A look at Time Management
Can money buy happiness? A new book, Money & Your Brian, by Jason Zweig explains that this is mostly false. Buying things can give you a small and fleeting boost much like a sugar high, while spending money on experiences gives more lasting happiness. Which brings us back to the old adage “the best things in life are free” at lease some of life’s great experiences can be had for free! Consider investing more of your money into vacations and adventures this year, and seek out walks in the park, bike rides and other virtually free experiences more often. It might lead you down the path of happiness!
So, if taking the time to smell the roses will make us happier, how in the world do we find the time?
Here are a few simple steps to help you on the road of time management, destination free time!
1. Map out how you’d like to spend your free time. Sounds silly, or unnecessary I know, but if you haven’t really felt the breeze on your face during your bike ride around that winery, or visualized the way the sand feels between your toes on your day at the beach, it will be easier to derail along the way. Make a list of things you’d like to do, visualize as you go. Be free and open.
Your list can be simple and elaborate:
1. A long bubble bath
2. A day with no place to go, so I can sleep in as long as I want.
3. One hour a day to read in a hammock or comfy chair.
4. Long walks in Seattle’s beautiful parks, including that Bamboo garden in Redmond I’ve never been to.
5. Learn Spanish or French.
6. Climb a mountain.
2. Now write down all the things you’re really spending time on. The best way to get an accurate account is to keep a log for a few days. You will be surprised at how much time you spend on things and what they are. This is probably the most important step. Until you become honest, you won’t be able to sustain lasting changes.
3. Make a list of all the existing activities. Some of you made a list on step two, so you can skip ahead to step 4. Some of us logged our days or made brain maps. Go ahead and list each activity from taking a shower to dropping the kids off at school or camp and write it down.
4. Now next to each item, I’d like you to write a number between 1 and 5. 1 being something you don’t enjoy and 5 being something you love.
5. Next, I want you to put an “h”, “l” or “n” by each idea to signify if it is of high importance, low importance or not important. Watching TV may be an ‘n’ but it may also be something you’d like to add to your list of how you’d like to spend your free time. Remember this is your list, you don’t have to share it or justify it.
6. Now if it’s a task that someone else can do, whether you know someone else or not, then put a D by it.
7. It’s time to cross things off our list. I know this might be the hardest part for some of us but if we are going to make some time for ourselves and those we love, something has to give. Now, I know that you think the world will stop turning if you aren’t productive every minute of the day, but the truth is you will get more done more creatively and in less time if you take time off for yourself and the things you love.
How? Delegate and Eliminate.
D is for Delegate. You should already have a D by housework, chores, gardening, getting the lawn mowed, the car washed, dropping the kids off at school, doing the dishes, cooking and many more activities. Anything you don’t love to do that can be done by another family member or that you can hire someone else to help with - should have a D by it. You should find that some of the things you love also have a D by them, like gardening or dropping off the kids. Ask yourself, if you had someone else mow the lawn and weed, would you have more time in the garden for the things you love? Can you arrange to have a spouse or another parent take the kids to school a few days out of the week? Arrange a carpool; the time it saves you will allow you to get a few other things done or provide time for you.
Ok, now I now there are some of us that wouldn’t dream of paying someone to mow, wash the car or vacuum the house if you can do it and save the money. Consider, getting help some of the time. Bi-monthly housecleaning will cost you some money, but if it gives you time to sleep in on the weekend and read the paper every other week, it might just be worth it. The best things in life are free, but you might have to invest some money in order to have the time to enjoy them.
Eliminate or cross off anything that has an n-1, n-2 or n-3 by it. If there are things that have an l-1, l-2 or l-3, consider if they are things that can be delegated, or done less frequently – maybe even done less than perfectly?
Save precious minutes every day –
1. By only checking emails/ voicemails during scheduled times. If you feel better, have an auto-response or message letting people know when they can expect to hear back from you. Now stick to it, make exceptions only for urgent and important things. Be honest: some things are important but not urgent while others demand urgent attention, but are they important?
2. Decide reasonable office hours (or work hours for those running a home) and set aside your blackberry, iphone, emails and voicemails in the evenings or during the weekends.
3. Record TV shows and skip the commercials. Only watch the things that you really like. Turn the TV off.
4. Have extra deposit slips, so you don’t have to fill them out at the bank.
5. Pay bills online.
6. Plan your week’s meals out and go grocery shopping only once.
7. Buy stamps online.
8. Sort laundry as you toss it into the hamper by separating whites from colors for quick washing. Have each family member put their socks and under garments in a mesh bag in their closet or hamper to save time sorting socks. Wash the entire bag and throw it in the dryer and return it to it’s owner.
There are a million other time savers, pick one or two each week and add one or two things from your wish as you go. If you have any time saving tips, I’d love to hear about them.
Good luck creating the simple life!
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