As we grow older, so the demand for our time grows. We start to become aware that time equals money, with the bills to pay and responsibilities to take care of. The most common way to satisfy your needs is to exchange your time for a means of income. Sometimes, we get so caught up in these commitments that there is little or no time left for ourselves. The deal about time is not that we do not have it, it is simply that we have not found ways to redeem time and prioritize our activities. Time never increases, instead we find ways to make decisions that ensure our time is properly managed.
We have to first see our time to be just as important, if not more than our money. The same way we can say no to meaningless and impulsive spending, is the same way we must choose to say no to activities that waste our time. Some of these activities could be uncalled visitations, pointless meetings, routine work that can be delegated, social media among others. If we don’t pay attention to these, we will soon realize that time lost cannot be easily gained back, unlike money.
Using your time wisely will require that you become choosy about your work and tasks. You will prioritize work that only you can do, and find ways to explore your most productive times. And to take back your time, here’s how to begin:
Take advantage of technology, automate:
Everything has been made easier as tasks can be automated. Tasks such as response to emails, book keeping and records, knowledge sharing by repurposing content, almost everything can be automated. You can take advantage of the apps on Google playstore or Apple store, and find the right fit for yourself.Delegate
There are tasks that require a person to complete, and cannot be automated. Although, they are important, they still might not be priority. These kinds of tasks are usually non complex and can be easily outsourced for a fee.
How to determine these kinds of tasks is to know if it is beneath your worth and usual charge. You will also assess to see if outsourcing that task would have any adverse effect on you. There are sites that help with outsourcing tasks to the right fit and you would not have to engage in delegation personally.
Identify the big decisions
Not all things are worth doing by you. So to help prioritize your time, choose the big decisions that are the most rewarding, and give yourself to it. Big decisions may not necessarily take the most time, but they bring the best rewards. Your job is to identify them and put them at the top of your list. For the ones that will require more time, you can break them into tasks and delegate some part of them.Fortunately, time can be gained back and managed better. Just as we grow financially intelligent, we can grow in knowledge of time usage, and manage it better. At the end of it all, you will be more relaxed, appreciate your tasks better and start to see them through more enthusiastically.
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