Knowing upfront you only have 1,440 minutes a day means making the most of your time and prioritizing. You have bills, projects, employees, clients and your family pulling you in different directions. And somewhere in there you need to put some sleep.
So, make sure you accomplish everything you can in the time you’re given.
What not to do
Once you figure out what you shouldn’t be wasting your time on, you can start putting your efforts into something more meaningful and productive. This can be the hardest part of time management because you’re thrown so many different things each day. Every project, bid and idea aren’t worth your valuable time.
Think about it like this: Break down your yearly salary to see how much you are getting paid an hour. Then, you can see how much each task is really costing you. If you would need to spend three hours to complete something and you get paid $20/hour, ask yourself if that task is worth $60 of your time. After a while, you won’t have to think about your time so literally because you’ll have a better understanding of what you do and don’t need to be putting your time into.
Now do it!
I love coming up with “To Do” lists. However, I often find myself staring at the words on the sheet for days, unable to ever cross anything off. I guess if the things were fun on my list, they wouldn’t have needed to be put there in the first place. So, it’s important to actually follow through with the things you decided are the most important.
You may also — like I find myself doing — give yourself more slack for tasks than you would if you were reporting to someone other than yourself. If you set a deadline for something to be finished, even if it doesn’t affect anyone but yourself, hold yourself accountable to that day.
Time is one of the most valuable resources we have. We’re all given the same amount, but it’s the most successful people who learn how to best manage their time to be the most productive.
What’s holding you back from being one of those people?
