I don’t have time for that. Cite those words as the most frequent phrase flying out of my mouth these days. It’s getting flipping annoying…even to myself. You too? I had a hunch. Here are five fast tips for time management so we can make more time in our days. Because we can all use more time — and I’m sick of saying the same phrase over and over again. (You too?)
Set a timer for tasks.
This morning I had a slew of $hit to do around the house. Laundry, dishwasher unload/load, bed-making, picking up all those stuffed animals that were lined up in our den to watch the pretend movie taking place last night (thanks to my four year old). I set my oven timer for one hour. That’s all I get — ONE HOUR. When that bell goes off, I will stop my clean up and tend to my computer work (which I then set for two hours in the name of working quickly).
My morning went something like this: Set timer. Do do do. Bell rings. Stop. Shift gears (mentally). Set timer again. Work work work. Bell rings. Stop. Shift gears again. Repeat as necessary.
As crazy as this sounds, I found myself feeling satisfied about the work I’d done in the limited amount of time I’d allotted for myself to do it… even if I didn’t finish it all in one swoop. Something about being furiously focused in short spurts of time made me feel… accomplished.
At the ends of my timed rounds, I returned to the unfinished business quickly during the 16 extra minutes I had before needing to pick up my daughter from school. I moved fast. Like a machine.
Miraculously-done, I finished most of my clean-up tasks by the time that last bell rang. Why? Because I was committed to vigilantly staying on schedule… or else. And that’s what successful time management is all about it. Isn’t it? Happy Timer-Setting to YOU! To all of us, for all of us. What are your fave time saving tips?