Saving time

In the spirit of not keeping you from doing something else, this is going to be a short blog entry for once!

A lot of people are complaining about not having enough hours in the day to get everything done. I strongly believe that it is up to everyone themselves to take a couple of simple steps to make sure that you don’t get overrun by all the things you ‘have to do’. Let’s answer some questions.

Have you taken on too many obligations?

It’s important to be learn to say no! Saying ‘no’ is neither impolite nor does it make you lazy. The fact that you feel overwhelmed by too many tasks to fulfil should be enough to tell you that you have too much on your plate, at least for now. A polite and measured ‘no’, maybe with a slightly less constricting variation of an answer is always better than working yourself to shreds because you said ‘yes’ too readily.

Is there anything you can delegate rather than do it yourself?

If you live with family, there is no good reason why you should be the one doing everything. Many parents feel that they have to do it all, or that their partner doesn’t do it right. Drop that mindset right now: it is creating too much work for you! Learn to delegate tasks to others, especially if that task benefits them as much as they do you. Sure: things may not always be done up to your standards, and you may have to curve your expectations on occasion, but one thing is sure: you’ll have more time to do something else.

Can you stop doing something you have done for a long time?

In many cases, we are running out of time because we are doing something out of habit. Habits can be good, but sometimes they can be unnecessary, too. For each task you do regularly, ask yourself if it needs doing this often, and if it needs doing at all. Can you possibly drop it completely?

What is eating up a lot of your time?

What is the most time-consuming thing you have to do? How can you cut it shorter? We often find ourselves taking a lot of time doing something, and – especially if it is a long-time activity – there is a good chance that you could come up with better, faster ways of doing it. Churning your own butter may be ecologically sound, but if it takes an hour out of your day, it’s probably not helpful. Similarly, everyday actions could benefit from finding new ways of doing and I challenge you to look for such options.

What else can you do? Look for opportunities to carve out more time for yourself at every turn and you'll be certain to find some way to save time more often than you think.

If you have enjoyed reading this, you may find these other articles interesting:

• Clutter costs time and money
• Time blocks
• Learning to say no