A human being who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
You wonder … “Where do my days go?”
You are busier than ever before, but you have very little to show for all that time spent working and hustling.
Gurus tell you that time is your most precious resource, but it seems to fly by like never before. You’re overwhelmingly busy, but your to-do list stays a mile long. Technology promises to streamline your life, but in reality, all it seems to do is complicate it.
You spend your days rushing and being pulled in five different directions at any given moment. Priorities change constantly. Your inbox can’t go 20 minutes without a massive download of emails. Your job responsibilities are intense, and, simultaneously, your co-workers keep sending you meeting invites. Then you rush home to try and prepare a healthy dinner that your family will actually like, all the while texting your best friend and catching up with social media updates.
How are you supposed to get things done right?
It’s exhausting! You’re exhausted!
But it’s not just you. It’s happening to most of us, every single day.
You wish you lived that dream lifestyle that TV shows and magazines try to sell you, with plenty of time to relax and indulge in your passions. And although you “know” that dream is not real, you still crave some peace in your life.
Ready for life to feel a lot less stressful?
I have great news: With a few simple habit changes, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy. If you’re ready to get more value out of your limited time, then its time to…
1. Focus until completion.
Have you noticed how starting a task often demands more energy and willpower than actually doing it? Especially when it’s something you don’t enjoy?
The act of switching between tasks wastes a lot of extra energy. When a task is something that you are not used to doing, or something that doesn’t come as second nature to you, you have to mentally convince yourself that you have to do it, which is even harder. That’s why, once you have started, you should drive that effort to completion as often as possible.
Of course, you can’t be working non-stop for eight hours – you can’t write a book in one sitting, but you can do it 1,000 words at a time. The trick is to not stop for a coffee break every 50 words.
2. Use economies of scale.
When you buy in bulk at a wholesaler, each individual item is cheaper. The same principle applies to time. When you batch together similar tasks, you save.
For example, you will never convince a busy mom of three elementary-age kids that she should make one sandwich, go get ready, then make the other sandwiches; she knows that the three sandwiches made at the same time will save her precious minutes.
Think about situations in which you have several similar tasks to do. For example, perhaps you have to answer short support emails from customers. Block out 45 minutes to reply to all of them. Once they’re done, don’t look back in your email inbox until your next planned 45-minute block to handle emails.
3. Be predictable in certain areas of your life.
Sounds rather boring, right? Well, would you say Steve Jobs was boring? At first, you may not think of him as a predictable person, but if you think a little harder you’ll remember that you could bet what he was going to wear to every single keynote presentation. That’s because he’d wear the same outfit every single day. How many hours would this practice save you in a year’s time? If you’re a lady like me, the answer is a lot!
Now, wearing the same thing every day may not appeal to you, but what other things can you apply this principle to? What can you automatize and streamline in your life? Maybe it’s your finances, or your meal preparation. In any case, having a fixed plan in the right areas of your life will eliminate the wasteful time spent deliberating over excessive options.
4. Create a minimalist workstation.
Visual clutter competes for your attention. You want to keep your desk and workstation as clutter-free as possible. Of course, you’ll need certain things such as books, reports, or cups of coffee to keep you on point, but if your desk is plagued with paid and unpaid bills, pictures, and piles of papers you haven’t read in months, you will get distracted.
Concentrating on the task at hand is harder when you see a massive pile of papers and items that need to be sorted and put away. Create a peaceful space to work. Enough chaos already surrounds you; don’t add to it!
5. Plan to succeed, gradually.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. “Plan” is not just another four-letter word – it’s so much bigger than that. If you want to make the most of your life – with plenty of time to do the things you enjoy – you must come to terms with a plan that works for you.
What goes into planning? Tasks you need to do in the near-term aligned with long-term, meaningful goals you’d like to hit. You can start by making a list of goals and projects that need your attention. But don’t think of this as a daily to-do list – it’s just a guide. Keep in mind that if you try to do too much at once, you’ll become discouraged and you’ll be setting yourself up for failure, even before starting.
Use your list to classify the goals/projects and sub-tasks by importance, and keep reminding yourself that you won’t be able to get all of it done in a day. Plan on doing no more than three core activities today, depending on how time-consuming they are, and then pick up where you left off tomorrow. Build a daily ritual around this simple practice.
Also, make sure your days contain a couple of activities you really enjoy doing. Don’t just create a have-to-do list that you dread looking at. Make a pact with yourself that you’ll do at least one thing for yourself every day that you truly enjoy. Planning a life filled only with dreaded obligations is no way to plan.
6. Use reward substitution to motivate yourself.
Everyone has a list of tasks they have to get done, but don’t like doing. It may be exercising, making difficult phone calls, or doing homework. The longer you wait to start, the longer you’ll have the guilt and stress of not doing it, and the less progress you will likely make over the long-haul.
For those difficult tasks, you can force yourself to do them by rewarding yourself with something you truly enjoy. For me it’s eating cookies, but it could be watching your favorite TV show, or going out to dinner. The secret is to put off that wonderful reward until you are done with the task. It’s a powerful force.
7. Wipe needless worries off your mind.
Worries take valuable space in your mind, and if you want to be as efficient as possible, you need to get rid of them. You simply can’t concentrate as well when part of your brain is worrying about something.
But it’s not always easy to get worries out of your mind, especially when what you need to do stresses you out. But you can control the way you think about things. If you let your mind start thinking about the worry instead of what you need to do at the time, nothing will get done, which ultimately just adds to the stress.
So what can be done? You can try writing down what’s worrying you. Identifying the worry for what it is can take away the compulsive power it has on your mind. A quick exercise break can also help you clear your mind leaving you energized and ready to work again. However, if the worry persists, or it’s something you really need to solve, you must schedule some time in to work on solving it.
8. Take advantage of waiting time.
Whether it’s waiting in line at the doctor’s office, sitting in traffic, or folding clothes at home, you’ll always have “dead time.” You don’t need to be 100 percent productive every minute of your day, but you can definitely use time wisely that would be otherwise wasted.
For example, people have used driving time to master new languages with programs like Pimsleur audio. You could be one of them. But if that sounds too ambitious, you can easily download the audiobook version of that book you’ve been meaning to read and listen to it on your way to work. What do you have to lose? A few hours of music you’ve heard a hundred times before?
You get the idea. Waiting time does not need to be wasted time.
9. Learn to speed-read.
News, emails, your Facebook feed, work documents, your favorite blog, etc. How much time do you spend reading every day? A few hours? Imagine doubling your reading speed; it could easily save you an hour a day. Granted, you’ll have to invest some time in training and practicing. But an extra hour a day is seven hours a week, so you could save almost a full workday every week.
I’m sure you are no stranger to the quote “Leaders are readers.” But even if you have no intention of being a leader, you must read constantly just to stay ahead in the world today. Becoming a faster reader is a smart investment in yourself, regardless of your ambitions. Here’s a free online tool to help you do just that.
10. Think of yourself as an efficient person.
Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Have you noticed how when you think you won’t accomplish something, you end up not accomplishing it? You give up before putting up a fight.
We know that professional athletes practice winning in their minds – they think really hard about it. That tells us about the amazing power of our minds. Since a runner can run faster just by picturing it in her mind, do you think you could squeeze more out of your day by thinking of yourself as efficient? I bet the answer is YES.
Practice thinking about yourself as an efficient person first thing every morning when you wake up, and I guarantee you’ll be right by the end of each day.
Afterthoughts
We all have the same 24 hours to work with. If you want to accomplish more, you can either deprive yourself of sleep or become a more efficient person. Time will not stop for you either way.
Remember that it’s OK to be busy – if you had too little to do, you’d probably not be living a fulfilling life. But you need to reach a balance. The solution: Use the strategies above to become a more efficient person today, so that you can accomplish all you need to do and still have time for yourself too.
By Corina Semph - is a mom, designer, and blogger on a mission to help families transform their houses into peaceful and uncluttered homes, even if they have messy kids.
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