If you have been reading my blog for some time now, this is going to be sort of a recap to summarize the top strategies that I use and in the order that I use them for maximum efficiency. As you may or may not have yet seen from this blog, the goal is to list strategies that help readers maximize their use of their time in order to find the time to do the things they really want to do.
- Determine the Purpose. You need to know what purpose you are making time for. Determine a goal that you are working towards and figure out how much time is needed to make it a reality. When you have that part figured out, the next steps will help you achieve it.
- Making a Time Budget. The very first step is to make an actual time budget. It can be detailed and all inclusive like mine is or can be just a few categories as a time. It can be an amount of time you want to do something or something you want to limit, or both. It can be annual, monthly, weekly, or even daily. Pick whatever works best for you.
- Detailed Schedule. Having a detailed schedule is very essential to budgeting your time and the execution of the time budget. With a detailed schedule, you can actually see how much time you actually have because you are taking everything you have to do into account. Tracking every minute is effective just like tracking every penny is in a financial budget is. The best app I have found for having a detailed schedule is TimeTune, I have been using it for over a year now, but right now it is only available for Android users. If you are an iOS user, there are several apps of a similar nature and if you do not prefer to use an app at all, there are programs on the desktop, as well as simply using a paper planner can be very effective as well.
- Analysis and Reflection. Taking time to regularly review how you spend your time is essential to understanding where you are strong and where you are weak in terms of your productivity. By this, you can determine where your time sucks are and how to eliminate. The very best method to having a good analysis is to track your time as detailed as possible. By doing this, you will be able to see the actual time spent vs the time budgeted. I use aTimeLogger to track every minute of every day and use the reports to observe where the time goes.
- Continue On. Do not give up on what you are trying to achieve. The amount of time may not be the only issue that can be stopping progress, so be sure to check out all reasons on what may be slowing you down. I wish only the best for whatever goal you are trying to achieve.
This is a summary of what the core of Time is Me is about. This gives you the understanding of finding time for what you really want to do and the methods on actually achieving it. I am welcoming any suggestions on further topics. Please also take note that the Time is Me podcast is in the works as well. I look forward to any feedback.