The value of time - 5 tops tips to be more productive and energised.

Imagine if time was a bank account and each morning we were credited with 86,400 seconds.

If, by the end of that day, we hadn’t spent any of the credits they would instantly be deducted from our account.

What would we do?

It is highly likely that we would make every effort to take care of those seconds and invest them wisely. It is interesting though how much time can be taken for granted and those seconds can easily become lost and wasted.

Time pressure seems to be the norm for so many people in the modern world and we may well feel that life in the “busy ages” is a constant bombardment of information and overwhelming choice, which can lead to feelings of overstimulation and agitation. Taking time out to stop and reflect on what is making us busy is a great place to start. 

Time management and stress

Time pressure is one of the biggest precursors to unhealthy stress levels. It can prompt feelings of personal inadequacy and impact on our self-esteem and confidence. This can lead us towards stress burnout, which is a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.

Great time management is essential if we want to handle a heavy life load, without experiencing unhealthy stress. Learning how to manage our time will give us more confidence and direction, when we have too much going on. It will also help us to feel calmer, more in control and ultimately less stressed.

Here are five simple tips and suggestions for improving our time management skills…

1.   Declutter

Are you a bit of a hoarder or a chaotic worker?

Creating an environment around us that provides more calm, space, energy and clarity will impact on our health, happiness and overall well-being. It will also help us to be more relaxed, organised and productive.

Take a moment to stop right now and look around you.

What would you score yourself out of 10 for tidiness and minimalism? Write down five words that would describe your working environment?

Are they positive words that are conducive to wellbeing?

If 'messy' and 'cluttered' is on the list then it's time for a declutter :)

The tidier and the more minimalistic we are, the easier it will be to find things, and this can save lots of time in the longer term. Decluttering, on a regular basis, can be very therapeutic and provide us with an energising boost and sense of achievement.

2.   Conduct a time audit

We are creatures of habit and a great deal of what we do, we do on autopilot. The first step to improving our time management is to find out where our time actually goes. We may think, for example, that we only spend 30 minutes on a task, when in reality it is taking us a lot longer than that.

One way to keep track of our time is to download one of the many excellent apps that help us to track everything we do, for a week. We will then be able to access a report to find out what is consuming our time. With this information, we can start to make the necessary adjustments and improvements.

3.   Plan the day

Aimlessly wandering into our day may be a lovely thing to do when on holiday or even on our day off; however, to get things done, planning our day is essential. Creating to-do lists for each goal and project, by listing all the measurable steps that need to be achieved, is an excellent place to start and this will save us time in the long run.

Taking time to plan our day will also help to keep us focused and motivated, as we will then be able to monitor what we have already achieved. It will help us to feel more in control and on top of things. Remembering to put time ourselves on that to do list and creating moments of sanctuary in our day, and scheduling in proper breaks, is a great way to reenergise and refocus.

Going immediately from one meeting or task to another can be exhausting. It is far more constructive to take some time to have rest stops, so we can clear your mind and relax and refocus. 

4.   Avoiding chasing perfectionism

Are you a perfectionist?

Do you put yourself under enormous pressure to do things perfectly?

A desire to do our best is an admirable quality and, of course, there are some situations where cutting corners is simply not an option. It is important, however, to work out whether there are occasions when we waste time, and resources, attempting to achieve perfectionism in absolutely everything we do.

Reversioning something time and time again, or getting bogged down in analysis paralysis, can be both stressful for ourselves and those around us. There will be instances where a particular task is simply better done than perfect.

5.   Eat the frog

Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.

Our “frog” is our biggest, most important task, the one we may find ourselves procrastinating on. It can be very tempting to put off what we don’t like doing to another time, or even another day or week.

When we "eat the frog" and tackle it first thing, it won’t be hanging over us all day and we will feel so much lighter and energised as a result :)

I do hope that you found these tips helpful and if you would like a complimentary copy of this digital poster please email

liggy@liggywebb.com