11 Quick Tips to Add Hours to Your Day

 

You can’t wave a magic wand and make the day longer. But there are things you can do to save time. And there are things you can do to maximize what you accomplish with your time. In essence, you can add hours to your day.

 

This will require a change in your habits, but many of these strategies are self-rewarding. Once you see the benefits to be gained, you’ll be motivated to continue.

 

Follow these tips to add hours to your day and accomplish more:

 

1. Put things away when you’re done with them. Rather than creating clutter that gets in your way and is emotionally distracting, put things away when you’re done using them. Tell yourself that a task isn’t complete until everything is picked up.  I spend the last 20 minutes of every day cleaning my desk and making my to-do list for in the morning.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Do easy things during your least productive hours. My least productive hours are from 7AM-9AM. It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get, those two hours of every day seem to be the time I get the LEAST amount done. Everyone has a time of day when their physical or mental energy is low. Schedule easy tasks during these times. It can be a good time to read emails, file papers, scan Facebook, tidy up.
   
   
3. On the flip side of that, do your most challenging tasks during your most productive hours. You have a time of day when your focus and energy are high. Do your most challenging tasks during this time, if possible, change the hours in your workday to suit your most and least productive times. For a very long time, I thought to make my business successful, I had to work 7AM-5PM like everyone else. And although I take phone calls and emails from 7AM-9AM, my typical “work” day is from about 9AM-7PM because I am most productive from about 4PM-7PM. I always try to end my day strong.
   
   
4. Reduce the amount of time spent on low-value activities. You might be surprised by how much time you spend watching TV, surfing the internet, or texting friends. Put your phone on silent during the day until you are ready to make and receive phone calls. Leave the TV off during the day and only open the internet tabs that you need for whatever task you are working on at the current moment. Putting this time to better use can easily add a few hours of productive time for most people.
   
   
5. Batch (or time block) your activities. I usually try batching or time blocking by the hour or every few hours, depending on the task. Answer and send all of your emails at once; Make and receive all phone calls; Work on all Social Media at one time; schedule all of your meetings within a few hours of the day (i.e. between 2-5 on Mondays and Wednesdays) and don’t see people outside of these hours. If you need a little help with time blocking, either see this article (https://beaconvirtualassistants.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-time-blocking-can-make-you-more.html) or give me a call for a complimentary consultation. Remember that it takes time to switch tasks and regain your focus.
   
   
6. Make use of waiting time. If you’re stuck in traffic, make your phone calls. If you’re waiting at the doctor’s office, deal with your email. Waiting for your child to get dressed? Clean up the kitchen. I am the master at this because I can’t stand to be idle, so any time I have to wait for anything, I am usually answering emails or making phone calls.
   
   
7. Track your time. The average person has little idea about how they spend their time. Track how you spend your time for a week. Every 30 minutes or once an hour, record how you spent the last half-hour or hour. Divide your activities into different categories and see how much time you spend on each.
   
   
8. Get help. Ask for help at work or hire an assistant to delegate some of your tasks to. Give your spouse or children some tasks to do at home. Is your mother constantly asking you if she can help? Give her something to do.
   
   

●     Hire someone to mow your grass.

●     Hire a cleaning service.

●     Buy your groceries online and have them delivered.

●     Pay someone to run your errands.

●     Delegate correspondence and meeting calendar to an assistant.

9. Schedule your day. Make the most of each day by making a schedule and sticking to it. Decide the most important tasks that need to be done and do those. You’ll waste less time and add hours to your day.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Work around your most productive hours. This may mean either getting up early and going to bed early or, just the opposite, staying up late and working, but sleeping in. Standard society says that the workday is 9AM-5PM. That is a theory that you as a business owner need to challenge. While I agree that you need to be available between those hours to answer calls, emails, and questions, it does not mean that you have to be ‘in the office, working” those hours. If you work best between 4AM and 9AM, then schedule your most difficult tasks during those most productive hours. Then take the rest of the day to recharge and work less strenuous tasks; get in a workout; maybe lunch with the family. When you are working your best schedule, then you will be amazed how much gets done and how many hours you can find. There are very few high-achievers that don’t adjust their schedules to fit their productivity needs.
    
    
11. Eliminate distractions. Turn off your phone. Use white noise to drown out distracting sounds. Close all of your computer windows and tabs other than what is needed. If you can get more accomplished each hour, you’re adding hours to your day.

 

The length of a day is fixed. After sleeping, there are a finite number of hours left. You can’t make the day longer, but you can get more out of each day. Get as much out of each day as you can. The more effective you are at using your time, the more success and free time you’ll enjoy.