What Could You Achieve With More Free Time?
If you had more free time in your personal and work life, how would you use it? What would life be like if you could truly take greater control of time? It may be easier than you think to improve your quality-of-life with some guided reflection, homework and practical neuroscience tools to increase personal productivity.
Think about those rare occasions when a block of time opened up in unexpected ways. Did you invest wisely in these windfall opportunities? Perhaps you were unprepared to take full advantage of the gift. Did you use the time for doing more of what you don’t enjoy? If so, this may be a good opportunity to make different life choices.
Time is a two-sided coin. One side is the “ticking clock.” No one person has an advantage over another when it comes to this side of the coin. The other side holds life activities that consume the clock face. You have control over this side. You can decide what you are going to do, not going to do and how much time you will invest in your choices.
How do you want to use your clock face? You must identify your most important and highest value goals. These become your focal points and incentives to gain control of your time management program. If you don’t take control, the “system” or other people in your life will. Think about your workplace and personal life. Prioritize the most important things you need to do and the things that give you highest and best value. The outcomes and benefits help you gain clarity on why you are doing them and how much time you should be investing in these things. What new activities will enrich your career and home life? Consider your health, relationships, personal development, continued education, playtime and hobbies.
You probably feel you have a “full plate” with too many things to do and not enough time to do them. To do the most important things, you must off-load some items from your “plate.” What is non-essential or provides little value? What things are essential but can be done better or faster by someone else? Delegation is a wonderful time management tool. It’s amazing how many things we do each day that are total wastes of time or someone else would appreciate the opportunity to do.
A practical way to free up time is by being more productive. Creating ideal physical environments at home and work increases personal productivity by 25% or more. This adds up to big blocks of time. The following environments can be combined depending on the activity. For instance, computer work would be a combination of Visual and Kinesthetic activities. Doing telemarketing with a computer database involves all sensory activities.
Activities and Most Effective Environment
Visual (observing): organized, attractive, good lighting
Kinesthetic (hands-on): freedom to move, comfort, clutter-free, access to tools
Auditory (listening): quiet, interruption free
You can gain greater control of time by deciding what things you want more of and less of in your life. Then make time available for the things that boost your quality-of-life by off-loading and delegating low value activities and by being more productive. Learning how to manage time is a skill that will serve you well for the rest of your life.
