No doubt you are like me and your life is pretty hectic; You have a job, a partner, a social life, you might have 2.4 kids, a computer, a TV, a fluffy dog, and friends who demand your attention 24/7. As a property developer flying all over the world my time is precious to me and I have to squeeze every minute I can out of every day. That’s the life I have chosen to lead and I love it but how on earth do I do it with everything that’s going on in my life whilst still being able to keep time for myself, family and friends?
I have chosen 5 of my top ways that saves me time and energy and lets me get on with my most important work.
- The very first thing to do is find out where your time is going. How do you spend your day and on what activities do you spend most time on? These questions will all need to be answered before you can start saving time. For the next week or so write down exactly what you do with every hour of your day.
For example:
Day 1: 05.00 – 05.45 – Coffee, and newspaper
05.45 – 06.30 – Get ready for work, shower, shave, toilet, hair etc
06.30 – 07.00 – quick coffee and chat with wife
07.00 – 07.45 – get kids up and ready for school, iron clothes for school or work, make lunches up etc
07.45 – 08.15 – Check emails and interesting news items from google reader
08.15 – 09.00 – Drop kids off at school and travel to work
09.00 – 17.00 – work, work, work (you would also fill in each hour here as well)
17.00 – 17.45 – travel home
17.45 – 18.30 – talk with wife and kids, help with homework
18.30 – 19.15 – have dinner with family, wash up dishes, clear away
19.15 – 21.30 – On computer, check emails, interesting sites, twitter, write emails, work on internet business, check stocks shares, bank accounts, etc
21.30 – 22.00 – put kids to bed
22.00 – 23.00 – watch TV in bed with wife
23.00 – 05.00 - sleep
You get the idea, you just write down your whole day like this, it takes about 30 seconds to do, just log your time every hour starting from the time your get up.
2. Now that you have your days set down on paper it’s time to start looking at the areas where you can save time and energy. Where do you spend most of your time. I know I spend a lot of time on my computer. Once you have set all this down on paper you will see exactly where your time is spent.
3. Batching: time saved – 2 hours per day
Batching is a process whereby you save certain tasks up and do them all in one day or at a certain time of each day. Look at your sheet of paper and analyse what can be batched.
For example. I used to check my emails every day at least 6 -10 times per day, why? I have not a clue it’s just a habit I have got into. Now, I check my emails twice per day, once at 12pm and once at 4pm. You might think this will save me just a small amount of time but think about this typical scenario.
09.30am - You are in the middle of a document you need to get finished for 3pm. You here the little ping that tells you that you’ve got email, you instinctively grab your mouse and click to open the mail. It’s from a colleague he has sent you a funny video from youtube, you watch it for 2 minutes and then reply to your colleague. Back to the document where was I again, oh yes! The phone rings this time it’s your boss asking if you have a minute to see him just now. You dutifully go through and see him, he speaks to you about something which could have waited. Back to your document where was I again, oh yes! Another email pings at you telling you about the new jobs posted on the intranet, you have a quick look just to see what’s out there. Someone then comes over to the desk asking about such and such and they stay for a quick chat. These micro interruptions go on throughout the day and before you know it you have not completed the document you were working on, you’ve not really achieved anything useful except that you might apply for that job in accounts and you’ve wasted a few hours tyre kicking.
The new you
09.30am – You are in the middle of a document you need to get finished for 3pm. There is silence as you work on it, only the gentle noise of the hubbub around you. You here the ping of emails around the office and you are glad you only check your emails at 12pm and 4pm. Phones are going off in the background but you carry on with your document, you have an answer message set up stating that you will check your voicemails at 12pm and 4pm every day and get back to them around these times, if it’s urgent you give them your mobile number, only if it’s an emergency. Someone comes over to the desk to ask you something, you politely smile and say ‘can it wait until 12 I really need to finish this’? You finish your document at 11.45am just in time for a coffee. You check your emails at 12pm have a glance through them, watch the funny clip from youtube and reply, send a few answers to questions and speak to whoever came over to your desk and you’re done in 15 minutes. You then check your voicemail, one from your boss saying he wants to ask you something and then in the same sentence saying it’s okay it’s not that important he will find out himself.
The above scenario is a typical office scenario and we don’t realise how much time we can save by batching jobs. By doing this we prioritise and by letting everyone know you will get back to them at set times of the day they will get used to your schedule of work.
4. No news is good news – Time saved ½ - 1 hour per day
I worked out I used to read the newspaper for up to 1 hour each day. Now I read news for about an hour each week. You can cut newspapers out of your life altogether – shock, horror – no newspapers. Think about it what do you really learn that someone won’t tell you about in the office – ‘Did you hear about such and such’. Instead of reading the newspapers utilise technology and subscribe to your favourite newspapers online and read the headlines on Google Reader. Also read a trade magazine for 2 hours per month to keep you up to speed with your industry. Honestly you will thank me for this piece of advice, try it for a week.
5. Outsourcing – Time saved 1 -2 hours per day
The things you do every week like shopping, ironing, preparing documents can waste a lot of your valuable time and energy, time spent that could be spent with your family or doing more important things.
Think about all the mundane task that you have to do every week, look at your list and see where you spend your time. Ironing can take a few hours every week, shopping is the same, preparing documents and reports for work can take a lot of time, consider getting someone else to do it.
There are people out there who will iron do 50 items of clothing for £30, would it be worth feeing up your Sunday afternoon and spend more time with family for £30?
Shopping takes a few hours every week. Do it online and just repeat your order every week as you tend to eat the same food week in week out. No more hassle walking the aisles.
If you spend a lot of time preparing research reports or doing accounts consider outsourcing it to a company in India who do a great job for a few pounds per hour or per job, therefore freeing up some valuable work time in the process. There are lots of little areas in your life you could outsource to other people, the only decision you have to make is deciding if it is worth it or not. I know I would pay £30 per week to spend a few more hours with my family.
There are lots of ways to save time and I have given a few here. If you have your own business you have an even greater opportunity to save your precious time but letting go of the control can be hard at first. Let me know how you save time by leaving a comment below.
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