Last semester a student asked me how I can possibly have the time to do all that I do. I thought it would make a great blog topic, but I didn’t have time to write about it…until now.
We actually have a lot more time than we think. People will constantly say “I don’t have time,” but what they are really saying is that other things are more important. Time is like money, we spend it on what we value.
Or do we? How many of us are actually aware of where all of our time goes? Try this: for a week, keep a time journal. Each hour or so, write down what it is you are doing and approximately how long it took. I think you will be surprised at which activities your time is actually spent on.
For example, I have a tendency to waste a lot of time on Facebook. Or, rather, I used to. One day I looked up and noticed that an hour had gone by. How? Mainly by engaging in somewhat meaningless arguments and discussions on Facebook. This is when I developed a new Facebook policy: I would no longer argue points, or even present my opinion on matters. I wasn’t helping anyone and I was only wasting my precious time. Because I have cultivated a time-awareness habit, and alert myself to time-wasters, I can take corrective action and reclaim my valuable time.
And time-wasters aren’t just activities. They can come in the form of people as well. Think about your relationships and the amount of time you spend on them. Are they worth it? Do you feel connected? Nurtured and understood? If not, it may be a good time to re-evaluate your relationships. As a young adult, I can remember spending hours on the phone because I didn’t want to be rude to a compulsive talker. Now I ask myself why I let someone else steal my time.
Now that you’ve got the idea, here are some specific tips for you to consider:
- Figure out what your most productive hours are and schedule accordingly. If you are most productive in the morning, then set aside time each morning to accomplish more challenging tasks. Save the easier tasks for when you are less productive. Overall, you will use your energy much more efficiently. And energy = time.
- Don’t procrastinate. Don’t allow bills, errands or other personal tasks such as laundry to build up. Unorganized piles of things that need attention will sap your energy. Energy sappers are also time wasters.
- Take care of yourself physically by eating right and exercising. Don’t have time? (Sorry- couldn’t resist). Get out your calendar and put yourself in it. First. Then say “no” to anything that interferes with your “me appointments.” Although there will be times that your “me appointment” gets cancelled, strive to make those the exception and not the rule.
- Strategize how to eliminate your time-wasters. Using the journaling idea above, figure out where you may be wasting your time. Consider the amount of time you are investing and what the payoff is. For example, I used to bake cakes from scratch. This took hours. I thought I really loved doing it, but when I sat down and really thought about it what I really loved was how happy it made other people feel, and I didn’t really enjoy the actual baking much at all. So I decided to think about other ways I could make people happy. Less time-consuming and more enjoyable ways. It’s all about efficiency.
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Barbara LoFrisco
