“Where’s the time to make time?”
Does that sound like a statement you chant almost like a mantra? If yes, then maybe you need to really start taking your time seriously.
Work life routine leaves very little room for personal space, and as such the idea of fitting extra curricular activities into your normal 24 hours might tether close to being an illusion. But it’s surprising, almost magical what a little scheduling and planning can do for you.
Here are a few tips on how you can stretch those 24 hours to their maximum without stretching yourself too much.
#1 Aim – To begin with, you won’t know how to get what you want, unless you know what you want. So start off by asking yourself how many hours a day would you want free? And what would you do with the time you had free? (Do not kid yourself by aiming for 24 hours. We’re looking at enhancing productivity here, not encouraging idleness.)
#2 List – Now that you have set yourself a target, list down your routine activities – existing schedule. Eg: Office – 09.30am to 07.30pm; Classes – 06.30pm to 08.30pm. The idea here is to chart and see where you are spending your while right now, and how worth is the while you are spending right now.
#3 Filter – With your daily schedule ready, you will have a clearer picture of how you spend your time. Great!
Let’s now see where there is scope to tweak. To begin with find out, where you are wasting time? Which are your time bandits?
Also take a look at activities that you can do without, or less of – eg: long phone calls, stretched meetings, eating in front of the TV, etc. – anything that does nothing to add value to your day falls under this bracket.
#4 Early to bed and early to rise – Proverbs are quite often the simplest piece of good advice. To make the most of your day, give yourself a headstart. Wake up 30 minutes earlier than you would usually do. Also, remember to give yourself 7.5 to 8 hours of a good night sleep. A disturbed sleep can end up making chaos of your time management attempts (other than giving you a hung-over look,) so treat your sleep with a little bit of respect.
#5 Set timelines – Keep timelines for most of your tasks, so that you keep them in control. Did you know that minor tasks such as checking your email can consume the entire day? Now you do – keep aside an hour at the beginning of the day, and an hour at the end of the day to check and revert to emails. That will save a lot of precious minutes.
# Review and Revise – Time management is not a lesson learnt overnight. It is more like a practice that gets perfect the more it is practiced. Keep following a particular pattern for your daily schedule, and keep re-looking at it from time to time.
Remember time is money – now we all know what happens when you lose control over financial affairs don’t we? Draw a parallel to that with time. Treat it well. Use it well.
These are a few small pointers to show the way. The free time you save (like the money you save) is yours to do what you will with it – take up a hobby, contribute to society, or just lavish it on yourself, – that’s a call that’s best taken by you!
