Time saving - balance your time

For all the recent advances in technology that are supposed to be labour-saving and give us more opportunity and choice in how we spend our time, these gadgets have had the opposite effect: our lives appear to have speeded up.

As now, in theory, permanently contactable, many of us feel we ought to be so. This often comes at a cost to our health and well being and a feeling that we are no longer in control of our lives. Effective time management or time “saving” (when did Dr Who ever allow a paradox to hold him back?) holds the key to reclaiming that control, yet still remaining productive.

Firstly, realise that you do – yes you do – have time for everything. Feeling pressed for time at certain times is natural, but there are still many instances where you let time pass by that could, in all honesty, be better employed. Do you surf the Web or watch TV just because you are bored, for example? It takes self-discipline and courage to turn off or turn away and complete the tasks you are delaying.

The essence of time saving is to prioritise. Most people end up spending perhaps 80% of their time trying to complete 20% of their tasks. With a plan – particularly a list if that what helps you respond best – from ten minutes of focused thought at some point during the day will help you sort out the “quick wins” from the “on-going challenges”, for example, and the vital from the merely desirable.

Try not to pack your day so full that there is no slack (for emergencies, interruptions or just to recharge your batteries). Leave some part of your day “free” for thought – try breathing exercises – like a mental regrouping, ready for the next challenge on the list.

Above all, do not overdo it. The Gordon Gekko ethos that “lunch is for wimps” makes no sense if it leads to a heart attack. Working until you drop is rarely productive but, more realistically, if you do end up working in irregular binges, give yourself time to recuperate with sleep, food and exercise. During such periods, you are more likely than not to under perform and, to say nothing of an often-reported background feeling of being vaguely out of control.

“A poor life this if, full of care/We have no time to stand and stare.” - William Henry Davies: Leisure.

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