7 Tips to Gain More Time

Ahhhh…Time….

Such a seemingly elusive thing. We all know there are 24 hours in each day, but still we think it’s not enough.

If there is one thing I hear almost every day, it’s “I just don’t have time.” Perhaps you’ve said the following at some time or other (I know I have):

I don’t have TIME to workout.
I don’t have TIME to work on my home-based business.
I don’t have TIME to eat healthy.
I don’t have time to go on that walk/meditate/pray.
I don’t have TIME to _______ (fill in the blank with that thing you’ve been meaning to do).

But is it REALLY true that we don’t have enough time? I mean, really???

I realize that a lot of folks have crazy lives…between work, family, kid’s activities, etc…I get that. And I in no way mean to diminish it AT ALL. I admire all of you who have so much to juggle!

But…I invite you to take a really hard, detailed look at how you spend your time…all of your time. And trust me when I say, I’m talking to myself as much as you. 🙂

Fact is, most of us are living “by default”. Meaning we wake up, go through the motions, letting the day run us (instead of the other way around), and then go to bed wondering where the last twelve hours went. Sound familiar?

These tips just might help you be able to find a few extra minutes or hours per week that you didn’t realize you had.

Change Your Focus:
If it’s true that what you focus on grows, then immediately saying “I don’t have time” pretty much assures that you won’t. About a year ago, I shared with a coach I was working with that I felt a sense of overwhelm all the time – that I felt like I just didn’t have time to get it all done.

She gave me a simple, yet powerful mantra to recite when I started feeling that panicky feeling coming on: “I have all the time in the world.”

It sounds silly, but just saying this to myself over and over brought a certain level of peace to my mind. It calmed my nerves and helped me get focused on getting stuff done, rather than just thinking (and stressing) about getting stuff done.

Emulate/Ask Someone Else:
Think of someone around you who has a similar lifestyle as you, yet is able to do the things that you don’t think you have time for.

For example, if you’re a busy mom, you probably know at least one busy mom like you who still finds time to workout, right? My friend, Lisa, is a perfect example of this. She not only has two kids, she also works full-time, AND has a part-time home-based business. To say she’s a bit busy would be an understatement. But she makes health and fitness a priority, and gets her day started with short workouts she does at home.

Once you see that person who is doing what you want, don’t be afraid to reach out to them and ask, “how in the world do you do that???” 🙂

Eliminate Distractions:
Ok, I know we have all heard this one before. But, how much time could you save if you eliminated some of the distractions that hold you back? It’s the difference between being productive and being busy. It seems in our society, the more “busy” we are, the more important we are perceived. But the thing is, if your busy-ness doesn’t produce anything, then what is it good for except being a time-suck?

Tim Ferriss puts it this way in his book, The 4-Hour Workweek: “Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of mental laziness.”

Sounds harsh, but think about it – how much time do you spend on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media? Seeing what Fred from junior high is up to is fun, but before you know it, you’re over on YouTube watching crazy cat videos (guilty). I’m not saying to never do these things, but ask yourself if they are taking up valuable space in your day.

And do you ever find yourself constantly checking your email, texts or other messages? I have found this to be a MAJOR distraction in my productivity – the need to look at and respond to every email and text RIGHT AWAY. Yet another distraction that is easily rectified (see next item).

There is a time and place for everything, but just a few hours of concentrated, focused effort without distractions can be the same as 8 hours of non-focused time.

Time Blocking and the 15 Minute Rule:
With all that we have on our plates at any given time, it’s easy to understand why overwhelm happens – and things that we’d like to do or know we should do get pushed to the back burner. Things like getting that workout in, or working on our new business, or organizing the closet, etc.

We’ve all heard of time blocking, yes? But for some, the mere thought of blocking off a couple hours at a time to do something is still a bit overwhelming or out of the question entirely.

Hence the 15 minute rule. It’s much easier to block off 15 minutes at a time, right? Think of all the things you can do in 15 minutes: get a short workout in, organize a cabinet, respond to emails (see above 🙂 ), make phone calls or reach out to potential clients or business partners, etc.

Throw in SEVERAL 15 minute blocks during your day, and you are golden!

Do What Brings You Peace
If you’re a procrastinator like me and let your to-do list get realllly long, and THEN feel completely overwhelmed, you can try what a mentor of mine shared with me.

Write down all of your to-do’s. Just getting them down on paper is a huge help. But instead of just diving in and trying to tackle them, ask yourself which one would bring you the most peace if it were done. Do that thing, mark it off, and then move on to the next thing that would bring you the most peace in that moment.

As you feel more and more at peace, the more likely you’ll knock out the easier tasks on the list FASTER.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No
If you’re a people pleaser like me, then it can be difficult to say no to things that you know you really don’t have time to do. And what usually happens? We get even more overwhelmed and can feel resentful even though it was our decision to say yes. Be choosy with your yeses…there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying no when done politely and warmly.

Plan the Next Day Before Bed
Like the saying goes, “Fail to plan, plan to fail”…this one is admittedly hard for me because once I’m ready for bed, I am READY for bed! But jotting down on paper or computer your list of major tasks for the next day helps release the mental energy that can cause your mind to race when you just want to sleep. Write it down, and let it go. It will be there for you tomorrow.

In a nutshell, it all comes down to becoming aware of how you spend your time, and not creating your life by default. We are all given 24 hours in a day – it’s up to us how we use them :-).

Did these tips help you? Let me know! I always love hearing from you!

Love,

Tara

P.S. If getting your workouts in is something you push to the back burner due to time constraints, you might want to check out my FREE Beat the Bloat workout series. Super short workouts delivered to your inbox that you can do at home.