Have you ever felt that you are not able to do something because of less time? Have you ever wondered that why few achieve so much in the same 24 hours while you struggle to be good at one thing? It’s not always because you are comparatively less efficient than other guys . Efficiency is nothing but a measure of productivity against time. And if you learn to manage time efficiently, the productivity would automatically bump up. The question you should ask yourself is,
The most successful people are the busiest and they can still find time. Why can’t you?
Life is all about setting priorities right and if you do not learn to focus on what is important and what is urgent, sooner or later, you will find it slipping out of your control.
I often get questions on how do I get time to do so many things. To summarize, I do fashion photography, play piano and write blogs apart from my full time Software Engineering job.
Since last few years, I had been living the life of a night owl. I used to sleep late in the night and wake up in the early noon. It’s hard to believe but I used to be proud of myself for a such a crazy schedule. I followed this insane routine for 7 years and then I thought for a change. Months of efforts didn’t work out well for me. Our body is not a robotic machine which can be changed to work in a different environment as easily as the tap of a button. t adapts slowly to the changes we wa It must be given proper rest to function it well.
Waking up early morning can do wonders
Sometime back, I got a chance to visit US on a business trip. People who visit there often complain about the jet lag for days. My bad schedule in India worked there like charm. I woke up at 5 in the morning and slept at 11 at night. Every morning, I felt charged up. I was way more productive.
Plan your day in advance
Note down things you want to do before you start your day. Not only this will help you manage your day efficiency, but it will help you remember easily forgettable stuffs. There are things you remember when you are not thinking much, but are easily missed when your are busy with stuffs. Example, calling a friend, responding a mail or paying bills
Stay away from distractions
Study says that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on track after a distraction. A lot of context switches while you are doing something important is affects productivity. Put your phone on silent and try not to look at phone for notifications. Avoid using social media while you are at work. The best solution is to make a habit of checking notifications or messages twice a day.
Don’t procrastinate
If a piece of work needs less than 5 minutes, do it immediately while it is fresh in memory instead of postponing. These get piled up and sometimes need mental efforts to finish it later. A good example could be responding to mail. When you just finish reading a mail, you have the full context about it. You might need to read it again when you decide to respond.
Consistency pay off in long run
Managing time becomes more important when you happen to have a hobby. I have met many people who are not able to manage work and family, let alone be hobby. Life becomes monotonous and boring if you don’t do something you love. Something that gives you peace of mind and extreme satisfaction. If you have a hobby, doing that each day for short span of time is helpful in the long run. Play piano for 30 minutes each day. Read 30 minutes each night before you go to sleep. Consistency is important.
No TV series
Long back I read an article about the success story of Jack Ma, founder of multi-billion dollar e-commerce company Alibaba. According to him, watching TV series is a waste of time because there is no end to it. It keeps on going and going. Your mind is busy with thinking about the next episode. If you are a TV series maniac, you must know how much addictive they can become. If you are not disciplined, it might affect your daily routine badly. Watching movies are fine.
Reduce choices in day to day life
Ever wondered what Zuckerberg’s wardrobe looks like? He purchases apparels of same color and design. It helps him keeping focus on important things.
Do two things at a time
Walk while you talk. Check mails while you cook. Read while you are in washroom. You need to master this to avoid any mishappening. Multitask only when you don’t need much thinking
Spend your time wisely
Warren buffet says, he can buy anything in the world but time. Time is very powerful and you must learn to spend it wisely. Make sure the time you invest somewhere is worth. You won’t want to look back in your life and regret.
I will share one of recent incidents from my life. 4 years ago, I started my job in a city with less traffic. It used to take me 15 minutes to go office. As the IT sector flourished and more companies setup their offices, traffic increased. If this wasn’t enough, they decided to improve the roads. This throttled the six lanes traffic into three. It started taking around an hour to travel the same distance. This frustrated me to hell as I was doing nothing but drive. I then started taking Uber so that I could do something useful in that hour. It proved to be really useful as I finished many articles that were screaming to be read (and write) since long.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
One of the key aspects of solving problems is leveraging others skills. There are many situations we come across in our day to day life which have already being faced by our friends. Sometimes, just talking to them can save a lot of time.
If you like this, you might like my other posts on Hack your life.
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