Top 12 ways to Maximize Time!

Ever felt completely stretched, like you are trying to balance five things at once?

Maximizing our time is about focusing on the right things. Don’t just make ourselves busy, but be busy doing the things that matter.

My experience these past few months has taught me quite a bit. One the most import lessons have been learning that to maximize my productivity, happiness, peace, or impact by clearly understanding.

Analyze how you spend time:

Spending a short while working out what you normally do with your time will help you in the long run. Identifying those areas where time is being wasted and where it is being well spent will help you to priorities. What counts is not the amount of time that you put in overall, but the amount of time that you spend working on important, worthwhile tasks.

Set Goals:

It’s all well-being and efficient with your time, but to what end if you really don’t know you want to spend it? Many people spend precious time and energy trying to be more efficient without setting goals- in other words; they don’t focus on the things that are more important to them. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you will know exactly what to concentrate your efforts. Having set goals can be a good motivator.

Keep a ‘to do’ list:

You can keep a list in your head of things that need doing; but its far better to free your mind of this by writing or typing list, which you can then refer to throughout the day. Your list could be written on a piece of paper, typed and saved on your computer, or held in a Filofax system – it’s really up to you. Ticking off jobs as you do them can give a real sense of satisfaction and spur you on to complete the rest- plus, of course using the list will reduce the amount of time you take up thinking about what you need to do.

Prioritize the list:

It is not good compiling a list if you put everything in the wrong order! There is always a temptation to do the thing that you want to do first, rather than the things that you need to do. Sort out your priorities and deal with the important things first.  Whatever is left incomplete at the end of the day probably didn’t need doing immediately anyway, and can be dealt with on another occasion.

Do it right First Time:

If you try to complete a task half- heartedly when you are not really in the mood for it, then it’s likely that you are not going to complete it properly. Make sure you take time to do things ‘right’ or to the beast of your ability on the first occasion, so that the fewer mistakes you make, the less time you will waste going back and having to do it all over again. Doing the important thing first – When you are most ‘switched on’ and alert – means you will be more likely to do them correctly.

Stop Putting Things Off:

Most people have a tendency to postpone and look for ways out of doing what they should actually be doing. It’s especially easy to do this if you are surrounded by lots of distractions that give you an excuse to put something off. So, try controlling you environment by removing most of these distractions. It is often best to do the thing that you’d least like to do first, as all your avoidance tactics will often be aimed at putting off this one task. Just thinking of the reasons why that task should be done should be enough to make you do it.

Get Organized!:

Being disorganized will only waste time. Think about the time you spend each day trying to locate something in the workplace or at home. You may need to de-clutter your living and working environment and in order to operate more efficiently.  Put things that you don’t need well out of the way-or get rid of them- and give things that you are frequently use a regular home, so you will know where to find them in future.

Delegate:

It seems obvious, but you can free more time up for yourself by getting others to do jobs for you! The idea is hand over any tasks that someone else can do – particularly if they can do them faster or just as well as you. This can be applied in both your work and home environments. In work place, consider delegating to a colleague: you never know, they may even welcome being given that particular task – especially if they are good at it.

Multi-task:

It is possible to do a few things at the same time to get the most out of the time available. We’re not talking about a massive overload — just combining your tasks well. For example, while you are out on a run you could listen to that ‘learn a foreign language’ tape that you’ve always wanted to listen to. Or if you’re traveling on the train, you might be able to catch up on a good book, or even do a bit of work on your laptop. Planning to do a ‘fun’ activity alongside a routine task will allow you to make the most of whatever it is that you’re doing.

Learn to say ‘no’:

Learning not to put all the pressure on yourself by saying ‘no’ can be one of the best things to do to free up some time as well as help you avoid burnout. If someone asks you to do something, ask yourself questions such as ‘Is it my responsibility?’ or ‘Am I the best person for the job?’ If the answer is ‘no’, then don’t take on that particular task. We’re not suggesting that you look for reasons to get out of everything, of course, and you shouldn’t always say ‘no’ when asked to help out — but not being the dumping ground for everyone else’s problems can definitely help to maximize the time you have available.

Focus:

Keeping your focus on the job in hand can help to get it done in next to no time. The only way you can keep your focus is to avoid distractions — whether these are from people or other external influences. Being properly organized helps you to initially focus, but only by avoiding disruptions will you be able to maintain that focus throughout your tasks and activities. If you really need to get on with something, lock yourself away and switch off your phone until you’ve completed a particular task. You’ll have plenty of time later to reply to any messages or missed calls!

Look after yourself:

Nobody can be on the go all the time — if you were, you’d soon suffer from burnout! Taking time out and looking after yourself is important, because you will then be able to reach your peak physical and mental levels when necessary. Maintaining a healthy balance in your life should ensure that you respond in the right way and in an efficient manner to problems and tasks — so that whatever needs doing doesn’t take any longer than it should do! 

If after reading this far you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, I suggest you go back to Rule 1 and add peace, happiness and joy to your list of goals. Time management is not about adding stress; it is about giving you the time to be the person you really want to be.