10 WAYS TO SAVE TIME.

29 September 2008

I stumbled upon this from google a while back. Some of it is pretty useful, especially seen here as a compiled list. Everyone is always trying to squeeze more and more into a preset 24 hour time period. So the only way to really get more work done is to be more efficient with your time. Here’s the Top 10 along with my experience with each.

• Watch television on the web – the problem with television is that you had to watch TV shows when they want you to watch them. Now with the technology advancements most entertainment channels like NBC, FOX, CW, and even a few cable networks let you watch your favorite TV shows online. It is free, you can watch the shows when you want to, and an hour show usually ends up being 45 minutes because there are a lot less commercials. [Or you could just stop watching TV all together. But this is definitely a good idea.]

• Sleep more – if you learn to take power naps, you will have more energy throughout the day. Although you may lose some time from napping, you will be able to work more efficiently, which will give you more time. [I'm 1000% down with this. This is what my most effective days look like. Wake up at 10am. In the office by 11am. Work till 7pm. Dinner and chill till around 9pm. Then take a nap till 11pm. Wake up and back to work (usually from home) till around 4am. Sleep 6 hrs and do it all again. If you're the type that needs 8 hrs of sleep, you can make up the shortage on the weekends. The 2 hour nap really allows for productive work in the midnight hours. Pulling a true all nighter with no sleep is a waste of time cuz you end up doing dumb shit anyway. Oh, and if you have a girl/boyfriend or wife/husband...this is a sure fired way to make the relationship go to hell.]

• Eat healthy meals – changing your diet maybe hard at first, but eating balanced meals will affect how you do your daily tasks. It will give you more energy so you can get your work done faster. [I assume this would work, but somebody needs to figure out a way to make this more convenient.]

• Do less work – a lot of the things you do on a daily basis, don’t need to be done. Think about your daily routine and cut out anything that isn’t essential. You will be surprised on how much time you are wasting. [Still need to try this. Not sure what I could cut out of my day that wouldn't come back to haunt me later on.]

• Tell people what’s on your mind – being honest and to the point is a great way to accomplish things quicker. When you beat around the bush things don’t get accomplished as fast. Just think about boardroom meetings, people are hesitant to say what is on their mind, which causes meetings to drag on forever. [Have you ever seen my theory on the 5 sentence email? People need to write emails like they write text messages. Otherwise, pick up the phone.]

• Have some fun – all work and no play is a good way to make you feel depressed. Get some fun into your life, it will make you feel better, work harder, and hopefully make you want to accomplish your dreams. [Guess this really depends on what your job is. If your job is fun, then it's all the same really.]

• Adjust your working hours – many companies are very flexible on what times you can start and end work. If you work in a heavy traffic city such as Los Angeles you can easily spend an hour or 2 commuting to work during rush hour. But if you adjust your working hours you can cut back on driving time drastically. [Completely agree. I think the 9-5 workday is totally bunk.]

• Cut down on your communication methods – cell phones, email, and instant messaging are just a few tools you probably use to communicate with others. The problem with some of these methods is that they can easily be abused. For example if you log onto AIM, you may waste an hour talking to others about junk. Try and use communication tools like AIM only when you need them. [Yup. Some days...you just gotta tell yourself, "AIM is not going on today."]

• Don’t multi-task – when you mult-task you tend to switch between what you should be doing and what you shouldn’t. By single tasking you are more likely to do what you are supposed to be doing. [I think this is tough for a self employed business owner to realistically accomplish.]

• Get rid of distractions – things you may not be thinking of can be distractions. Whether it is gadgets or even checking emails every 5 minutes, this can all distract you. By getting rid or distractions or controlling them, you will have more time on your hands. [I think it's more about management of distractions. Getting rid of them is just not realistic.]

Let me know if you have any other productivity tips you use in your everyday…