The New Year is upon us, and you’re raring to tackle your New Year’s resolutions. Whether you’re finally ready to lose those last 10 pounds or striving for a promotion at work, the excitement of opportunity and achievement is in full swing as 2015 begins. Even though you’ve carefully laid your plans and sworn up and down that this year would be different, by the time the middle of January rolls around, life has gotten in the way of your resolutions. It just doesn’t seem like there are enough hours in the day to get everything done AND devote time to your quickly fading New Year dreams.
Sound familiar? This year I decided to set New Year goals for the first time in over five years. Week one started out strong, then week two came and things started to slip. I quickly realized that even the most detail-oriented plan meant nothing if I didn’t have enough time in the day to implement it. So where do you find an extra hour in your day just for you?
- Turn off the Netflix. I am almost ashamed to admit how many television series I have binge watched on Netflix, and I am the first to admit that it’s a lot of wasted time. Other tasks that eat up our free time include video games and Internet browsing. No, watching “Gilmore Girls,” playing Candy Crush, and scouring Pinterest will not get you any closer to your dreams for 2015.
- Find the most productive time of your day. I am a morning person to the core – my most productive hours of the work day start before the sun rises. Maybe you’re a night owl and you love finishing up projects when the office is nice and quiet. Identify your most productive time and use it to tackle your most difficult tasks; the sense of achievement you feel will spill over throughout the rest of the day, allowing you to tackle more tasks than you thought possible.
- Leave work at work. If your New Year’s resolutions are not directly linked to your career, you should keep them separated from it. Write out tomorrow’s work to-do list before you leave the office to clear your head so you’re not taking home anxieties that may keep you from putting in an honest effort toward your resolutions.
- Stick to a schedule. If you schedule time for your resolutions as priorities, you’re more likely to set aside the time to spend on them. If you wouldn’t cancel a meeting with your boss or lunch with a friend, then you shouldn’t cancel time to better yourself.
- Limit the interruptions. If you’ve ever looked at the office clock and thought, where did the day go? then chances are your day was probably laced with interruptions. One of the best pieces of wisdom I’ve heard is that your Inbox is someone else’s to-do list. When we answer the phone every time it rings or read an e-mail every time a pop-up appears, we’re letting other people’s priorities take precedence over our own; not to mention that every time you’re interrupted it takes a full 20 minutes to completely re-focus on your previous task. Hey, that’s what voicemail is for!
- Fill those pockets. Your day is absolutely filled with small pockets of time. Five minutes waiting on a co-worker to meet for lunch; twenty minutes to commute to work; ten minutes between back-to-back meetings. To fill these time pockets, our immediate reaction is to either interact with the people around us or interact with the technology around us. Rather than attempting to find something to fill your time within the moment, keep a list with you of small tasks that you need to accomplish. If your goal is to eat healthier, maybe you use that time to write out a grocery list or look up a new recipe for dinner. If your resolution is to adopt a pet, maybe you take that time to call animal shelters or look up vet clinic reviews in your neighborhood. These pockets can comprise hours of your day – use them wisely.
- Just say “No.” Unfortunately our modern society has decided that being busy is something to brag about. Hey, the phrase “keeping up with the Jones” is still around for a reason (even if it’s now confused with “keeping up with the Kardashians”). Realize that you don’t have to say “yes” to every social engagement that presents itself. If saying “yes” will require an extra hour of your week, realize that a “no” for someone else is really an hour-long “YES!” for you and your resolutions.
Whether you’ve made resolutions for the year, or you’re just looking for an extra hour in the day for some peace and quiet, I hope these time-saving ideas will help to keep your New Year’s resolutions alive. Let’s make 2015 our most dream-laden and efficient year yet!
– Lauren Olson, JETPUBS Inc.