Let’s talk timesaving.
I am really not feeling my office job. It’s no secret that I would rather be teaching in Japan. Or at least doing more with my website. Maybe even writing more and finally getting that book finished, but lately I begrudge the time I am having to spend on things I am not enjoying. I need to work if I want to get paid, I totally get that. And I am certainly not afraid of a bit of work. It is just that sometimes I spend so long doing things I don’t want to do that I am too tired to do the things I enjoy. That is why I am implementing a few organisational tips into my schedule.
24 hours in a day…
Many years ago, in simpler times, possibly before I had four children, I had an idea. I called it ‘Three-dom’ and it involved dividing the day into 3 main sections. Now we don’t need Rachel Riley to tell us that that gives us 3 eight hour sections. Take away one for sleeping (remember when we used to be able to sleep for 8 hours? No, me neither). Another for ‘work’ and the final eight hours are all yours.
What idealistic nonsense! Eight whole hours a day to do what I want! I don’t think so!
Under what section does washing clothes and sorting bills come? Because they feel like work to me!
Is the commute to work part of my own time, or does it come under the work section? What if I have to go out, but I don’t really want to? That’s not time for myself?
And the problems with this idea kept coming. (To be fair to myself, I later discovered that this was basically an off branch of ‘Time Blocking’, so perhaps it wasn’t that bad an idea)
A better way
But the fact is, we cannot increase the number of hours in our day.
If you opt to sleep less, it will catch up with you at some point.
If you fail to get your basic household chores done, they pile up creating more work in the long run.
When you work harder, you burn out quicker. The only real solution, is to work smarter.
Consider your average day. What time do you get up? Do you know what you need to do first? What needs to done throughout the day?
By implementing a few simple tips into your routine you can free up some precious time, which you can hopefully recoup for yourself.
Why less is more
On my Facebook page (which you should totally visit and like! #NotVerySubtle) there are quotes by loads of minimalists, simple living advocates and general good eggs.
My aim is to make it a place of happy and motivational thoughts; a beacon of inspiration and hope. (That’s the aim anyway, you’ll have to go check it out to see if I have achieved that or not #NotEvenTryingToBeSubtleNow)
One of my favourite quotes on the page is from Courtney Carver. She is the author of Soulful Simplicity; one of the books I got for Christmas.
As she rightly points out, if you have less on your ‘to do’ list in the first place, you will automatically find you have more time on your hands.
Failure to plan, is planning to fail
Talking of great quotes, I love those ‘Monday Motivation’ Instagram pictures. I’ve even been known to post a few myself.
You know the ones: a picture of a sunset as the background, a moving and thoughtful quote over the top? #inspiration #quotesofInstagram?
One of my favourites has always been: Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
It is basically a play on the Ben Franklin quotation regarding planning and failing. If you do something now, while a bit inconvenient, it is done.
If you leave tasks undone, not only do you have the subconscious worry of it on your mind, you also still have the task to do.
One of my life rules is: “If it only takes 2 minutes, do it now”. Got to take the rubbish out? Don’t do it later, do it now. Then it is done and one less thing to think about.
Having a plan for what you will you do with your time when you get home from work could stop you from just vegging in front of the TV the second you get in.
If you have a list, and know what you want to achieve when you have spare time, you can use the time more wisely.
Try and plan in advance as much as is sensible.
Plan your menus so you know exactly what food to buy and you can whip around the supermarket in next to no time.
Decide your outfits for the whole week so you are not emergency washing and drying a blouse late Wednesday night for work the next day. This is particularly useful with school uniforms. My boys have 5 white shirts each and 2 pairs trousers.
I only do a wash for school stuff one a week. Your time is worth more than the cost of buying in a few extra shirts.
Seize the moment
As a parent you become an expert in snatching moments for yourself. Even a five minute trip to the loo can be enough to recharge your batteries.
There are so many suggestions around about how grateful we should be for the small things and about how important gratitude is.
In a way this is connected to seizing the moment. Using the small pockets of time you can grab, and using them to affirm positive thoughts, or to remind yourself how good certain aspects of your life can help you through the day.
That five minutes you allow yourself for a coffee, or the feeling of taking your shoes off when you get home from work. Take a few minutes to just be.
Time Blocking
I have previously written about the myth that is multitasking, and why it is not a productive method to use. Each time you change tasks you reset your brain and actually slow down. I try to do all similar jobs together to avoid this.
If you have to make phone calls and pay bills, set aside time and do them all together. You are ‘in the zone’ so to speak, and will find that the tasks get completed quicker than if you broke up the phone call with out jobs in between.
An extreme version of this is called ‘Time Blocking’. As I mentioned above, it is about attributing tasks to certain times of the day, and making the most of each minute. According to the Project Manager.com website :
Time blocking is the practice of scheduling out everything in your entire day, including meals, work projects and personal time in order to better manage time and discover where precious hours are either being wasted or underutilised.
Being micro managed is not for everyone; it does prevent spontaneity, but if organising your day down to the last minute enables you to get the most out of your time, it might be worth experimenting with.
Over to you
What aspects of time management do you need to implement into your daily life to make it work better, for you? Are there areas where you can grab back a few moments, or certain behaviours you know you might need to reduce – like scrolling through social media, or watching too much TV?
Let me know in the comments below.
If you have some tips or ways of working that have made changes to your life, let me know that too. I would love to find out how other people are making the most of their time.