Overcome Your Worst Time Wasters
I cringe when I hear someone say, "I've got an hour to kill." As a busy working mother of two, there is nothing worth more than my time. And I can't imagine wanting to kill any of it. I think most moms would agree, we need more time! But sadly when our babies are born, we are not handed any extra hours to tack onto the end of each day. We have to try and squeeze more from what we're given. (It's an unfair world though and some folks just don't need as much sleep as others... but I digress.) So the endless pursuit of seeking maximum productivity begins. I think the key is to make technology work for you and not against you.
Step 1: Identify where you're spending your time.
- You can log your time in a journal or use an online timer.
- Spend a week logging all your activity so that you can identify patterns.
Step 2: Take an honest look at your time journal.
- Your time log won't help if you don't analyze it.
- Are you spending too long reading email or on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites?
- Are you making too many runs to the grocery store because you haven't made thorough lists and preplanned menus?
Step 3: Use technology to improve your habits.
- Invest some time looking through your inbox to see if you could set up rules or filters to automatically handle some emails.
- Social networking sites such as Facebook can be fantastic ways to stay in touch with friends and build your networks for business and personal reasons. But make sure you're not getting caught up in playing games and doing endless quizzes.
- Use an RSS reader to quickly stay up to date with your favorite blogs.
- An iPhone or a Blackberry can help you stay on top of your email while you're waiting to pick your kids up from school or waiting in line at the grocery store.
- If you're like me and you love a little TV treat, use a TIVO or PVR (personal video recorder) to record a couple of your favorite shows and never turn on live TV. When your 30 minute show is over, turn off the TV.
You can overcome your worst time wasters with an honest analysis of your time and a fresh look at how technology can help you.
