The irony of time management is that there is no time to address time management issues.
“Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both” are wise words by Benjamin Franklin that still ring true today — perhaps even more so in this harried technologically advanced age. RescueTime.com editor Jory McKay pointed out that the irony of time management is that there is no time to address time management issues. However, never ending for many individuals is stress and concern that not enough time exists in a day to tackle necessary tasks.
Peter Turla, a time management expert based in Flower Mound, Texas, said key advice is the old adage “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” or in his words: “Don’t spend dollar time on penny projects.” He encourages individuals to evaluate daily schedules and provides these 10 time-saver tips:
1. Send a quick text or an email instead of spending time on a phone call, unless absolutely necessary.
2. “Look for the most important parts of the job that needs to be done, then do them and let the non-critical stuff slide.“
3. Settle for a lesser level of perfectionism if possible. For example, microwave the sauce instead of allowing it to simmer for a long period of time.
4. Evaluate “sidetrack” distractions (i.e. social media) and reduce or eliminate.
5. Give some tasks to others.
6. Determine what the consequences will be if a to-do item does not get accomplished; add less-important items to a to-do-later or not-going-to-do list.
7. Ask: What is the benefit of accomplishing a task? Is it worth forgoing other tasks?
8. Ask: Why am I doing this? If I weren’t already doing this, would I start doing it now?
9. Determine whether any actions throughout the day are done compulsively, or is there a specific reason and a positive outcome?
10. Avoid an “auto pilot” setting, and instead tackle important tasks intentionally.
Said Turla: “We squander too much time on meaningless things and then complain that we don’t have enough time for what is truly important. Don’t spend time dusting knickknacks if you have a leaking pipe.”