Are you sick of running and rushing every single day to get things done? Is there never a day off in your schedule, and do you feel like you never have enough time? We’ve got just the advice you need to clear your schedule!
It’s up to you to take time off in your schedule
Everybody has the same amount of time. There are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in every single hour. It’s that way for you, your co-workers and even the president of the United States.
Do you want to have more time on your hands? Then realize that it is your responsibility to guard you calendar. A calendar fills up in a blink of an eye, and before you know it you have lost your precious time.
1. Don’t take on too many things
Committing to something means that your schedule will fill up quickly, and that you will soon run out of time. Every time you say yes to a new project, you will have to invest time into this. Time that you cannot spend on other things.
One major trap that we tend to fall into whenever we commit to something is that we think that “later on” we won’t be as busy as we are right now. You don’t want to get started on that project next week, but it’s fine to do so two months from now – because surely then you’ll have more time available. Yet two months later you’ll notice that your schedule is even more crowded, and that this big project is eating up all of your time and energy.
You have to realize that your life won’t just slow down unless you’re actively working on that goal. You and the people around you will always ask more time of you if you let them. That’s what they are doing right now, and they will do the same thing half a year from now. So take a good hard look at the amount of work you take on. If you can’t start next week, then why would you be able to do so two months from now?
2. Consider what you commit to
Meeting up with someone tends to take up a lot more time and effort than you might think. A fun birthday doesn’t just mean that you have to show up somewhere at a certain day, it will probably also entail an afternoon of shopping to find a great present.
Giving a lecture doesn’t mean that you’ll only spend thirty minutes in front of a group of people: it requires a couple of days of preparation. A party might mean that you have to go shopping for a new outfit, taking on a new project may require three days of research, buying a new house might turn out to require two months of intense work to get the place ready.
Keep those details in mind whenever you commit to something. Are you sure that you have the time?
3. Don’t plan every single minute of your day
Life is what happens while you’re making other plans – and you might want to keep that in mind next time you plan your week schedule. Never fill your days to the rim with appointments: make sure to keep some space available for unexpected circumstances and tasks you weren’t counting on.
Quickly handling your mail can easily take up more than an hour of hard work, if you need to respond to a complicated matter. Or your boss might stop by with an urgent situation, your co-workers might invite you for a lunch outside the office, and so on.
If you’ve planned something for every minute of your day, you’ll quickly run into trouble. So be flexible when you make your schedule – leave a couple of openings in between appointments, and don’t put too much strain on yourself.
4. Try to batch as many tasks as you can
By “saving up” your tasks, you can save a lot of time. Pick one moment every week to pay your bills, check your email once a day, make three phone calls in a row and jot down everything you need to ask your co-workers so you can ask it all at once.
By batching tasks, you only have to invest once in “starting up” the task. When you’re working, you tend to waste most time on the starting up of all kinds of tasks. If you do this only once, you end up saving yourself a lot of time and you can accomplish a lot in a relatively short time span. It also simplifies your day. The more random tasks you’ve got going on, the more chaotic you will feel.
Realize that you choose to have a busy life
You are the only person who decides how crowded your life should be. If you like to run around and always be busy you’ll end up scheduling tons of things in your day. Ask yourself why you are so busy. Perhaps you consider a busy life to be something that gives you a certain status, or maybe you have no clue what to do with any spare time so you’ll just keep working and working.
If you really want to have more time to yourself, you’ll have to realize that this is possible. There is no need to run around like crazy. You’ve got a choice to make, and it’s up to you what you decide is most important.
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Jelle Hermus
Founder of soChicken. Jelle (26) is an entrepreneur, designer and health & happiness expert. His passion is making happiness as simple as possible.
