We can all pretty much agree that aside from good health, one of the most valuable commodities in life is our time.
Time is so limited that we just don’t seem to have enough of it to fit in everything we would like to every day. That’s what makes it so valuable… because, as a general rule, to do one thing we need to sacrifice something else.
One of the most common questions I am asked is, “Are there any tips or techniques I can use to gain more time in my day?”
Well, although you can’t technically gain more than 24-hours in a day, you CAN make certain choices to free up time for the most important or meaningful items.
One easy technique that anyone can do is to simply create an ongoing list of items which may be quickly referenced and chosen from at any time, no matter how many minutes you have available.
In other words… no matter how much time you have (a free lunch hour or only 5 minutes while waiting to pick a child up), instead of reflexively grabbing your phone and viewing Instagram or Facebook – wasting that time, have a ready-to-go list of useful things to do that you can consult on your phone or daily planner, to make the best use of your time.
Even just making a to-do list of items that need to be completed for the day, or projects to do around the house, would save you time and help you keep important tasks top of mind.
Here’s what’s on my list right now:
- Pay JCPenney bill online
- Order new plates for my Weber grill
- Take car for emissions test
- Start motorcycle to prevent battery wear
- Fix cement block ring around front tree
- Write new blog post (like I am doing during lunch right now!)
- Take clothes to Goodwill
- Clean garage out
- Clean upstairs loft area
- Start booking trip on AAA Motorclub website
- Add Discover Card to Fuel Rewards program
- Read: Golden Rules of Blogging book, online marketing articles…
- Sketch art for beer can label
- Fill out job applications
- Pick up package from UPS
- Start new Skillshare Marketing class
Glamorous?… No. Useful?… Definitely!
Some of the items take minutes, and others take hours. Having many of each ensures you always have something you can do.
Before you know it, you’ll be checking items off that list and adding new ones to it.
You get the idea!
A side-note (no pun intended!) – I prefer to format lists as a checklist in the Notes app on my iPhone, because it feels more satisfying seeing them being checked off, one-by-one. Plus, it’s with me wherever I go, and as easy as opening one of our favorite time-wasting apps.
Here’s one final tip – for times when you have only a few minutes (hello, morning bathroom duty!), download the app named “Pocket”… it allows you to quickly bookmark online articles, TED Talks and other quick-reads for you to save for later.
If you have any tips on list-making or time-saving, comment your ideas below!
LIKE THESE IDEAS? Find more like it in the book “Make Time to Change” found on Amazon, or visit www.MakeTimeToChange.com.
MakeTimeToChange 