While we all could use more time to spend with our families or get more done throughout the day, saving time alone isn’t necessarily the solution—proper time management is. Research shows that time management enhances performance and overall well-being.[1] Building productive habits and holding value to your time is essential if you want to save time and achieve more every day. If you’re struggling to get a grip and break the cycle of lost time, learn how by reading the tips below.
How to Save Time and Achieve More Everyday
With our busy schedules, it can be difficult to find time to focus on ourselves or spend quality time with the people we care about. Time is one of the universe’s most enigmatical features, yet we tend to take it for granted because we witness it every day. We always ask ourselves what can I do that can help me save time and achieve more? Yet, we do not try and change the way we behave in our day-to-day lives. Achieving more each day requires developing practical routines and learning to appreciate your time for what it’s worth. People who do their work on time and appreciate their time rarely experience feelings of being unable to accomplish their goals. To get you started, below are four tips that will help increase your productivity and save time.
Tips for Saving Time and Getting More Done
1. Know Your Numbers
Knowing your numbers will help you save time. It can be a tough pill to swallow when you realize that we all have the same 24 hours each day, right? What it comes down to is the brass tacks—you have got to know exactly where your time goes every day. You’re aware that you shouldn’t spend more than X amount of money on fast food per month or you might go over budget. But what do you know about your time? You know it takes 20 minutes to get to work every day, but what do you know about how much time you spend on your phone? Are you aware that most Americans spend over two hours per day on social media? [2] If this is you, consider what you could accomplish over those two hours. Recognizing where you’re losing time—and the tasks in your life that are taking unnecessary amounts of time—is key to gaining control of your day. Treat your time like you do your bank account, and you’re ready to save more time.
Questions to Ask Yourself to Evaluate Your Time:
How much time do you spend on the internet or social media per day? How much time do you spend watching TV per day? Do you do any tasks that could be done by someone else? What needs more of your time? How much work could you get done without any distractions?
Once you’ve figured out your daily numbers, multiply that by seven and see just how much time you have to work with each week. By realizing the time you waste daily, you will be able to plan your days accordingly. You can try creating a schedule to focus on your work and experiment with several time frames to find the most productive one, with the Pomodoro Technique suggesting a 25-minute session. With such techniques, you will see how much time you can save. Want to learn more about Pomodoro Technique? Read this: Does the Pomodoro Technique Work for Your Productivity?
2. Get Organized
Getting organized will bring much-needed structure. Once you’re clear on where your time goes and how much time you actually have to dedicate to your to-do list, begin to structure your day. Use a process called time blocking. Time blocking is the process of scheduling your day, so you know exactly when you will be doing what. Plan your days and weeks ahead of time by setting a schedule, and then take time each morning to plan your day. It may seem like waking up and planning your day every day would add to your time struggle, but it’s been reported that taking less than 15 minutes to plan your day can actually save you two hours throughout the day [3]. When you take a moment to get intentional with your day and with your time, you will be able to do two things: prioritize and delegate. Understanding exactly what needs to happen within your day allows you to see what is the most important, ensuring that it gets done no matter what. Having a plan of action for your day will also help you stay focused and have a clear mindset of how you need to move to accomplish what you want to get done. Recognizing where your time is not needed is also a pillar of time management. By organizing your day each day, you can see what is on your to-do list that might be better served by someone else. Let’s face it—at the end of the day, are the dishes and the vacuuming where your time is most useful? Necessary, nonetheless—so then we delegate. As you put these methods into practice, you’ll recognize the importance of creating systems to streamline your work and free up more of your time. Whether it’s chore rotation to share the load or hiring help to come in during Tuesdays, structure and plans are the keys to success and time freedom.
3. Delegate and Outsource
It’s easy to say, “just get organized, and you’ll have more time,” but this is often where a large part of the struggle lies. Time management is a skill and a practice—no doubt—but it’s totally achievable. It begins with learning your options. We live in a beautiful world of technology where there is an app for everything. Time management tools exist, you just have to find them and learn them. Maybe technology isn’t your thing—that’s okay, too. You can just as well create your own tools and processes to increase your productivity. Once you’ve realized where you can delegate, you then need to figure out how to delegate.[4] Maybe you can’t implement a chore chart, but you can use an app to find a freelance maid who is more than happy to do your dishes at a low cost. Maybe you don’t want to pay someone to clean your home for many reasons, but you can schedule the same 10 minutes each day to wash your dishes to avoid an hour-long pile-up. Listen to a podcast on productivity while you do it, and it’s suddenly not squandered time—and perhaps even insightful.[5] Streamlining your processes will take time, but eventually, your days will be running like a well-oiled machine. If you need help with organization, there are free management tools that allow you to easily line out your days or categorize your to-do list. Having a visual component to your day will help get some of those thoughts out of your head and allow you to track your progress.
Quick Tips for Streamlining Your Day:
As you begin to develop helpful habits and learn to create processes for each part of your life, you’ll begin to see less pile-up of obligations, less time wasted, and more things accomplished throughout your day.
4. Avoid Burnout
You’re probably wondering how. Well, you can avoid burnout by gaining control of your day. The cycle of lost time can be a nasty one—especially if you have kids. It can seem like one wrong step and suddenly your house is a complete disaster, you have three things to address in the mail, and you’re running late to work or school drop-off. As this cycle continues, it’s likely that your stress levels are up, and your focus is off from the spin out of things needing your attention. Then you’re left with decreased productivity, overwhelm, and often hopelessness. This cycle is called burnout. You’ve reached your wit’s end, and it seems difficult to even know where to begin to get back on track. Investing in time management practices and strategies—however imposing on your current schedule they may feel—will actually help you avoid burnout.[6] Gaining control of your time means gaining control of your day, and gaining control of your day means gaining control of your life. Keeping yourself motivated requires occasional self-rewards. Recognize and reward yourself for even the smallest achievements. It will remind you of your accomplishments whenever you feel discouraged about your development. Here’s a great article for all the working moms out there who are trying to overcome burnout: Working Mom Burnout: 6 Coping Advice to Lessen the Stress
Final Thoughts
Sometimes, the hardest things can truly be so simple. As a (sometimes) functioning adult, you likely have the tools right in your mind to evaluate and structure your day. Yes, it can be hard to zoom in when the zoom-out is so cluttered, but when you take it a little at a time, you’ll realize that you can do this. Then it’s just a matter of finding what works for you—whether you’re a night planner or a day planner, whether you can afford to stop doing the dishes, and whether you prefer to outline your life digitally or on paper. Featured photo credit: Luke Chesser via unsplash.com
