Nuts and Bolts Career Q&A: How do I manage my time?
We have all built up different habits for how we spend our time. Many of us have a very similar routine. We wake up, get ready, head to work, do some activities and then head home for bed time. When you are young, much of your time will be free to do what you want with. That time slowly gets filled up as you pick up more and more responsibilities. Before you know it, you question, “How can I get more out of my day?”
It’s important to remember that we can’t really “manage time.” Everyone has the same 24 hours in the day. What this question is about how you use your time. Trying something new comes at the cost of not doing something else. So where does one begin?
I faced this similar problem when I wanted to incorporate reading into my weekday routine. At first, I bought a book and thought that I would just read it. That book sat on my desk for a month without a page being turned. It became clear to me that I would not get achieve my ambitions if I did not add time in for more reading. I was working 60 hours a week, living with my future wife and very active socially. Just thinking about books wasn't going to make it happen.
I realized that if I wanted to become a reader, I would need to designate a time and a place to make it happen. I looked at my days and thought about where I could squeeze in reading. At this point, while I was riding the subway to and from work, I played Candy Crush. I thought that if I could read instead of crushing, I would be able to get 15 minutes a day to read. So I tried.
The first time I stepped onto the subway and picked a book out of my backpack it was really uncomfortable! I don’t think I got any reading done because I was overwhelmed with self-consciousness. The next day I tried again. I got to reading, but I was still really distracted so I only read two pages the entire trip. Over the following days, weeks, and months, I became more comfortable and built up the habit of making the most on my commutes. That habit continues until today and as I type this, I am on my way home from work on the train.
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I have become much more aware of how I spend my time. My approach was simple: replace a low value activity (playing Candy Crush) with a higher value one (reading). When you are trying to better manage your time, start by recognizing that some of the things you do provide higher value than others. Then you can focus on replacing those low value activities. You might be able to implement my approach exactly. Or you might need to better utilize your car rides. You might decide the time after dinner is time to focus. Or maybe you wake up and do your thing before the day starts. Regardless of how you work, there are always ways to better use your time. Here are some tips to making that happen:
Use these tips to analyze how you spend your time and to improve your effectiveness. You too can better manage your time by better managing yourself.
Send me a note and let me know if you found this helpful!
Director Sales - Wesco - Global Commercial Real Estate, International Speaker, Published Author and Founder of Global Nonprofit
9moGreat article! Thanks for writing it!