I’ve been ambitious lately, taking on new ventures and projects. These past few weeks, especially, I’ve noticed that sometimes it’s tough fitting all of our duties and projects into the day.
Why is a day 24 hours with 6 – 8 hours already allocated for sleep and another 3 – 4 hours already allocated for meals?? That leaves only 12 – 15 hours for all of our chores!!!
Some days, do you find that it seems impossible?
I, among countless others, am living proof that depending on how you look at things and organize your day, you can effectively squeeze more time in!
This mindset is best summarized as fitting 30+ hours into the 24-hour day. Now, of course I’m not speaking literally…
Most successful people attribute a lot of their success to time management – I daresay it might be the most important skill of all!
Here are some quick tips to help you fit as many hours as possible into each of your days:
1) Wake up early. It’s easy to procrastinate (as well as sleep late) but leaving yourself many hours from the start is helpful both physically and psychologically.
2) Make a list — either the night before, or as one of your first tasks of the day! There’s something about the feeling of accomplishment as you cross things off and are able to re-write it as a much shorter version – somehow it encourages you to finish more!
3) Aim to arrive (or start a project) early! If you always try to be early, chances are you’ll at least be on time… Plus, you are better able to keep yourself calm and on-task, since you’re not stressed about tiny delays.
4) Focus – multi-task as RARELY as possible!!! It helps to group similar tasks together for efficiency, but science recently proved that you’re much more productive when you’re not always trying to multi-task. This is also proof that you work better when you block out distractions. Get creative and don’t be afraid to let people know!
5) Give yourself time limits on tasks, and break up the day with assigned time-slots. For example, decide that you’ll finish Task A in an hour (or) by 9AM. This technique helps keep your day exciting, and moving along!
6) Step AWAY from trying to be perfect… It’s usually true that just finishing a task is better than taking longer and having fewer flaws. Aim to do things extremely well, while still being effective and fast. 🙂
Do yourself a favor, and recognize that you can progress at a comfy speed and still move mountains!! Gift yourself a block of time — even 5 minutes helps — between tasks so you can stay relaxed and smiling!
It may not seem like much, but it truly pays off to shave off blocks of time that would have been wasted otherwise! Lastly, find ways weekly to reward yourself for your productivity… You deserve it!
Welcome to the 30+ Hours a Day Club!!!
Yours in Calmness,
Dr. Inessa
Calmness.com