Did you ever feel as though you don’t have the time to do everything that you want or even need to do?  Most of us feel that way at one point or another.  In reality, we have more time than we think.  We just aren’t sure how to use it to our advantage.

Lucky for you, I had no idea how to get control of my time either.  Why is this lucky for you?  Because my disastrous breakdown in time management forced me to evaluate and restructure the way I run my life.  Now I get to share what I’ve learned in this Simplifying Life series.

This series is composed of experiments and strategies that I have used to simplify the overwhelming mess that my life has become in recent months.  I am happy to report that the strategies and tactics are working well.  Now, let’s simplify that life of yours shall we?

Evaluating Your Time Audit

In Part 1 I talked about a time audit with the intention of knowing exactly how your time is spent.  financial specialist do the exact same thing when they are trying to help someone create a budget.  They find how much money is coming in and how much is going out. 

A time audit works the same way.  I considered myself a fairly efficient person but there are times when I misuse my time.  The audit exposes the little things that creep take time away from what you are suppose to be doing.  For example, when I write I like to have music playing in the background.  Sometimes I will play songs from iTunes or Pandora.

When a song comes on that I don’t want to hear, I will open that window and skip forward to another song.  I thought this was no big deal until I started to keep track of how many times I did that in a session.  For every hour I spent to write or do admin work, an average 15 minutes were spent going back and forth to another window to including changing songs on iTunes or Pandora.

An accurate time audit will expose the little things that take up a lot of time.  Once the audit reveals how you are really spending your time, you can begin to reason why you are spending so much time on those things. 

Compressing Time: The Kitchen Timer Experiment

Have you ever seen a movie where someone had to defuse a bomb?  The person feels the pressure of time running out and realizes that there is no room for mistakes.  Just like the ticking sound of a bomb let’s you know that time is passing, the kitchen timer’s ticking reminds you seconds are slipping away.

In How to Create More Time: Simplifying Life pt 1, I talked about the phenomenon of events swelling to fill the time that is available.  This principle is called Parkinson’s Law.  It can be very helpful in getting things done in a shorter amount of time.  But we must understand how to use it.

The kitchen timer reinforces Parkinson’s Law.   My sister first told me about using a kitchen timer to help me finish task in a shorter amount of time.  She used it to help her clean her house in record time.  I was a little skeptical because I didn’t understand why I couldn’t just look at the clock instead of using a timer but I thought I would give it a try.

I bought a timer when I was grocery shopping and when I got home I decided to see if it works.  I usually take my time to put away my groceries.  I put the perishable items away first but I sometimes take my time putting away the rest of the groceries.  Sometime it would take 30 minutes.  This time, I would set the timer to see if I could shorten that time.

I set the kitchen timer for 35 minutes and I set out to put the groceries away, straighten up the living room, and wash the dishes.  With the ticking of the timer in the background I was able to do all of that in 25 minutes!  The kitchen timer works so extremely well, I use it whenever I have online tasks to accomplish.

 
 
Establish Quality and Quantity Goals

The best way to get the most out of Parkinson’s Law is to do a Quality and Quantity check.  We tend to categories our activities by the quantity of time we spend.  But the amount of time isn’t the only thing that is important.  What is done within that time is equally important. 

Let’s say went to the gym and worked out for an hour and half.  On the way in you ran across someone you recognize, you stop to watch what is on one of the TVs and spend some extra time checking yourself out in the mirror.  How much of the hour and a half was spent actually exercising.  Also, were you able to accomplish exactly what you wanted to accomplish in that time?   

A Quality and Quantity Check makes sure that you get everything you want to accomplish in the amount of time you want to complete it.  The key is to establish both a time frame and exactly what you what to accomplish in that time frame.

  Create Blackout Dates

If you’ve ever had season tickets to a theme park or won a free hotel stay, you’ve undoubtedly heard of blackout dates.  Blackout dates are days when those tickets or passes are not valid.  Those dates usually land on during peak season.  The reason why these blackout dates exist is the theme parks or hotels stand to make much more money during those days if you are not there taking up a paying customer’s spot.

Creating blackout dates in your life ensures that you get the most from the important times in your life.  I’ve taken the week of my birthday off for the last 6 years because that is a peak season for me to enjoy the company of my friends and family.  By blacking out those days, I avoid scheduling anything that contradicts my plan to enjoy myself instead of working too hard.’

Your blackout days do not necessarily have to be during a season or a certain time a year.  A blackout date can come once a week.  Perhaps you like to golf on the weekend, or you like to go to a lounge every Friday night. 

For an extremely busy person such as yourself, I suggest starting by blacking out an hour a day.  If you can commit to saving a certain period of time for yourself each day, you will soon be able to blackout larger amounts of time. 

Visit back for part 3 of The Simplifying Life Series.