How To Find More Time In A Day

How To Find More Time In A Day

By Mark Wager

It's one of the most common phrases in business "I didn't have enough time." The intention was pure and you wanted to complete the task but if only there was a few more hours in the day. Time management is one of the key barriers to success and the ability to manage your time efficiently in a way that allows you to compete more tasks can the difference between you and your competitor. So how can you find more hours in a day? Well! here are a few tips.

Be honest with yourself  

When people say they didn't have enough time to do something they are not being completely honest. When you  say I didn't have enough time what you really mean is that it wasn't important enough. Using myself as an example, a few weeks ago, Auckland, where I live,  had some severe flash floods and my one of my rooms was flooded, damaging the carpet and some furniture. So I had to call the insurance company, move out the furniture and get the carpets dried and in total it most likely took around 6 to 8 hours of my time to sort out. Now if you asked me a few days earlier if I had a spare 6 to 8 hours, I would have said "of course not I'm incredibly busy." Yet I sorted out the flood damage and why? It was important. That's why. So if the task is important enough you will find the time and if you want to become more efficient, start telling yourself the truth.  When you say "I didn't have enough time" you really mean "it wasn't important enough." 

Focus on what is important and not what is comfortable 

Too often people end up focusing on what is comfortable or what they like doing rather than what they need to do. They fill their day with favourable tasks and convince themselves that they have had a busy day which in some ways is true but it wasn't an effective day because they didn't focus on what was needed to move them forward. Whenever you have a task in front of you, ask yourself a simple question and that is "Does this take me closer to my goal?" If the answer is yes then go ahead and complete the task yet if the answer is no then you are wasting your time. Stop doing the task and instead focus on what will take you towards your goal.

Distractions are the enemy of efficiency 

If you are interrupted while performing a task or are simply distracted, it takes time to get back to the level of focus you were demonstrating while doing the task and studies have shown that this can be as much as twenty minutes. Distractions are the enemy of efficiency. One of the most significant changes in the workplace over the past ten years is the advances in technology especially in terms of accessibility. In today's world you can contact anyone with a phone no matter where they are in the world and in an instant you can call them, text them, message them or contact them on social media and all in an instant. While this unheralded accessibility offers a multitude of opportunities it also presents many distractions. If the task is important then turn off your phone, stay off social media and give the task the attention it deserves. Ask yourself if the task is so important that you allow yourself not to be interrupted then have you chosen the right task.

How hard are your competitors working?

Success is a limited resource which is why there are only a few people who can truly succeed in business and in life. If your goal is something worth having then it goes without saying that there is someone else who also wants that goal. You need to work harder than your competitor, when they are resting you need to be working and when they are working you need to be working harder and smarter. If you are in any need of motivation then you just need to ask yourself what is your competitor doing this very minute. To succeed you need to be working harder than your competitors, anything else guarantees you nothing but failure.

Plan out your day the night before

My last tip to you to find extra time  to plan your day out the night before. As we go through the day we tend to become more tired so it's more productive to assign the later hours to less physical tasks and focus more on planning. Every journey is easier when there's a detailed map explaining how to go from one place to another and the journey to success is no exception. To achieve anything in business is difficult but not having a detailed plan makes the task even more so. Just imagine making a journey without knowing which direction to take. It's unthinkable yet many people start the day without a plan of what they are going to do to take themselves closer to their goal. Every night ask yourself what would you like to achieve the next day and what would you have to do in order to make that happen. Make your own personal map for success and you will be amazed at just how much time you can find in a day to do what is needed.