Most people I come across complain at one time or another that they haven’t enough time. Here are some ideas to create more time so you can get all your work done, and still have time left over for a personal life:
1. Quit complaining.
You get the same amount of time every day as everyone else. You may feel you’re short on time and that you desperately need more, but when the day started, you got your fair share: twenty-four hours.
Nobody got any more than you did, so stop complaining. More important, the time you’re wasting by complaining could be spent doing something productive.
2. Don’t answer calls from unknown callers.
Unless you’re working in sales, there’s no reason you should ever take a call from somebody you don’t know. After all, when was the last time you took an unexpected call that was truly important?
Put your email address in your voice message message. If it’s important, they’ll e-mail you. If it’s not important, you just save a whole lot of time.
3. Turn off your automated ‘alerts.’
Any time you interrupt a project to answer a quick email or text or comment, it breaks your momentum. Sustained thought is impossible if your computer and phone are beeping for your attention. Whatever it is, it can wait until a time when you’re ready to address other people’s issues.
4. Track your time for a week.
For an entire week, write down how much time you spend on regular day to day tasks. Just a simply list in a notebook or spreadsheet. Alternatively track by using the app Toggl – https://www.toggl.com/
Once you realise where you’re spending your time, it becomes relatively easy to determine where you’re wasting it.
5. Use the Pareto Principle to prioritise.
The Pareto Principle is the surprising secret of time management. To summarise, the Pareto Principle the a mathematical tendency for 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your actions.
The most famous example of the Pareto principle is the often repeated fact that in sales teams 80 percent of the revenue comes from 20 percent of the team. There are dozens of other examples, ranging from wealth distribution to damage from natural disasters.
Rather than trying to do 100% of your work tasks, start with the 20% that really matters and let some or all of the semi-productive 80% slide. Make this a habit and you’ll have more than enough time, all the time.
