How to Make the Most of Your Time

There never seems to be enough time does there?

So many things we have to do before we can even start to think about the things we want to do. The constant feeling of chasing your own tail and never getting anywhere can cause stress and health problems, and the lack of time for leisure activities can have a detrimental effect on our mental and physical health.

But this is a problem that can be solved with a little planning and simple restructuring. I offer a personal development course on making more of your time, and I coach people on how to make small changes in their lives to get the most from their time. I want to share some of this with you here.

How to make the most of your time

Firstly we are given 24 hours every single day, the trick is to use them wisely. Anything that you don't get time to do today, well you have another 24 hours tomorrow.

I always recommend that people start with a time diary for around two weeks.

• STEP ONE: Each day record everything you do from the time you get up until the time you go to sleep. In order for this to be effective it's important to record literally everything.
  
  Yes, it may seem tedious but record as you go and it's easier, and so worth it because for those those two weeks of hard work recording every minute, you will gain so much more time for yourself after restructuring your time.
  
  The chances are that a large part of your day will be taken up with work. People often feel resentful about how long they spend at work or commuting, in relation to their leisure time, but remember this is probably the way that you pay your bills, keep a safe home and support the lifestyle that you lead, and it's likely that the work you do contributes in some way to society. Whilst I don't want to deviate too much from the subject of time, it does help to have a positive attitude to your work time and see it as a worthwhile activity rather than something that you reluctantly give your time to each day. This is covered more in the coaching course.
   
• STEP TWO: At the end of the two week diary you should have a detailed picture of how you allocate your time.
  
  If you have done this exercise honestly (which is essential) you will probably already be able to see where you are losing your time to certain tasks or see ways that you could double up tasks to achieve the same result in less time, leaving more time for you.
   

Examples of how to save time

Let's have some examples.

• When you get up in the morning do you make a coffee, switch on the TV in the background then unintentionally get drawn into morning TV? That’s fine if it's something you really enjoy, and if so then do it properly, allocate this as TV time, sit down with your coffee and relax while you watch TV for say 20 minutes before work.
• Do not get drawn into something that’s on TV whilst standing drinking you coffee and forget to make your lunch or suddenly realise you have been standing there half an hour and you haven't showered yet and your now running late.
• But what could you be doing instead? In the time it takes to boil that kettle for your coffee you could be watering your pot plants, putting the washing on the line or making a healthy packed lunch.
• This is how doubling up works. Instead of putting on the TV you could sit with your coffee and check your emails or pay an online bill. That's one less job to do later. So instead of watching an interview with a movie star about his new film, you could be getting other tasks out of the way so you free up your evening to actually go and watch the film at the cinema. All just examples of course, but do you see how this works?

A 24 hour budget every day

Think of your time as your precious currency. You have a 24 hour budget to spend each day, but how do you want to spend it?

Remember you will receive another 24 hours again tomorrow and the next day, so it's all about planning.

1. There are some things that you have to do (work, household tasks, sleeping) so make a list of those and allocate them time from your budget. Remember doubling up can save you time, think of it as a 'buy one get one free' offer.
2. Write down your personal priorities. This can be things you already do and things you would love to do if you had the time. These priority activities should not be doubled up or squeezed in, treat them as important. These are the things you should be spending your time budget on.
3. Next make a list from looking at your diary of the things that are not your personal priority and are also not essential, or things you have committed to but no longer enjoy. Make a firm decision to give these things up without feeling guilty or being persuaded by others to continue.

Thinking of your time as a currency really helps with this, after all, you wouldn't just hand out your hard earned cash mindlessly would you? Any of these less important things that you do still want to continue with are the things you could be slotting into gaps or doubling up.

I mentioned TV viewing earlier and please don't think that I am against TV especially if it is something that you really enjoy, but don't give away any of your precious time to pointless viewing. Technology now means that you can record only your favourite shows and watch them at a time which suits you, skipping adverts to streamline your viewing.

Set aside time to watch your favourite shows together for quality family time, or snuggle up with your partner for some evening TV viewing to unwind together after work. Make it a quality activity rather than a way to waste a few hours. If you are watching TV alone how about doubling up and doing the ironing or using your exercise bike at the same time?

Run errands on the way home from work and by the weekend they will all be done. If you have to run weekend errands, buy down time by doubling up again. Rubbish to go to the tip? Fill up the boot of the car in the morning, take the kids to football/take your daughter and her friends to the shopping centre, and call in at the tip on your way home. Order your food shopping online while watching TV or waiting for dinner to cook, and while your waiting for the delivery get on with housework or relax with that book you've been meaning to read for ages.

These are all simple examples and may not apply to you, but I hope they have given you ideas. Keep a two week time diary, list your priorities and look at how you can get the most from your 24 hour daily time budget.

Please contact me if you are interested in coaching on this subject, or leave a comment below.