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People are always lamenting the lack of time they have, and how they have to spend that time, and how much time seems to be wasted. It seems like there’s never enough time! If you have any of these complaints and are looking for ways to regain your time, here’s a handy list of five ways to find an extra five minutes every hour. Applying these techniques can help you squeeze in extra time so you can stay more productive.
Figure out where your time is actually going.
Part of the problem with wasting time is that we don’t actually realize when we’re doing it, or we do, but don’t realize how much it adds up to. For one day, carry a notebook with you everywhere and check in at the end of every hour with exactly how you spend that last hour. Try to do it down to five minute increments, if you can. You’ll be surprised how much time you actually wasted, when you see it broken down like that, and you’ll know what the wasteful activities are so that you can stop doing them.
Stop multitasking.
Every time you switch between tasks unnecessarily, your brain has to adjust to the new task, and it doesn’t function as well as it normally would in the meantime. Try to work on only one task until it’s completed, before moving to the next one. You’ll get more done in larger chunks of time than you would switching between tasks every five minutes.
Create a to do list and stick to it.
Every time you notice yourself getting distracted, refer back to your to do list and remind yourself to stay on track. When you finish one task, immediately look at the to do list and pick the next one to work on, even if you take a break between tasks. This keeps your mind from wandering.
Have a method for handling interruptions.
Come up with a specific set of rules to handling interruptions that come up while you work and stick to them. For example, saying “I’m working on this right now, but I’ll be able to be with you when I’m done with it.” In fact, keep the rules someplace prominent so that they’re there as a visible reminder when you start to chit-chat too long on the phone.
Keep things in one spot.
This helps to save you time because you don’t have to check several places any time you need information. Instead of having important dates and appointments scattered across several calendars, store them on one online calendar. Store all your important files in one place with online file storage That way, when you need to find something, it’s all in one spot and you save the time of looking for it.
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