Teensy Weensy Time Wasters - [website] Published: 30th of Aug 2011 by: Miss Knowitall
“I wish there was more time in the day” is a phrase often spoken when we find ourselves up to our necks in paperwork at nearly five o’clock...
...knowing that if we could just manage our time a little better we would be able to avoid the mess completely.
But has anybody actually thought about that question seriously? Ask yourself now, what would I do if I didn’t have to finish this work, or hang up this washing, or keep this engagement? What would you do right now if all your obligations simply dissolved?
What is it in your life that you truly spend too little time on? Who do you spend too little time with?
Figuring out what you would spend your time on if it was available in abundance helps you know what you’d be making time for, but this doesn’t help you much if you aren’t able to save time elsewhere in your day.
To do this we need to identify HOW we are spending our time at the moment, both at home and at work, and from there eliminate all possible time wasters – freeing you up for what matters to you most.
Time wasters can range from frequent meetings where little is accomplished to searching for information like telephone numbers and addresses, or from unnecessary web surfing and games to sitting in heavy traffic on the way to a coffee date with a friend.
But Knowledge is Power, and by identifying WHERE our time is wasted on a daily basis we are given the power to change it.
Instead of walking to the printer six offices down eight times a day arrange to collect all the documents at once (or get the guy in the office six doors down to bring them to you), reschedule your coffee date so you won’t have to sit in traffic so long, and start saying ‘no’ to meetings that do nothing but waste your time.
The clock ticks relentlessly and waits for no man, and when you’re trying to save time every second counts, so start small, get into the habit of doing things not just more quickly but more efficiently, and you’ll be amazed at how much time you’ve got left on your hands.
