Do More With Less Time
We have two types of days. One, in which we have an abundance of free time and wonder how to spend it. The other one, where we are stuck between work, college and our personal life, praying for another hour to be miraculously added to our day so that we can complete our tasks. Maybe this is what Einstein conveyed to us when he theorized that “Time is Relative”. In this post, I will be listing out the methods I have known and used to manage my time. I am not perfect at managing my time, but I have learned a thing or two this year which can bring value to you.
Nevertheless, I am willing to share with you my experiences and methods, so that it can help you in your journey in managing your time effectively. The methods I will be sharing would not be a complete picture but a gentle push in the right direction.
Time, Where are you?
While reading this, think of the times where you lost track of time. You have a busy day and in the end, you may not be able to recollect the things you had accomplished for the day. In my opinion, our ancestors started to keep track of time because they realised they could be more productive that way. We keep clocks and watches to keep track of time. Nowadays, we have both analog and digital clocks, and we have it everywhere. But still, we are not able to keep track of it. Time always seems to escape our grasp.
Journal
Keeping a journal is an effective approach to track your time. This can be done to meet different objectives. You can plan your day, use it as a medium to vent your thoughts or by the end of the day us it as a reflector of your day’s progress.
Do not use any mobile apps to jot down your thoughts. It can be distracting at times clouding your thoughts. Disconnect from the online world when writing your journal, so try to keep your diary.
Keeping the essential
Social media is a great way to waste time. Admit it! Is it challenging for you to acknowledge it? Cool, then let me confess first. I have wasted so much of my time scrolling through the pointless selfies and stories which at the end of the day, does not mean anything to me (I don’t think I can stop it, help me!). Aha, so I accepted it. Take your time, think about it, and if you feel the same, keep reading. Let’s be honest, it feels good, scrolling through the Instagram Explore page. Not a positive kind of good, but a good which cannot stop you from scrolling. “
“Social Media is an addiction.” -Random 2K kid
I know, it is strenuous to stop. How can you ignore the cute dogs and cats, the gorgeous influencers, and most importantly the memes? You might have tried to stop your thumb flowing aimlessly, pushing the screen up, hoping for some content to appear. Ever wondered how do you control it? The truth is, you cannot.
Well, at least not completely. It is not your fault, the people behind this have created it to grab people’s attention and it is living up to its purpose. So what can you do? Keep the essential. Go through the apps on your phone, review them, find out which of these apps do you need and which of them you can do not need. Do a periodical review (maybe every month or two) and decide on the apps you need, and without an afterthought uninstall the ones which bring no positive purpose to you.
Let’s say, you cannot survive without Instagram or Facebook. You can uninstall them from your phone, and when you need to go to it, you are forced to log in through your mobile browser (this would be annoying). After a while, you will check social media less frequently. Another simple trick is to uninstall the apps for a certain period(a couple of weeks or a month). During that period, observe the ways you spend the “saved” time (maybe write them on your journal). Equip this extra time on things that matter to you the most.
Once you have a considerable period of social media detox, install those apps again and notice if there is any difference on your social media usage!
Our ancestors did not have clocks but had time, we have clocks but have no time.
Organize your time
Compare your day to a jar. Throughout the day, you will be filling this jar with rocks(most important things in your life), pebbles (things in your life that matter, but that you could live without) and sand (remaining filler things in your life, and material possessions). The order you fill in is crucial. For example, what would happen if you fill it with sand first? Then try adding any of the rest. It simply would not work out. There will no remaining space. The ideal way would be to fill the jar with rocks first, then pebbles, and then with sand to fill up the remaining space. But you do not strictly have to fill it in the ideal order. At times, it is better to have a combination. Read the article below, if you want to explore another take on this concept.
Imagination is powerful
Let’s assume you tried all the methods I have told you. Also, you have done your research and come up with various methods to manage your time. As time goes by, you will realize that you are not sticking to these methods effectively. Do not get disheartened, significant people have gone through this phase. Time Management is not affected by the number of articles you read or the number of videos you watch. It distills down to the fact of how effectively you practice it. If you ever think you are wasting time but cannot stop the task you are doing at that time, do this :
Imagine yourself trying to stop what you are doing at that time. Imagine yourself doing anything productive.
Sounds silly? Try it anyway, you got nothing to lose. Human imagination is powerful, wonders can be done solely with our thought.
Take it slow
I’ll leave you with these final thoughts.
- Good things take time.
- Don’t expect miracles in a short period.
- Be consistent, experiment with various time managing methods and find the one which suits you (not every method is going to work for you!).
- It is OKAY to fail. What matters is that you don’t give up.
- Give yourself a break at times. Don’t be a person who is stuck in a routine.
Good Luck! Kudos to you for trying to be a better person than you were yesterday.
