Boost Your Productivity: Lessons from Zuckerberg’s Goals and Proven Time‑Management Techniques

Today is the seventh day of the first lunar month, marking the start of spring. As the Lantern Festival approaches, the article encourages reflecting on last year’s goals and preparing realistic annual plans.

Zuckerberg’s Annual Goals

Former PHP programmer Mark Zuckerberg sets a new personal challenge each year: wearing a tie to work (2009), learning Chinese (2010), eating only meat he killed himself (2011), coding daily (2012), meeting a new person outside Facebook each day (2013), writing a thank‑you note daily (2014), reading a new book every two weeks (2015). In 2016 he aimed to build a “Jarvis‑like” smart home assistant, demonstrating its role in his family’s daily life. In 2017 he announced a goal to travel to every U.S. state, and has already visited over a dozen.

Media joked that his ambitious plans hint at political aspirations, but the key takeaway for engineers is the importance of setting clear, actionable goals.

Time Management

Before acting on a plan, consider time management. Many books suggest strict lists, but real life brings exceptions like meetings and emergencies. Over‑rigid schedules can cause stress and reduce efficiency.

Core planning levels include:

Daily plan

Weekly plan

Monthly plan

Quarterly plan

Yearly plan

Record tasks in a notebook or app to track completion.

How to Prioritize Tasks

The “time‑management four‑quadrant” model by David Allen categorizes tasks as:

Important & Urgent : act immediately (e.g., urgent meetings).

Important & Not Urgent : schedule for execution (e.g., routine work, family time).

Urgent & Not Important : delegate or postpone (e.g., unexpected visitor).

Not Important & Not Urgent : eliminate (e.g., TV, games).

Often, “important‑urgent” tasks arise because “important‑not‑urgent” tasks were not planned properly.

Creating Effective Plans

The Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology, popularized by David Allen, consists of five steps:

Collect : empty your mind by listing all tasks.

Organize : categorize tasks by immediacy and effort.

Organize (continued) : separate actionable items into next‑action, waiting, and someday lists.

Review : weekly review of all lists, moving or discarding items as needed.

Execute : focus on completing tasks, ensuring plans are realistic and not overwhelming.

With a well‑structured plan, you can start executing and make the year more fulfilling.