Save More Time From Your Busy Schedule. Learn How !!!

My day starts with the alarm ringing multiple times and me snoozing it for 10 more minutes till I convince myself enough, that I'm going to be late again. Then my hustle to complete all the chores with “list of things to do “ running through my head. Sounds relatable?? Life of working women these days is no less than a juggler or a struggler. With the clock ticking faster each minute, somehow she manages the household chores just in time on certain days while some days are late marks. Days when I get late for work, which accounts for 80 %  of the time, I tend to sit back and analyze:

• Why did I get late in the first place?
• What went wrong?
• If I would have got  just 15 more minutes
• What can I do to avoid such instances further?

All of this thought process used to be followed by a resolution of waking up early from the next day. But like they say promises are meant to be broken, resolutions are meant to be postponed endlessly I feel. Consoling myself with the song “Mere jaagne se pehle haye re meri kismat so jaati hai, Main der karta nahi,der ho jaati hai”I used to proceed my tasks with a delayed start to the day.

Hectic life and busy schedule:

How often do you find yourself saying or even thinking that you do not have time? Most of the time, isn’t it? From preschoolers till "about to retire working class" everyone seems to be running until the day gets over. If you’ve ever heard the Bollywood song “Dauda dauda bhaga bhaga sa, waqt ye sakt hai thoda thoda” from one of the famous Bollywood comic movie”Chachi 420, it kind of tells you today’s reality. So for all those who find it relatable take a break, look at the larger picture and remember to slow down at times. Although time is precious you will be able to have some more if you use it more wisely.

So out of my quest to deal with the situation and a few requests from my readers, I tried to analyze and come up with certain tips for better time management.

Problem areas: Let’s try and understand the core issue. Why do we fall short of time in the first place?

Work Pressure: Some people, especially in the Medical field or IT department, have such long working hours plus a few couple of hours of commute makes it lengthier. While some from the other sectors feel that certain deadlines provided to them that are so unrealistic that they have no choice but to stay back post their working hours in order to achieve the same. As a result, they are left with merely no time for their respective personal lives.

Kids-babies/toddlers/teens-“Oh she just babysits at home” is such an understatement. Babysitting itself is a multiple action verb- from bathing, brushing, nappy changing, cooking, cleaning, disciplining, playing, running behind etc.etc. So when you have kids your time just flies with you wanting some back for yourself too. Whether babies, toddler or teens your kids eat up most of your time once you are a Mother. Even if they are not around, they are on your mind for sure.

Exertion- You never finish any task on time. You may be a little slower than your peers, you might get more easily drained than your friends, You might want to sleep more than your partner. It may not always be your speed that’s slow. Maybe it’s your body telling you that it's exhausted/sick and needs some rest. With all the important tasks of the day, we tend to lose our focus on the main goal. We forget what we are trying to achieve and for whom. The problem here is mismanagement of priorities where health should always be on top ideally.

Solution:

In order to resolve the issue of “ lack of time”  I have listed a few techniques to help you utilize maximum time and save some too.

Make a To Do List:

It may take few minutes, but it saves many more for the day. The probability of you finishing all your tasks of the day in time is higher when you jot them down. Mentally you are aware of the task list and so you subconsciously speed up each task to make some time for the next.

Identify the Difference between need and want:

When you’ve got too many things on your plate, sit back and analyze for a minute that which of these tasks are really needed. It's not necessary to always fulfill the work demands placed in front of you by your family/kids. Listen to them & acknowledge their requirements but decide if its really an urgent and important need to be fulfilled right away and take a call accordingly.

Set priorities:

Imagine you go out for buying a birthday cake for your friend and after reaching the shop, you are so fascinated by the complimentary things like the birthday cap, masks, party poppers and props that you end up buying everything else than the cake. And after reaching home you regret not buying the cake as the first item. Similarly, in our daily routine, we at times are so burdened with the amount of worklist to be done, that even after finishing 80 % of the task we feel unsatisfied when the day ends.

The moral here is to prioritize, figure out what in your task list is most important and get it done first. If you are still left with some time for the complimentary stuff great, if not it's still fine. In fact, eliminate the complementary tasks when you are running short of time.

Delegation:

One of the best ways to get things done quickly is to distribute the work. All the chores may not necessarily be done by you. Get a maid to do the cooking, ask your partner to look after your child for some time, let your kids help you in folding the clothes or simply ask your subordinates to lend you a helping hand if possible when you are loaded with work and deadlines are getting closer.

I know a few people who have no capacity or time to take up additional tasks but they will somehow still do it, as they do not like other’s way of doing it. Basically, you can’t have the cake and eat it too. If you want to save some time for yourself, you need to accept and adjust with the other person’s style of work.

Take breaks/Powe nap

Next time your boss catches you sleeping in the office, tell him you are in the process of increasing productivity in work. Just kidding!!  Although it's a fact that taking short breaks or power naps actually increases your work efficiency. So whenever feasible try taking short breaks/intervals and get back to work and see how much more time you are able to save than working at a continuous stretch.

Furthermore, there are certain tools that help you with time management like the “Eisenhower box/matrix” and Pomodoro technique.

·        Eisenhower matrix/box: It’s a famous time management tool that has 4 main quadrants of the task lists:

1.      Urgent and Important(Tasks that you will do immediately)

2.      Important but not urgent (Tasks that you will do but later)

3.      Urgent but not important( Tasks that you will delegate to someone else)

4.      Neither urgent nor important (Tasks that you will eliminate)

This matrix can be applied on a large scale on daily, weekly or even monthly basis.

·        Pomodoro Technique

Another famous time management technique that helps you increase your productivity by increasing your focus. It uses a timer to break your tasklist into intervals of about 25 minutes each separated by 5 minutes of break. A round of Pomodoro is 4 sessions. After each round of Pomodoro, a long break of about 20 minutes is suggested.

Here’s a gist of how you use it.

1.      Decide which tasks need to be accomplished and how many sessions will each task require

2.      Shut all distractions(phone, email, isolate yourself) and set the timer to 25 minutes.

3.      Start your work(tasks) and try to finish maximum work in those uninterrupted 25 minutes.

4.    Once the Pomodoro(timer/alarm) rings at the end of 25 minutes, take a short break of 5  minutes.

5.      Start the second session and repeat the cycle.

Of course, it's not always practical to keep the distractions at bay, but unless they are emergencies try to reschedule or pre-inform your colleagues/family about your time constraints.

Disconnect-

It's important to keep your personal and professional life separate for various reasons.

Better time management is one of them. There are days when a certain project or task is so huge that your regular working hours are just not sufficient for its completion. And so you stretch yourself and try completing it after returning home, compromising on your quality time/responsibility towards your family. Similarly, you may be distracted multiple times by your personal issues while in office thereby compromising on office time and quality of work delivered. Do not take your office or personal life for granted. 
Speed up and accept deadlines that are realistic, take your reporting manager into confidence and come up with a time frame that works for both of you.
Smart tip: Maintain your personal and professional boundaries to save time and  prevent exertion

 Identify time-wasting habits- Internet/Social media

Does it happen to you that when you unlock your phone to dial a number you suddenly see a notification from a social app then you continue to chat or read and forget why you headed towards your phone? Avoid distractions from social media, they are literally addictive and you keep yourself convincing that you are about to close the app just after one more post. Well doesn't mean you need to ban them completely, but fix up a time may be like, post lunch you take a 10 minutes break or decide your leisure time after finishing all your chores. Do not let this virtual world( social media) distract you while you are busy with work in your real life.

Energy source-Healthy Lifestyle

Chronologically this should have been in the top position given its significance. How can a healthy diet and exercise help me save time? Making healthy diet is rather time-consuming while fast foods as the name suggests are faster to cook and eat, isn’t it?.

Well its just the opposite actually. When you eat clean and are physically active you tend to increase your BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate). The rate at which your body burns calories and fat.Higher the metabolism rate more you feel fresh, active and energized. While fast/junk food that is loaded with carbs, sodium or fat tend to lower your BMR, making you feel lethargic, drowsy and weak.

The rest is self-explanatory as to which regime would help you work at a faster pace.

Time Management Apps

These days there are "n" number of apps for almost any kind of activity you wish to do. It's a modern digitized world after all.  While some social networking apps are eating our precious time, thankfully there are few apps that help us save time too. Search for one or two such apps, and let it help you with your time management. For eg.Clear, Wunderlist, Rescue time etc.

Make some Me time.

The more you make some me time regularly, the lesser will you feel the void of time. Spending quality me time gives you a sense of satisfaction of having enough time to be yourself and rejuvenates you mentally.

I'm not an expert in time management, in fact, I've had this struggle with lack of time too. But I've tried some of these tips and tricks to some extent and found my comfort pace. Hoping that you will be able to find yours too.