I am often asked how I am able to have a demanding job, write a couple times a week, have three kids (and Wonton) and still have a life. I am not Hermione with a secret time-turner. I waste time, have hobbies, and watch whatever Marvel (Wakanda Forever is next on the list) or Star Wars series the kids are into.
1. Say ‘no’ 2x as much as you do now
Everything you say yes to takes up time. The “future you” doesn’t have more time than the current you, but you seem to be much more willing to burden your future self with the half-hearted yes than take the pain of the current you.
I love this Seinfeld clip. It’s about how the evening version of you likes to stay up, but the morning version of you has to pay the price. We are being unkind to our future selves by not saying no more often. This is something I struggle with and I hope to work on more in the coming year.
2. Giving a fast no is better than a slow yes
You know there are things you’re putting off saying no to. In the longer you wait to say no. The more obligated you feel to say yes. What if you just gave a fast no rather than a slow Yes? Whenever you hold on something, you are letting it take up space in your mind and it is taking up mental share unnecessarily. By cutting it off and saying no you are ending the occupation of your space and time.
Back when I was a PayPal, they did a study where they survey people on their satisfaction whether or not they got a refund when they applied for buyer protection. People’s satisfaction was much higher when they didn’t get their money back then when they got their money back but much much later. People value time over money. And they value a faster no over a slower yes
3. Declare bankruptcy
I always wondered why every doctor’s appointment seems to be exactly 6 weeks away. If they are steady at seeing patients exactly 6 weeks away versus the time increasing, that means they have a steady not growing demand.
Every doctor’s office should just declare bankruptcy on appointments, or surge their coverage for a few weeks to get ahead. But this constant everything being 6 weeks out is actually very stressful for both patients and for doctors. It decreases compliance and increases no-shows by 30%. Just a hard reset could change all of that.
I had a friend who declared email bankruptcy when they got back from sabbatical. They turn their out-of-office message to say that they were not going to check any emails that came in while they were gone and instead to resend them anything that was necessary. That way they weren’t spending the first weeks wading through a month of emails.
4. Do the small things in between
I got this tip many years ago and it has been a huge time saver. A friend suggested I take a few minutes between meetings to just knock off a bunch of little things. The one or two-minute tasks 20 times a day equals an extra hour of work if you include the context switching and having to track them all backdown. If you quickly see an email or chat with something that needs addressing and immediately take care of it, you are much better off later in the day.
If you think of something have a minute, and take care of it. Don’t delay. You are taxing your mind to remember a number of extra things that are not relevant, so you are less focused on what is at hand.
5. Set up a process
Process doesn’t have to be a dirty word. When you set up a process. You are just sitting a routinized way of doing something. How much time have you spent looking for your glasses, or your keys? For me, it’s way too much.
I keep my medicine in my bathroom drawer where I’m sure to see it because that is where I keep my floss. It helps me to remember to take them (I have severe allergies) without a lot of friction. By setting up a home for something and a process to get it done, you’re not thinking of what you missed or what you forgot.
Whenever I take myself and the kids to the dentist, I set the next appointment immediately for six months later so I don’t have to recall when I need to do something.
6. Batch it up
I want my kids to eat home-cooked meals because it is something I grew up with. So I cook but in massive batches. Making 6 dozen naan from scratch is only 30% more effort than making one dozen. Tripling pizza dough means having enough to make three meals by tucking ⅔ in the fridge for a different night. Batch processing saves time. Yes. But it also saves tons of mental energy.
Shredding, cooking, laundry, and cleaning all work better as batch jobs rather than serial ones. I am sure in your life there’s many more. This may seem like a contradiction with do it now, but a bunch of things actually benefit from batch processing because you’re able to invest a longer period of time and get twice or three times as much done.
7. Do it now
Expense reports, paying bills, and clearing out junk mail so much better if you just do it immediately. I tested this out. I used to take a lot of time to do my expense reports at the end of a month or quarter. I found myself scrounging for receipts, or trying to figure out what an expense was. Recently. I moved to a real-time model. The minute I get a receipt I take a picture of it. I have all my receipts emailed to me instead of paper if possible. It has made my life a lot easier.
Likewise for the mail, I grab it for my way home and I immediately stand over the recycling bin and drop everything in that’s not necessary to process. I then grab the bills and pay them. For the ones not due yet, I set up bill pay for a future date. Then I shred the bill.
8. Automate it
What are some of the things that you can automate? I long ago set up bill pay for most of my bills, so when I get the email I just check the emails before the money goes out. It ensures that I never have to pay late fees and I’m never stressed about missing a payment.
I automatically set limits on the kids’ iPads and Pixel phones so they can learn to manage their own time. I set up deliveries for things I need including shampoo, body wash, and popcorn so we never run out.
9. Break it down
Many tasks seem completely daunting. However, if you break it down it’s so much easier. Don’t love decluttering? Do it one room at a time.
Behind on home repairs? Pick one thing to focus on each weekend and get it done. I find that tests see monumental until you have a system to understand them and ensure that you’re focusing on them.
10. Invest in the things that matter
There comes a point in your life when your time is more valuable than your money. That’s when you know it’s time to invest in help. Whether it’s hiring an organizer to bring order to your chaos, or having a housekeeper who can help you when the chores become overwhelming. The small things no longer in the back of your mind will be freeing.
Sometimes it’s just an organization system, and others. It’s an ongoing help. Who can manage some of the challenges of juggling the full-time job. One of the things that helped me most over the years was when the kids were small, having someone to drive them between their school and after school programs. It was really hard for us to get out during the day and having a driver shuttle them made all the difference to us. Even though it seemed small, it allowed us to focus on our work and for the kids too make it to their Chinese school safely.
I should prepare for the end of one year and look forward to the next, give yourself the greatest gift which is the gift of time. And save these hundred and twenty hours each year to invest in what really matters to you.
One of my most precious commodities is time; here is how I make the most of itRead MorePerspectives
