has a variety of uses, including measuring your job satisfaction . With POSEC you have the same understanding: specific things need to be taken care of, but your goal should also always be satisfaction. The same mindset is behind work structuring techniques like Pomodoro , which requires you to take temporary breaks between focus sessions so you can relax and stay motivated.
How to Use the POSEC Time Management Method
Prioritize
The first principle of POSEC is prioritization. Write down everything you need to do, such as finishing a big work project, studying for a test, cleaning the house, or organizing your kids’ after-school activities. Don’t forget about things like calling your mom, making coffee with a friend, or watching your favorite show. Then break down all your responsibilities into smaller parts and eliminate anything that seems truly unnecessary, such as answering old emails unrelated to a work project, or deep cleaning the coffee machine if you have more serious and urgent cleaning to do. needs. If you need to complete a work project, what small steps does that entail? Prioritize everything that needs to be done, ideally using a system like the Eisenhower Matrix , which allows you to sort your responsibilities by urgency and importance.
Organize
This brings you to the second part of POSEC, which is organizing. Once you write down all your priorities and sort them into a specific order, the tasks of the day will begin to become apparent. Then create a to-do list, such as a 1-3-5 list , which gives you room for one major task, three medium ones, and five small ones.
Optimization
When you move on to optimization, you will again take up secondary tasks that you initially excluded as unnecessary. Review them. Can some of it be delegated to a colleague, family member, or hired professional? Is it possible to automate something? Or should some of them be completely excluded? Then think about other tasks you haven’t eliminated. Can any of them be optimized by delegation, automation, or combining with something else?
Save
Then save money by scheduling everything left on the list. Use time boxes here, dedicating time throughout the day to each chore, big to small, as well as activities that bring you joy, like listening to a podcast or editing a photo for Instagram. The goal is to make room throughout the day for everything from mundane, necessary evils to enjoyable things that give you some meaning.
Contribute
This brings you to the fifth step – contribution. Not only should you include activities that give you a little dopamine, but also tasks that benefit those around you. Volunteer, buy Girl Scout cookies, help a friend move, or respond to a ridiculous chain letter from grandpa. Giving your time to others is an important way to stay involved in your community and give yourself something else to do in life beyond your most specific responsibilities, which can bog you down and lead to burnout if you don’t supplement them with other activities.
With POSEC, you prioritize your own goals and responsibilities at the bottom of the pyramid, but keep moving towards the top, where you can do whatever you want and even make someone else’s day better. By leaving room for personal pursuits and the greater good, you will remain motivated to get the work done at the base of the pyramid.