‘Tempus fugit – time flies. Life is short. I can’t believe another year’s gone by…’
People say all sorts of things about time, usually about how little
of it they have. Many of us genuinely lead busy lives and do find it
hard to fit everything in – work, family, hobbies, exercise. But leading
a happy and fulfilled life and achieving all our goals does require the
skill of handling our time well. Time is a resource and must be
managed.
Keep a record of what you are doing with your time.
Keeping a proper record of what you’re doing is a really important
first step in managing your time and hence being more productive. When I
tried this for myself, it turned out that there were vast swathes of my
time that weren’t being used productively at all. Although I always
regarded myself as having no time and being far too busy to do any more
than I was already doing, in fact there was plenty of time spent on
pretty meaningless things such as watching TV, surfing the Internet (not
in a productive way), or just lying around.
What I found was that, in fact, I had plenty of time to spare. It’s
all a matter of priorities – if you really want to do something, there
is time. You just need to find it. Keeping a record of where your time
is going will help you to do this. You could be amazed by just how much
time you do have!
“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can
use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you
can never get it back.”
- Harvey MacKay
Use your time more creatively
Do you spend a lot of time traveling? What do you do with that one
hour daily commute to work? How about when you’re sitting in an airport
departure lounge, or when you’re waiting for a train, or sitting in
Starbucks waiting for a friend?
Times like this can be used more constructively. I generally carry a
bag around with me and the bag will contain a book or two, usually
something with a self improvement theme.
Haven’t got time to do affirmations? I thought I had this problem
until I realized that I had at least one shower every day and usually
two, so instead of just daydreaming randomly through this time, I
started to spend it saying my affirmations.
Don’t let routines rule your life. If you usually go the gym after
work but you need to work late one day, you could go early in the
morning or at lunchtime, or even late at night. Maybe you could go to a
different gym that’s nearer your work. My own job is very busy and
unpredictable, but I still manage to get the gym three times a week
(almost) without fail.
Enjoy what you are doing
In other words, live in the moment. Don’t rush from one thing to
another. Just take your time and do whatever you’re doing as well as you
can before moving on to the next thing. Multitasking is a myth – you’re
doing things in rapid succession, but you’re flicking your attention
quickly from one thing to another and, in the process, doing everything
less well. I have learned through experience that multitasking is a sure
fire way to become exhausted and be less productive.
Give yourself a break
You need down time. You can’t be doing ‘productive’ activities all
the time. So it’s really important that you take some time to get away
from all that productivity. But make sure this is really good, quality
time. Watching TV is not a good way to relax – it’s too stimulating and,
depending on what you’re watching, it can make you feel terrible!
Randomly browsing the Internet is also not a good idea, and nor is
spending time on Facebook, MSN, ICQ or playing computer games.
Try to find something that’s genuinely relaxing – having lunch with a
friend, listening to a relaxing CD or some affirmations. It’s also
important to get enough sleep.
Getting proper down time for yourself will actually make you more
productive. I read a really interesting story recently about someone who
conducted a productivity study of workers carrying large, heavy
materials. The managers were getting the laborers to work flat out all
day with only the minimum number of breaks allowed. Obviously, they
thought that rest time was wasted time. The consultant brought in for
the study decided to carry out a trial – half of the workers would carry
on as usual, and the other half would take longer and more frequent
rests. The managers were skeptical, but the second group ended up
shifting four times more material than the first group, despite spending
more time resting.
The moral of the story is obvious – we need to rest or else we will tire out and become unproductive.
Time can be your friend rather than your enemy. But you have to make
it so. As with everything in life, the key is in being proactive.
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