A lot of productivity advice offers great hints for speeding up particular tasks: perhaps by concentrating better, by eliminating distractions and interruptions, or by learning to use Firefox, Gmail and other common programs more efficiently.
But what can you do if simply saving five minutes here and ten minutes there isn't enough? What if you want hours more space in your life, or if you feel constantly overloaded and busy?
Here are five big ways to make more time, which, ultimately means you'll have a better chance of succeeding at what you want to accomplish.
What could you do this week to free up a big chunk of time in your life?
It's an unpopular thing to say, but I'm going to say it anyway: You can't do everything that you want to do. I'm sure that, like me, you've got loads of goals and projects and ambitions and ideas... the truth is, you're going to have to pick between them if any of them are going to succeed.
Can you drop one goal? Can you put it aside for a while? If you're trying to start a side business, lose 50lbs, write a novel and get a promotion all in the same year, you're probably going to end up quitting on all of them. It's much better to make a conscious decision on what you want to drop.
As well as the goals and projects which we love, most of us have a few commitments which we're not so keen on. Perhaps you got roped in to being on a committee at your kids' school, or maybe you're always the person who cooks at home.
You don't have to keep on with your commitments month after month and year after year. If you've totally lost interest in something, and if it's become a dreaded chore, then find a way out! You might even find that by quitting, you can open up a space for someone who'd really enjoy that particular task.
One reason that many of us end up too busy is because we have the attitude that "If you want a job doing, you have to do it yourself." The truth is, there are plenty of tasks – especially low-level ones – which we should be delegating. It's not only better for us, it's better for other people who can learn and grow their skills by taking on those tasks.
At work, delegating usually means handing on tasks and responsibility to a junior colleague (see here for some tips on delegating effectively). But you can also delegate at home: perhaps getting your teens to help with dinner, or even paying a professional for help with jobs such as cleaning, gardening or decorating.
Many of us have a tendency to say "yes" whenever we're asked to take on something new. Often, we're reluctant to say "no" because it's just a little job ... perhaps taking the minutes for a regular meeting at work, or making cakes for the kids' school fete, or helping out with our partner's accounts.
The problem is, little jobs often go on over time and become tedious commitments, draining energy as well as time. Plus, if you keep saying "yes", you'll find your free time shrinking rapidly. One of the best ways I've found to say "no" is to ask for a few days to think about it. This is often easier than feeling put on the spot for a decision, and it also lets people know that you're taking their request seriously.
Finally, if you're really going to create time in your life to do what you want, you need to make your happiness a real priority. That means believing that your happiness does matter, and behaving appropriately.
You may find that you need to stand up for yourself more, or that you can start suggesting social activities which you enjoy, rather than just going along with whatever friends and family say. You may even end up switching careers, starting your own business or taking a sabbatical.
Written on 3/20/2010 by Ali Hale. Ali writes a blog, Aliventures, about leading a productive and purposeful life (get the RSS feed here). As well as blogging, she writes fiction, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing.
5 Big Ways to Add Time To Your Days
Posted by SoMeOnE at 2:05 AM Labels: Productivity, Success, Tasks
Do you use a to-do list? Most of us have some kind of running list of tasks which we want to get done (even if we keep this list in our heads). And I expect that at some point, like me, you'll have had the experience of creating an extremely ambitious to-do list ... only to end up completing just a fraction of the tasks on it.
A to-do list in itself isn't any kind of magic. You might feel good about writing it, but on its own, it won't get the work done! And sometimes, your list can end up being a hassle, draining your energy or just getting in the way.
I can't give you a magic system, because the way you work is no doubt different from the way I work – we all have slightly different approaches which suit us. But these steps should all help you to get your to-do list under control:
Step 1: Try Different Mediums
Do you keep your to-do list on the computer, or on paper? For a week, try doing the opposite – and see what difference it makes. I've gone through various to-do list mediums including:
Your system will depend on how you like to plan and work, and on the types of tasks you have. My best suggestion here is to experiment – it's very easy to get stuck in our ways and to assume that the system we have is effective just because it vaguely works.
Step 2: Don't Over-Plan
The biggest mistake that most of us make with to-do lists is to get too ambitious. We write down all sorts of things which we want to get done – only to end up feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and annoyed at ourselves when we don't achieve it all.
Many experts advise limiting your to-do list as much as possible: some suggest writing down just three-five tasks each day. When you put an item onto your list, ask yourself: Do I want to do this?
If not, can you delegate it? And does it really need to be done?
Don't fill up your to-do list with "nice to do" items ... if you want to track these, try keeping them on a separate page or in a different file, so that you can turn to them when you've completed the day's work. That way, they'll feel like bonus achievements rather than yet another thing to slog through!
Step 3: Make New Tasks Wait
Another common mistake is to plan out a perfect day or week, only to end up shoving new tasks in as they arise. Perhaps you've got your three key tasks for the day all planned, but then you check your email and a client is asking for some revisions on a project.
Unless a new task really needs to be done the same day, write it on tomorrow's list. (Or on a different day later in the week.) I find that creating this buffer lets me focus on what's important first, rather than just on what happens to catch my attention. Often, an emergent task can wait 24 hours without any problems at all.
Step 4: One Task At a Time
Finally, when you're actually working from your to-do list, be clear about what item you're tackling at any given moment. Flitting around trying to do five things at once won't do you any favors: you're more likely to forget things, make mistakes, or get distracted.
I like to annotate my list as I'm going along with "1" against the task I'm going to tackle next, "2" against the one after that, and "3" against the third. This helps me to stay focused – if I'm tempted to switch to something else, I remind myself that I've chosen to work in a particular order so that I can get all the important things done while I've still got plenty of energy.
What does your to-do list look like? Is it working for you?Written on 3/11/2010 by Ali Hale. Ali is a professional writer and blogger, and a part-time postgraduate student of creative writing. If you need a hand with any sort of written project, drop her a line (ali@aliventures.com) or check out her website at Aliventures.