I came across this wonderful analogy in time while researching for one of my events:
“Think of the airline industry. Their goal is to have a full cabin on every flight. They really don’t like empty seats. So the prices are high. And dynamic. As flight day approaches, Prices continue to Rise. Good luck to anyone on a tight budget – if you want a seat on a flight at the last minute! Then it turns into a madhouse, the same seat that initially would have cost you probably 30-40% less.
But once the plane takes off, an empty seat is worthless. That is a loss for the airline. There is no way they can get money for it. As expensive as the seat may have been, once it is gone, it loses its value.
The same can be said of “time.” Certainly a very expensive commodity. As the clock ticks, it becomes more and more precious. I would kill to save those precious moments just before something needs to be done. Do whatever it takes to have a little more time at your disposal! Unfortunately, you cannot stop the clock.
And once it’s over, it’s no longer expensive. Stop being anything! “
There is a very simple thing that I like to say,
Time step = Time fault
Let me give you some statistics. The average person receives 1 interruption every 8 minutes, or about 7 per hour, or 50-60 per day. The average outage takes 5 minutes, totaling about 4 hours or 50% of the average workday. 80% of those outages are generally classified as “little value” or “worthless”, resulting in approximately 3 hours of wasted time per day.
By taking 1 hour a day for independent study, 7 hours a week, 365 hours a year, one can learn at the pace of a full-time student. In 3-5 years, the average person can become an expert on the subject of their choice, spending just one hour a day.
If only we had that hour that we could take out of our crucial time (set aside to waste)
I know it’s hard. The habit of wasting time is hard to overcome, especially the joy of doing nothing. And then running in a senseless panic at 11 o’clock, though, that’s not much fun. Here are some things I could do that have proven to work well for me, if you are looking to better manage your time:
1. Put a price on your time
Yes, estimate the cost of your time. You may not be comparable to some industry stalwart, but consider yourself someone who is quite successful when you do.
Depending on how much you earn (or spend, if you are a student) each year, you can count the number of productive days in a year and the number of hours of work in a day. Get your own hourly rate;) … If you don’t know the value of your time, who will? I do this exercise every time I review my compensation rates for clients.
Once you have that estimate, the next time you feel the need to spend your time on something, you can compare whether it is worth your time or not. The concept of value in marketing is defined as benefit / cost. (Some even consider it benefits minus costs.) Discover your own version of the benefits based on the cost of your time, that is, the value of time.
Now, I am not saying that you do everything according to this method. But many of your trivial activities could go through this simple test before you decide to undertake them. This will simply give you an idea of how much valuable time you generally waste doing things that you don’t really need to do.
2. SWOT analysis
You must have heard of SWOT, right? It is an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is usually done at the organizational level in front of the competitors to understand the path that has been traveled so far and what lies ahead.
But who said he couldn’t do it himself?
SWOT can be helpful in prioritizing your time and to-dos. Among all the elements of your SWOT, I suggest you focus on your strengths. Spend more time on the things you are good at and build on your strengths. This will ensure that you enjoy more of your productive hours. But it will also help you figure out which of your weaknesses you can spend how much time on, so that you can turn them into your opportunities and subsequently your strengths. It is very doable, if you put your heart in the search for ‘improvement’.
If you can’t imagine a long-term situation, don’t panic. Take one day at a time. I would say spend some time each day on your SWOT items. Some will be high priority and some will be low. But be sure to take some time. As mentioned at the beginning of the post, simply taking 1 hour every day can help you gain experience in a particular field (applied condition: dedicate one hour). First, find the time for your priorities.
You will be amazed at how much buffer time you have left each day for you to decide how much to spend or on trivial and nonessentials. SWOT has always come to my rescue. It will do the same for you, I guarantee it!
3. Get up early
This doesn’t sound like time management advice, but trust me it is. When I started waking up early and trying to finish 50% of my to-dos even before the rest of the world woke up, it gave me a beautiful illusion of having more than 24 hours in my day. I had more time for myself, my family, my work, everything. This habit just works wonders.
The most important things are done from the beginning, leaving time for leisure and fun and, most importantly, doing the most important things than you had planned! That’s a welcome deception, I’d say. Here are some morning activities that can prepare your day.
4. Create to-do lists
Creating to-do lists is a classic time management tool. I keep a white board right above my workstation where all my to-dos go. It’s the easiest way to tackle your list of endless works. Keep crossing out what was done and keep writing what needs to be done more.
Strategically place it in a position where your eyes keep looking from time to time. If you’re a more organized person, you can even color-code your to-do whiteboard. The gist is to make you feel embarrassed if the list of crossed out items is smaller.
And don’t be embarrassed to jot down your to-dos. Once you have a comprehensive list, you can do your SWOT and prioritize too! Find out what is most important and what needs to be done right away.
5. Right here Right now
If it takes 2 minutes to do something, do it now. Don’t procrastinate even for very small things. It is often the 2 minute tasks, which when stacked, look like an Everest that you have to conquer. It’s this 2-minute pile of noodles that is often perceived as a crisis. And trust me, an important part of crisis management is dealing with these simple things efficiently. It’s not that important. We just make it one.
You might also want to do the things you fear the most first. Or loathe. That inertia of having made a good effort carries over to the rest of the day (or sitting). You may not be successful initially. But little by little, you will get into the habit of facing your fears and doing things on time: two things are clear!
6. Kill your distractors
Have you heard of the Pareto principle? Pareto’s 80-20 rule, when applied to time management, says: 80% of your half time generates only 20% of the results.
And it’s no rocket science that your 80% out of focus time is the result of too much distraction. Kill those distractors. Free high speed internet, unbuffered YouTube streaming, endless social networks and their apps, so many relationship problems to worry about, numerous trivial things to think about, useless people problems to get into – a lot of work, a life modern it is!
These distractions can be kept at bay. A little willpower is all you need. And what starts out as willpower soon becomes habit. Progressively eliminate your distractions if you want to get somewhere in life. Because what does not lead you towards your goals, takes you away from them!
There are many more ways to better manage your time. But the first step for all of them is: their sheer and unerring determination to make use of these very important non-renewable resources in a better and more judicious way.
Remind,
The difference between a Steve Jobs and a normal job is: how they are used 24 hours!
