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Most people feel as if there is too much to do every day and not enough time to do it. But, how does that explain those people who are super-productive and seem to get so much more done than the average person?
The way to explain it is that they’ve found what they want to do, and they do what they want to do, and nothing else.
9 Key Steps to Organize Your Life and Free Up Time
While this is not an exhaustive list, these are steps you can take to help you find more free time in your life. I will admit that sometimes old habits set in and I don't do these. But, when I do life is far more productive!
Determine What’s Important
There are some things that really aren’t that important but you do them anyway.
Maybe you talk on the phone to a relative every day for an hour but you really don’t want to and don’t have time to, but you don’t know how to stop it.
Or, maybe you hop onto social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest) and find that those few minutes of scrolling turned into hours.
Sit down and brainstorm what is important in your life and who is important in your life. Then you can be intentional in your focus for those things.
The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner is a resource which incorporates goal setting.
Schedule Everything
Once you know what’s important, use a good calendar or planner to schedule everything, including leisure time.
It might not sound romantic, but scheduling in date night with your spouse and sticking to it will ensure that it happens, while spontaneity is usually impossible for most people.
Ultimately, if something is important to do, it’s important to get it into your calendar.
When you schedule things, be realistic about the time factor so you don’t overbook yourself. We can easily think something will take just a few minutes, but know in our heart it takes much longer.
My Favorite Calendars and Planners
I use a combination of online and print.
I like being able to share with immediate family members. This way people know when others are available. The easiest way for me to this is via an online calendar program.
Cozi allows you to do just that, even tagging which family members are associated with an event. Sign up for a free Cozi account today. It's the #1 family organizer that keeps schedules, lists, contacts and more all in one place! I have used the free version for years. It works for us. However, their Gold annual plan is quite tempting at the moment!
Favorite Printed Planners
There are many planners I have used. Honestly, I like to have one printed planner for all my website work and another for my personal life.
While digital offers some conveniences, I still find myself wanting to look at paper and make notes.
The Blog Well Planner is a favorite for flexibility. There are no dates and each bound planner is enough for one quarter. Read my review of The Blog Well Planner.
This past year, I used Denise Albright's Reminder Binder. I didn't need to have full page for each day, so it worked for me. It came with cute stickers for the pages which I usually forgot to use. She offers other products as well.
Here's a quick video walkthrough I did of it last year:
If you need to separate out in time intervals, my past favorite planner was from Franklin Covey. You can do single or double page spreads per day depending upon your needs. Buying the binder was a bit of an investment, but it can be used for years.
Learn to Say No
You probably have a lot of people, family, friends, co-workers and bosses asking you to do all sorts of things that you really don’t want to do, don’t care about doing, and don’t really make a big difference in your life other than to suck time from your day.
Realize that it’s OK to say no to things that just aren’t important to you. It’s okay if people think you’re a horrible person too. They’ll get used to it and find someone else to sucker into doing everything.
I will admit that saying no to others was a hard thing for me when I was younger. This goes back to being a people pleaser.
Start Your Own Business
There is a saying that only entrepreneurs quit a 40-hour-a-week job to work 80 and call it freedom. But, it doesn’t really have to be all that bad.
Entrepreneurs often have a great work-life balance that you can’t have working for someone else. The trick is to pick a business that can eventually be handed off so that you only manage it, and other people do the work.
Turn Off the TV
It’s amazing what kind of time TV sucks from your life these days.
Now that we have Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming technology, anything we want to watch is available on demand. This makes binge watching a real thing.
Save binge watching TV for when you’re sick, the weather is bad, or it’s that time of the month.
Try to limit your TV (show watching) time to less than one hour a day. Then only watch it if you can combine it with physical activity to help you stay healthy.
Get Off the Internet
A lot of people get online and call it “work” or “research”, but all they’re really doing is messing around.
Reading Facebook for hours on end is not work or research; it’s a time sucker. While it’s fun, try to let go of doing it.
Time yourself to find out how much time you’re wasting, then set a limit. Everyone deserves fun, and if this is fun for you, you should not give it up. Just limit it.
Automate What You Can
There are so many things these days that can be automated, with the right time and money.
For example, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can get many things auto shipped to you, which will save you a trip to the grocery store.
Look up “the internet of things” and you’ll be amazed at the type of automation that exists today.
Outsource What You Can
There was a story that made the rounds in 2013 about a man who outsourced his Verizon security job to China. Read more about it here:
Unless you own your own business you probably don’t want to go that far with it, but you can outsource a lot of things such as yard work, housework, and even cooking if you have the funds to do it. If you don’t like doing it, you can outsource it to someone else, giving yourself that added time to do what you do like doing.
Follow Your Body’s Rhythm
Many people are running around trying to beat the clock while running on fumes. They are doing that because their internal body clock is not set to run from morning to night like our society tries to run.
It’s easier to do this if you have your own business. Try as much as you can to work and sleep when your body wants to do that instead of forcing it out of its natural rhythm. You’ll be more productive; thus, you’ll save more time.
Getting more free time in your life might seem difficult. You might think you’ll always be on that treadmill of working and sleeping without any breaks. But, if you schedule things better, find a better job that works with your needs, and focus on what’s important in your life, you can manage to find more free time in your life.
More Articles to Read
Top 10 Ways to Be More Productive
Top 7 Reasons Why You Fail to Meet Your Goals
5 Tips for Staying Organized and Productive at Work
How Distractions Prevent You from Success
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