Make Time Your Best Friend

I can’t believe we are just about to hit the half-year mark.

Time really does fly by, faster and faster each year! It freaks me out a bit, and it’s one of the reasons I find it almost useless to make resolutions for the new year, because in the blink of an eye the year is over and I haven’t achieved all my goals.

Nevertheless, I decided to focus on what I still want to achieve before the clock strikes midnight on 31 December and I realise there are a few things we can all do to better manage our time in order to achieve our goals and dreams.

This is all about determining how you spend your time. There are plenty of ways to do that – one of which is to keep a log or journal for several days. Be sure to keep track of everything that’s taking up your time: Sleep, work, eating, chores, school, etc. Be honest with yourself.

Now that you know where your time is going, how would you like it to be spent? What do you want to change about your current routine? Start by making a goal to address ‘wasted time’. For example, if you found yourself spending several hours on stuff that isn’t taking you anywhere, find a way to shorten that.

One thing that will also help in saving time and spending it wisely is through prioritising your goals. This doesn’t have to be incredibly detailed. Just rank your goals in the order in which you’d like to complete them, and try to put at least 30% of your weekly time towards accomplishing a goal.

Give yourself a manageable range of time and make a list of the goals you must accomplish. Keep a separate list of things you’d like to get done. Then, look at your week and assign tasks for each day that get you closer to achieving your goals. But remember to include time for family, relaxation or personal time.

Realise that your time is valuable. Don’t allow your schedule to fill up with things that don’t get you closer to your goals or that don’t make you happy. If something seems like a waste of your time, try to cut it short or get out of it.

Start with your most important goal. This may be easy to determine depending on the urgency and level of importance of the goals in front of you.

Say no. Don’t feel guilt tripped into doing something you don’t want to do. While simple requests might not seem like a big deal, they can pile up, leaving you overwhelmed and struggling to accomplish your actual goals.

Learn to say no, without feeling guilty. Don’t feel like you have to explain yourself or give an excuse.

Multitask smartly. While multitasking sounds like a great way to manage time, it’s actually difficult to successfully pull off. Stick to multitasking when it comes to thoughtless jobs (laundry, dishes, making meals, etc.). And be more focused one task at a time on the more serious stuff.

You may find that you have too many goals or tasks to accomplish. Try delegating responsibilities to co-workers or your family. This will free up valuable time for you to work on other projects or give you extra free time.

Remove distractions. This is increasingly hard to do. If you find yourself having trouble completing tasks, try turning off your cell phone, signing out of all social media sites, turning off the television, and go somewhere quiet. You’ll find that being able to focus on one task may increase your efficiency.

Reward yourself. If you’ve accomplished several goals or become more focused on your tasks, give yourself a small reward. This could be something as simple as a small personal break in the day, time out with friends or allowing yourself extra sleep when possible.

At the end of the day, the way we treat our time has a significant contribution to the outcome of our future.

Til next time, cheers

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