credit: guy harris, recoveringengineer.com
As important as saving money is these days, saving time may be even more important. The one resource that is absolutely limited is time. You have only so much, not a second more. You cannot afford to waste your most precious gift – time.
Here are ten easy tips to save some of that precious time:
1. Resist procrastination – it is a big time waster. If you must do it, do it, get it done and stop putting it off.
2. Answer email in bunches, not as they pop up on the computer. Doing all of your small chores in grouped bunches is more productive and saves time.
3. Keep telephone calls short and to the point. Avoid needless chit-chat.
4. Find your purpose in what you are doing – once you have clearly defined what you want to do and why you waste less time and get it accomplished.
5. Get organized. Organized people are more productive and use their time more wisely. Take a little time to get organized – it pays off.
6. Write down your goals and refer to them. People with goals are more achievement oriented and waste less time. People with written goals are many times more productive.
7. Carry reading materials and work with you everywhere you go (except vacation!). When you have to kill time waiting at a train crossing or in a traffic jam you can get a lot done.
8. When you need help ask for it. Don’t waste time floundering about a problem when you can get help and move on.
9. Focus on your priorities first thing in the morning. Work on your most time-demanding tasks when you have the most energy and least distraction.
10. Keep a record of how you spend your time for a week. Analyze it. You will be surprised and you will clearly see what you spend too much time on and what you spend too little on. Adjust. Remember the 80/20 rule, most of the time you gain 80% of your gain from 20% of your work. Use that.
What About You?
What time wasters do you struggle with?
How can you improve–beginning this moment?
What time management tools work best for you? Has your time management evolved along with changes in your work and life?
Are you crafting the life and work of your choice, your masterpiece of service?
Daniel R Murphy | 10 Most Common Time Wasters
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Daniel R Murphy has studied what makes people successful for over 30 years. He writes on this and related subjects in his weekly newsletter, Creating True Wealth, available free at www.books2wealth.com, on his blog, www.CTWBlog.com and in articles published on the web. Copyright © 2012, Daniel R Murphy.
