5 Ways to Squeeze More From Your Time
We live in a very distracting world, and with work no longer being confined to the office and social media notifications each vying for our attention it can be challenging to have quality time with your family, as someone that is fully present and engaged in the moment - rather than reacting, like Pavlov’s Dogs to all the dings and vibrations of social media alerts and emails coming through.
In such a hectic and fast paced world, it’s important to balance your time whilst also making enough money to survive and/or thrive.
Time, however is an often overlooked and under-appreciated gift when compared to money. It’s only when it’s too late and we’ve spend most our time that we look back, with regret, wondering where did it all go?
See, we each have 24 hours in a day, and how we choose to spend these hours is the primary determinant to how successful and happy we will become.
It’s important to notice that success isn’t just about building an amazing career and making money so we can go out and buy custom made suits from LS Mens Clothing. Success is more holistic than that; as an example, we want a high quality of life that extends beyond material focus, such as to spend relaxed time together with our family.
There are so many precious moments, that whizz by so quickly in terms of having a young family yet these moments are often missed due to our busy lives.
Time is the most scarce resource we have. That’s why in this article we’re going to look at some time-saving tips to help you focus on what matters most, whether that’s spending time with your family on a road trip or perhaps just having a little bit of “you time” where you can relax and replenish.
1. WORK REMOTELY
Today, we are seeing a shift in remote working, which is particularly helpful for people with families. Whether you want to live the 4 Hour Work Week dream proposed by Tim Ferriss, or simply wish to avoid the daily commute, working from home can be a great way to improve your quality of life and squeeze the most out of your time.
However, it’s really important if you decide to work from home that you focus, as it’s all too easy to set out with good intentions that quickly fall by the wayside as you begin watching a little Netflix in your office whilst you eat your breakfast.
In this sense, working from home can be both a blessing and a curse; on the one hand, your commute is now limited to going from your bedroom to your home office, which has huge benefits in terms of convenience, but it can create a less focused emotional state that allows for much more distraction. This is particularly the case if you’re used to the standard morning ritual of getting dressed in business attire and being in an office environment around colleagues in a similar state of work focus.
The most important thing in terms of working from home is to have a routine, as this will provide the necessary structure to keep you focused. You might want to consider setting yourself a lunch hour between a set time each day, or even get dressed for work, as if you were going to the office, rather than sitting around in your dressing gown.
2. WORK WHEN YOU WORK
If you do decide to work from home, it’s important to work when you work and rest when you rest. Too many people give in to the temptation to have one foot in each camp; as an example, watching the TV whilst working on their laptop.
Similarly, it’s way too easy for attention to drift anywhere other than on work when working from home; particularly with social media notifications popping up and the lure of YouTube / Netflix.
You might have to parent yourself and set up your own ‘parental controls’ that allow you to restrict the content you’re able to access in order to remain focused. There’s a great app called Freedom that offers this functionality.
Brian Tracy, suggests you work when you work and rest when your rest; meaning, if you are sitting down to work - ensure you have a laser like focus on the task at hand in a distraction free environment. Similarly, if you’re resting with your family - turn off your phone and be fully present with them.
3. ORGANISE YOUR TIME
The convenience of online working and online studying means you have much more time to enjoy your life, and for that matter build a life. We spend far too much time living in reaction to work - trying to fit our lives in, yet it doesn’t have to be that way; the amount of time you can save by having a good planning system in place is phenomenal… a lot of “time management” comes down to first planning your tasks so that you can keep on top of things with ease.
4. THE PARETO PRINCIPLE
The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule suggests 20% of our activities account for 80% of the outcome. In simple terms, you want to focus on what tasks are going to have the greatest impact and get these done first. Often, we can get lost in the small tasks that create a lot of “busyness” and detract from the time we need to run our “business”. The best way to go about this is to write a list of all your tasks for the day, week, or month and then determine which tasks are going to create the greatest impact; as an example, is it the 50 sales calls you keep putting off or is it the hours you keep spending on aesthetic design.
5. USE LISTS
The world’s most successful people have lists for everything, and these tasks get ticked off each and every day. There are a number of apps such as Wunderlist that will help you keep track of your lists, and the great thing with an app like this, is that you can create a number of categories in addition to a curated priority list.
The great thing with lists is that they build momentum; in fact, when you tick something off your list, you receive a physiological endorphin rush which rewards your brain; and with each thing that gets ticked off, you build more and more momentum and this snowball effect compounds to create high levels of motivation, self-esteem and satisfaction.