Finding More Time, Next Steps
/There’s just not enough time.
If I had a nickel for every time I said that to myself, or heard it from someone else… well, let’s just say my student loans would have been paid off a LOT quicker! There never seems to be enough time, does there?
While time does seem to be one of our most elusive resources, hopefully after my last post about how to find more time in your current schedule you’ve found at least a little more time in your week. (If you haven’t downloaded your Free Time Finder yet, what are you waiting for?) As promised, now that you have a bit more time over the next several posts I’m going to go over the steps I take to not only find even more time (after I’ve used my tool, that is), but prioritize the most important things first so that I can work towards my goals without becoming completely overwhelmed with the process.
Or giving up.
Because let’s be honest, when you don’t have time to do the things you need to do to reach the goals you’ve set for yourself, giving up becomes part of the process. Sometimes it’s only for a couple days. But sometimes it’s weeks, months, or cough cough years.
Not this time.
This time you’re going to accomplish those goals you’ve set for yourself. You’re going to gain strength, cook at home more often, lose the weight (and keep it off), improve your relationships, and start feeling like the amazing person you are. You just need the time to make it happen.
So let’s get to it.
There’s so much I could say about how important this basic step is in finding more time in your life, but it’s also the hardest sell. Why? Because the first time you sit down to do it will take the most time.
I know, that seems counterproductive, but trust me. If you took 10-15 minutes once to go through the Time Finder activity, you probably found at least 30 minutes in your week every week (most of my clients find much more). And while those 30+ minutes add up over the weeks, taking time to do this next step will do that and more.
You’re going to need some paper (I recommend a fresh notebook!), at least two colors of pens, and a highlighter. Oh, and for better or worse, some time. Perhaps you can use that 30 minute block you found after doing the time finding tool? A cup of coffee or your favorite beverage is a bonus as well!
Start out simple by putting the month at the top of your paper. I also like to put the year because I’ve been doing this for a while and using the same notebook, but that’s totally up to you.
After you’ve written the month, fold your paper in half hotdog style so you have two separate columns.
Now here’s the tricky part- you need to choose how you are going to organize your columns. For me, it’s easy. The left column is life to-dos and the right column is business to-dos. If you have a big project you are working on, say building or remodeling a house, getting ready for a new addition (like a baby!) to your household, or planning a wedding, big party, or event those tasks can go in the right column. Use your right column for whatever job or task takes up most of your brain space.
Once you’ve decided on your two columns, you’re ready to dump. Brain-dump, that is.
There’s no right or wrong way to do your brain-dump, the most important thing is to get it all out. Everything. Nothing is too big or too small to put on your list. If it feels big, you can break it down into pieces as you write, but don’t worry about that too much the first time around. The goal this time is to get it ALL on paper. Everything from paying bills and picking up dry cleaning to scheduling doctor appointments and buying a gift for an upcoming event.
Maybe you’ve been thinking about creating a new will, estate planning, or organizing your cookbooks.
Maybe you’ve been wanting to reorganize the laundry room, garage, or just put new pictures in the frames around your house.
Is there a craft project or book that's been sitting in a drawer waiting for your attention?
Or perhaps you’ve got a junk drawer that you keep telling yourself you need to clean every time you struggle to open up the drawer.
Write it down.
Don’t freak out, this is not a to-do list. This is a brain-dump.
There is real actual science out there that proves when we hold all these things in our heads we are actually less productive. So get it out of your head and on paper. Once it’s out and “safely” on paper, your brain can relax a bit, become more creative, and (gasp!) accomplish the things on your list even faster.
I know it sounds crazy, but it works.
Trust me. I’ve been doing it for years. I’ve gone through periods of time when I’ve resisted it because it will “take so much time to do the initial brain dump,” and every time I’m finally succumbed to do it- things just get done. They just do- like magic. Brain magic.
So before you do ANYTHING else, do your two-column brain dump. Take your time, and get it all out. Maybe re-read through your list and add more, that’s fine! On the other hand, don’t force it. You can always come back and add to this list later. In fact, there’s a good chance you will add to this list, and that’s okay.
Second step, notate and delegate
Now that you’ve listed out everything in your head that needs to be done, it’s time to go back though your list with your second pen.
Is there anything on the list that someone else can or needs to do? Write their name next to it.
Is there anything on the list that you need someone’s help with to accomplish? If it’s a certain person, write their name. If it can be anyone, just write something simple like, “help!”
Now that you’ve done that (see that wasn’t so bad, was it?), it’s time to delegate or communicate that you need help. Maybe it’s as simple as sending an email to an employee, photographer, or contractor. If can do that quickly- go ahead and do it now. Otherwise, put that email on your list. Maybe you need to make a honey-do list, or a list of tasks that you need to do with your partner. Great, make the list now and schedule a time to start chipping away at your list. OR write down at the bottom of your brain-dump that you need to make the list and/or schedule the time.
Next, go through your list one more time to see if there’s anything you can just get rid of. Maybe you’ve been thinking about learning a specific craft for, oh, seven years, but you just haven’t made the time for it. Is it time to let that go? If so, cross it off your list. Or maybe there’s something you’ve been telling yourself you’ll put on Ebay or Facebook Marektplace, but it’s been sitting in your basement for… well, we won’t talk about it. Is it time to donate or just give away? Can you let it go? Cross it off your list.
Do you see where this is going?
While this brain-dump is not your to-do list, eventually, you will use this it to make your to-do list. Which leads us to our…
Final step (for now)
Finally, take out your highlighter. Highlight NO MORE THAN THREE items on each of your lists. These should be the three things that need to be done the soonest. Ideally, they are the things that need to be done this week.
Don’t go highlighting everything willy-nilly. Seriously. No more than 6, items should be highlighted on your list at any one time. I’m serious about this.
I know, I know. Especially after looking at this very likely really, really long list it’s hard to only pick a few items to highlight, but trust me when I say this is where the magic happens.
Now that you’ve highlighted 4-6 items TOTAL (yes, I’m going to be a bully about this) that either need to be done this week, or need to be done asap because they are the next step in something that also needs to be done sooner rather than later- you’ve got your list.
Yes, that’s right. I said it. You’ve now got a to-do list with ONLY 4-6 items on it.
How does that feel? Probably really strange. Probably like you’re missing something. Probably like you think I’m crazy.
But stay with me here.
There will be other things in the week that you will need to do. In fact, things you will probably need to do every week. Laundry, grocery shopping, a certain amount of cleaning and/or tidying. My guess is, most of those things didn’t make it on your big brain-dump list. Or, if they did- it’s because the really need to be done ASAP, and they’ve been highlighted.
Right?
So trust me when I say this is your to-do list for the week. It doesn’t mean that these are the only things you will do (although depending on the task, it’s possible), but these are the main things you are going to focus on accomplishing this week.
Nothing else gets highlighted until one of your highlighted items gets crossed off.
Ideally you’ll wait until the beginning of next week (or whatever day is your best planning day) to go back through your list and highlight more items.
Friend, this works
By letting your brain focus on less tasks, you will inevitably get more things done.
For example, perhaps one of the things on your list was to call and schedule an appointment, or reorder your favorite supplements. Now that your brain has space, you’ll be surprised to find that when you have an open 5-10 minutes you’ll be able to easily remember (or look at your list) and see that item and take care of it, even though it isn’t highlighted.
Of course, that’s not the goal. The goal is to focus on prioritizing and completing the highlighted items. But sometimes a 10 minute gap appears in your schedule, and while you may not be able to complete a highlighted item in that time, you could do one of your small tasks instead of scrolling social media for the 10th time today. That, or letting your head spin wondering what you could do to fill the time.
Okay, this blog was longer than I hoped. Especially since I’m trying to save you time. But it’s important. Annoying as it is, sometimes you really do need to slow down to speed up.