What would you do with an extra hour each day, or an extra 2 weeks every year?
This is time you could spend working on a side project, travelling or taking a much needed vacation, or spending it with family and friends. Time is a non-renewable resource. Once it’s gone. It’s gone. How then can you reclaim your time and start taking back control of your life?
I have a friend who claims to be the busiest person in the world. It doesn’t matter how much anyone else around him seems to have going on, he always claims to be busier. The sad thing is, this person is also one of the least productive people I know. Endless marathon meetings, long commutes, and late night work sessions make him appear from the outside, but after months and years of running around, he has little to show for it. Busy should never be the goal. Simply being busy doesn’t accomplish anything.
Do not confuse motion and progress -Alfred A. Montepart
The key instead is to be productive and efficient in everything you do. Every act you do can either be a productive one, or not.
Your acts can either move you towards your goals, or away from them.
By understanding that we all have the same 24 hours in a day, you can start to understand that it’s not the hours in the day, but what we do with them that makes the difference.
So how can we make the most of our 24 hours?
1. Sleep
It may seem contradictory that in an effort to get more done and gain an extra hour each day that you should also concentrate on getting more sleep. Sleep is crucial however, in ensuring we have the energy to be productive and make the best use of our time.
Sleep deprivation is a quick way to poor judgment and even worse workflow. We just can’t operate at a high level when we’re tired, which means tasks take longer, and don’t get done as well.
Make sure to get around 8 hours every night. You may need less, you may need more, but sacrificing sleep in order to get more done is short term thinking and is not a long term strategy for success.
You can get more sleep by:
- Going to bed earlier, and at the same time each night.
- Turn off all screens an hour before bedtime and allow your mind time to decompress
- Wake up consistently at the same time every morning. Our bodies thrive on routine and will learn the new schedule and adapt.
- Limit caffeine in the afternoon. Or better yet, cut out your afternoon coffee altogether. You may feel tired at first but eventually your body will adjust and you’ll sleep far better without it.
2. Wake Up Early
The flip side to making sure you get enough sleep is that you should also try to get in the habit of waking up early. This is where it’s important to ensure that you’re going to bed early enough so that when morning comes around you’re well rested and ready to start the day.
The benefits of waking up early exceed the short-term annoyance, http://www.forbes.com/pictures/gglg45gfd/benefits-of-early-risers/
The most valuable aspect of waking up early is that it allows you distraction free time. No phone calls, no meetings, no interruptions. Workplace interruptions can cost you up to 6 hours a day! Forget about gaining an extra hour a day, what if you were able to maintain absolutely focus and clarity to gain an extra 6 hours a day.
The key is to make sure that you’re waking up early for a reason and that you have a plan for how you’re going to maximize those early morning hours.
3. Plan Your Day In Advance
It doesn’t matter whether you plan your day the night before, or first thing in the morning. The important thing is that you lay out exactly what you want to do, and when you want to do it.
If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail
Benjamin Franklin
If you don’t have a plan for your day then it’s all too easy to allow yourself to be distracted with email, phone calls, impromptu meetings, and other “workplace hazards”.
Start by focusing on the top 3-5 things you want to accomplish that day, putting the most important first, and working from there. What things do you need to do to feel that today was a productive and efficient use of your time?
I’ve found it’s also helpful to schedule little things like checking email, and limiting this to 2 or 3 times a day at regularly scheduled times. Giving up obsessive email and social media checking can be a challenge, as we get a dopamine rush from it, (Psychology Today) but like any bad habit it can be broken with practice.
I also tend to somewhat overestimate how long something will take me by. By factoring in a buffer I’m able to use the additional time in my day to either work ahead and get done early, or work on a project that I’m passionate and interested about.
4. Practice Pareto’s Principle
Pareto’s Principle states that we 80% of our results come from only 20% of our efforts. The key here is to identify your Pareto Points, what is it that you can do that will have the greatest result. This could be:
- Making a difficult sales call
- Finishing a challenging report first thing in the morning
- Preparing for the upcoming meeting or presentation
If you’re not sure which tasks will have the greatest impact than start with the most challenging task first. Completing it early in your day will not only lift a weight off your shoulder but will also serve as a confidence booster and motivator that you’re productively accomplishing everything you need to get done.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day, it’s how we use them that separates the busy from the productive.
