We know that we have 24 hours in each day and that this should be plenty of time for us to complete everything that we have to do, with ample time to spare. The dawn of each day should bring a fresh outlook to all of us and we should feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle anything that life has in store. However, for one reason or another it seems that we are always playing catch-up, despite what we might feel are our best intentions. When the sun has set and the hours are winding down, we often feel frustrated, as we have not had enough time to complete all those tasks. Here are seven ideas for "finding" that extra hour each day!1. Set up your phone so that all calls are processed before they reach you. There are some great programs available these days, including Google Voice, which will help you to prioritise the calls that you really need to take and leave the time wasting calls. You can even block unwanted or troublesome calls through the system. By having your own, personal secretary in this way, you will not waste valuable minutes.
2. Realise the value of outsourcing. What is an hour of you time worth? If you haven't calculated it, do it now! Chances are an hour of your time is NOT worth you spending it doing all the things that you find difficult, time-consuming and repetitive. Make a list of all the things that suck up your time. Concentrate on what you excel at and start flexing your outsourcing muscle, perhaps initially by trying to outsource just one thing that is sucking up your time. That might mean finding a cleaner, engaging the services of a Virtual Assistant or finding someone who can do your ironing much faster than you can!
3. Explore time management software programmes. Once you've experimented and found the one that works for you, learn how to use it and stick with it. It might seem a bit alien to you at first, but if you are really stringent, you will save a great deal of time each day by focusing your attention. I use an appointment scheduling system now for my clients (www.timedriver.com ) It took some getting used to, but it's saving so much time each week that I previously spent with emails and voicemails going to and fro trying to find mutually convenient times for calls!
4. When it comes to planning, make sure that you actually do it! If you have a rather muddled list of things that you have to accomplish in your head, you will bounce back and forth between these chores and not be efficient. Allocate time to plan ahead, whether this takes place during the prior evening, or when you first wake up. Research has shown that an hour planning any project saves at least four hours. Block out time in your diary on a quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily basis to plan and you'll find that you avoid diary clashes and that you naturally become more focussed.
5. Allocate an hour for communication and "batch process" that communication time. This includes all those call-backs that you might have to make, the checking of e-mail, updating of Facebook or other social networks. You would be amazed how much time can be lost if you're constantly checking e-mails or taking phone calls without a structured plan.
6. When you're planning your time, include a "buffer" at appropriate intervals. This means that you should not plan one task after another within an unrealistic time frame. If you allocate a certain amount of "buffer," you will not get sidetracked, harried or fall off your schedule.
7. Combine your exercise time with "catching up" time. If you allocate, say 30 to 45 minutes a day for physical activity, combine this with your time to catch up on the news and current affairs. This could mean the installation of a television in your workout area, or this may now become the time to listen to a particular media channel or even to read updates through your electronic book reader.
What do you think?
Photo Credit: Steve Grosbois
