Everyone wants to steal some quality time from our busy lives to live life to the fullest. But have you ever thought of that the more we try to do so, the more we become prey to the running time. Sometimes, we do lots of efforts and thereby waste too much of our precious time just to save a bit of it. The time-saving idea seems fantastico, but it turns in vain in the end as we follow some time-grown myths about saving time. Everything you thought was gospel about time-saving techniques— trashed!
The Style Symphony shows you how to get your time management skills on track.
MYTH 1: Get rid of clutter and you get more efficient
BUSTED: Are you sure it is clutter?
Getting rid of clutter sounds fantastico, but you might end up throwing out things you need. Or even worse, you’ll use your cleaning up time to procrastinate.
First, go through all the stuff you have, but don’t throw out things on an impulse. Think, ‘what’s the probability I’m going to use it again?’ If your answer is ‘more than 50 per cent’, then hang onto it. If it’s ‘Less than 30 per cent’, you might want to recycle it. Only after doing this should you go on to file organizer and devise a filing system for your bills and other papers. Label everything so that you’ll be able to find it when you need it.
BUY TIME: Sort things according to how old they are. For instance, bills and statements less than a year old should be filed away safely, so you can use them for year-end tax filing.
MYTH 2: If you want something done well and fast, do it yourself
BUSTED: There are more important tasks you should be doing
Identify your core strength and work towards improving that in a fantastico manner. Work on how to delegate other tasks to the right people. Delegating leaves you free to look after coordination or overall execution. There is also the advantage of identifying individual competencies. In the long run, if you’re able to identify the core strengths of people you work with, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
BUY TIME:
If you want the house looking spic and span, don’t just say that— tell your maid that you need the television, bookshelf and computer table cleaned; tell your husband that you want the newspapers put in order and his shoes and clothes in their proper place. Delegate tasks and only outline the desired result, not each individual detail.
MYTH 3: Get up 30 minutes earlier and you’ll accomplish that much more
BUSTED: You’ll be less efficient if you get less sleep
First, work out if you’re a night person or a day person. Identify your most productive hours and make sure you’re working then. If you are a morning person and getting up 30 minutes earlier will help, make sure you get to bed 30 minutes earlier too. Often, sleepiness slows you down, so if you find yourself dozing off as your work, take a power nap for 15-20 minutes. You’ll be brisker and more alert when you’re up and save on the number of fantastico hours you work.
BUY TIME: Figure out when you are at your most sluggish. Then try and take a nap at that time. Also, consciously decide to get to bed at least 30 minutes before your usual time. It’ll do wonders for your productivity and your skin.
MYTH 4: Make a To-Do List
BUSTED: To-do lists will bog you down
To-do lists can also get confusing. And in a bid to accomplish everything on that list, you may end up making a hash of things you could have done well if you’d stayed focused. Make a list of two or three of the most important things to achieve for the day and focus on finishing those.
That way you won’t waste time having to redo something you hurried through earlier. Then anything else you manage to do will be a bonus. But first tackle the job on hand. Make realistic to-do lists— not long-winded ones that are too ambitious.
BUT TIME: While writing your two or three achievables for the day, think of what could stop you from accomplishing them. Then get rid of those obstacles before you start working on your targets. This way, you won’t have anything holding you back.
So Symphonites, the next time you make some fantastico plans to save time, be careful and assure whether you’re saving iit or simply wasting it by following some time-grown, time-binding myths. Be a time-savvy time manager.
This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.
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Very wise. There are no easy ways to save time unlike these myths claim. Good food for thought.
I agree with most of the points except the to-do list as it works great for me 🙂
Nicely analyzed and presented dear 🙂
Well said. We do such things often and think we are saving time, but a careful analysis shows rather the opposite… great post… 🙂
Personally I like this post Maitreni, it is a very good collection of myths, I particularly like the playing devil’s advocate part, helps to gather a balanced thought a
This post is the need of hour to me and I’m sure I’m going to make use of your tips.
Sims
http://cutesmilealways.blogspot.in/
Agreed. . Although, A to-do list always helps me get work done faster than otherwise.
Well written.
xoxo – Style.. A Pastiche!
Thoughtful and well analysed. Agree with almost all points. 🙂
I’d agree with most points. However, the last point about to-do lists, well, I prefer making the lists and that makes the work organized and efficient for me.
Yes one has to be cautious when it comes to saving time lest it goes against you. Well described.
Well written post..
enjoyed reading it !
What you want in Life
Great tips.
They make so much sense.
I like how you say find out if you are a morning person or a late night person and work accordingly. Thank you for understanding. Seriously!
And to do lists — I’ve found that when you have long lists and are not able to tick off all the items, it makes you feel worse. Short ones seem doable.
This post really did seem to speak my mind on a few points that people generally disagree with. Thank you.