What If You Were Given An Extra Hour Per Day?
5 Time Management Skills To Help You Be More Productive in less time
What Would You Do With An Extra Hour A Day?
Seriously, if you had an extra hour each day, how would you use that time?
5 Time Management Skills To Do Just That
By D. S. Mitchell
A friend and I were having lunch when she looked at me, and asked, “What would you do if you were given an extra hour a day? My first thought was, sleep; but I realized she was looking for a well-thought out response, not my first flippant thought.
“Wow. That’s deep,” I said.
“365 hours a year,” she emphasized, “That’s like another 15 days plus, a year; a two week vacation.”
I started adding fast in my head, “Over ten years, that’s like 150 extra days. Could that be possible? That’s like five months. Over 20 years that’s an extra ten plus months. Damn near a year,” I volunteered.
“Compounding is an amazing thing,” she giggled, “It’s the cumulative effect of just one hour, multiplied day after day, month after month, year after year.”
“Unfortunately, I’m afraid, I’d end up wasting most of it,” I forecast.
“I doubt it, I think you would find lots of worthwhile projects.”
I looked at my friend and laughed before saying, “Since there is no magic extra hour per day, I guess I won’t be challenged.”
“The reason I brought up the imaginary extra hour a day was that very reason, all my wasted hours.”
“You’re so organized. I can’t imagine you wasting a lot of time,” I objected.
“You are my friend, so your expectations are suspect,” she laughed.
“Okay. Your point?”
“I’ve been taking a time management course on line. What I’ve learned already is changing my life, making me more productive, with seemingly less effort. Giving me that extra hour every day.”
“Really?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“Tell me,” I asked, curious, “so I don’t have to take the class,” I joked.
“Okay, I can do that. I’ve learned that no matter what you do, time management is really important. Here’s the basic 5 time management tips I’ve learned.”
5 Time Management Tips
1. Gotta Prioritize
The foundation of time management is prioritization. You’re not very efficient if you’re not getting the most important things done. Don’t try to tackle everything on your to-do list at once; first figure what on the list is the most important. Consider which items will have the biggest impact, which are the most time-sensitive, and are there any tasks that can be delegated to someone else. Then rank them in order of what has to be done and what can be put off until later. This way nothing important will inadvertently get pushed off until tomorrow.
2. Say No To Multitasking
Avoid multitasking — research have shown humans don’t do it very well. It seems that the human brain doesn’t like switching tasks — even if it’s just looking up from the report you’re writing to check your email-your brain has to refocus, breaking the extended concentration needed for innovative thinking. Studies have shown it can take 20-25 minutes to refocus, that’s a 40% loss of productivity. I know you think you’re good at multitasking, but you’re wrong. Research has shown that people who think they are good at multitasking are usually the worst at it.
3. Put Your Phone Away-Eliminate Distractions
Make a conscious effort to reduce distractions. Researchers have concluded that even having your cell phone within easy reach reduces cognitive capacity. It seems that your brain literally has to work overtime resisting not using it. Put your phone far away and turn off as many additional distractions as possible, such as email notifications and multiple open computer screens, so to focus on the task at hand.
4. Establish Boundaries
Setting boundaries can be hard, especially with family and friends, but setting boundaries at work and home are important, particularly about times when you can and cannot be contacted. Everyone should also know when to expect a response from you (e.g., within the hour, the day ). It will make both you and others feel less frantic. The endless emails are also disruptive to concentration. It has been suggested that setting up a time schedule for checking incoming mail makes the most sense. I know it’s hard. How about this; check email first thing in the morning, then after lunch, and finally about 30 minutes before leaving work.
5. Do Your Best Work
Morning is the best time to take on challenging endeavors, the researchers say, so plan on doing your most difficult tasks first thing in the morning. As the day progresses, the average person becomes less engaged and less focused. Consider scheduling meetings in the afternoon. Save your highest focus time for the most important work.
“I’ve been taking notes. You really think time management can actually give me that extra hour a day?”
“I know it can. It has helped me. In fact, better time management is the only reason I had time for this lunch date,” she laughed.
“So that extra hour a day I squeeze out because of better time management can be wasted with your friends, is that what I’m hearing?”
“It’s just nice not to feel so rushed all of the time.”
