How to Save Precious Time
Dear Readers,
Greetings of the day!
Whenever, I tell my
disciples/followers/friends to do some mental exercise or physical exercise, I
get normally this type of reply from number of them, “I do not have time” of “I
am short of time”. You know that one cannot buy time for exchange of any
quantity of money. Time once spent is gone and never comes back.
I will, therefore, give you
some tips, which can help you take the first steps toward conquering your time
crunched lifestyle find more time for "off the clock" fun.
First Step to save time is
to begin by learning the difference between "Do I need to do this
now?" and "Do I need to do this at all?" Just because you are
busy and getting things done doesn’t mean you are actually achieving anything
significant. As you plan your day or week, seriously think about the things you
have to do as opposed to things you think you have to do. A lot of to do’s are
not necessarily things we have to do. Often times the lines are blurred because
we over commit or feel obligated to things that aren’t in line with our goals
and rob us of valuable time.
Next step to save time is to
organize future events as per months, in which the events come. Like
celebrating birthdays and anniversaries of near and dear-ones, buying greeting
cards, payment of school fees, payment of government taxes and even vacation
brochures in the appropriate months for quick reference and retrieval.
Another step is to make a
“just in case” box for the car trunk: umbrella, cheap rain ponchos,
scissors, big black marker, tape, paper towels, plastic bags, extra kids’ socks
and a one-size-fits-all T-shirt, sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants for adults,
another for kids for travel or journeys.
With the advent of
technology, I suggest you to go digital with record keeping: Instead of
printing every report, article, recipe or document you think you might need or
want some day, burn records onto CDs for storage. Using technology, you will be
surprised over the amount of space you’ll save, not to mention printer ink and
copy paper. You will also save time to search them, whenever required. And of
course, as an extra bonus you’ll be saving LOTS of trees in the process!
5. Take control of managing
your bill paying schedule: Rather than having to constantly trying to keep
track of when various bills are due each month, ask creditors to shift your due
dates to lump them all together or to split them between the two pay periods of
each month.
Another step is to ensure
that your home office is made an actual work space. Attempting to work at
a cluttered table or desk may not be the sign of a cluttered mind, but piles of
disorganized faxes, bills, receipts and mail are definitely off-putting when
you're trying to work at home. You need not waste time in searching for a
particular piece of paper. Getting your home office organized and keeping it
that way prevents distractions and time-wasting. Keep all your relevant working
materials in your work-space. Having to walk into another room to retrieve a
file can be a serious waste of time.
Handling different items in different
time instead of handling all the work in one go will surely help you save time.
You may complete similar types of work all at the same time. For example if you
typically field a large number of calls and or emails each day – instead of
dropping everything to take each call as it comes in or each email as it
arrives, set aside specific blocks of time dedicated to returning calls and
responding to emails. It's more effective and a better use of energy, where
possible, to accomplish similar tasks all together. Same goes for writing,
scheduling clients, etc.
You should prepare yourself
before making phone calls. Before picking up the phone, make a list of
things you need to talk about and questions you need to ask. That way, you
won’t waste time calling someone back because you forgot to ask an important
question. I even do this when I call my relatives if I have a lot of things to
tell them. This not only saves time, but also cost of making calls.
Using templates & swipe
files certainly save time. You can use templates and swipe files for
invoices, letters of introduction, client questionnaires, standard email
responses, out of office notices and other documents you use on a regular
basis. If you have a website or blog consider a FAQ page where readers can
easily access answers to the most frequently asked questions about your product
or programs. Keep a current copy of your online profile in your swipe file so
when you register at a new forum or website you can simply cut and paste.
Creating easy access to your
information is another step to save valuable time. You can use web
applications or phone app to capture thoughts and ideas, store notes, swipe
files and photos all in one place. These App, allow you to capture
anything you want to remember where ever you are and instantly makes it
available on all the computers and devices you use. This way, you spend less
time trying to locate or transfer files & programs.
Lastly, you should also plan
how you will use your “Spare or fun” time. As gratifying as it can feel to
take control of your time and become more productive in the process. If you
don’t make a plan for what you’ll do with your free time, it will be quickly
lost to whatever pops up.
I,
therefore, advise you to start using these tips today and enjoy all the free
time you create.
With
Greetings and Blessings,
Vinod
Khurana
00971 55
714 9983
