Tips for better time management

Does anyone have any tips or rules they live by in order to maximise their time management?

I don't think I'm necessarily "bad" at managing my time, but I don't follow any particular rules or routines.

It might be handy to start a thread with some handy hints on this topic!

 

Try and spend less time on Property Chat?

 

I found having specific days reserved for certain tasks works best for me.

Get into a routine, depending on what your tasks are. It really increases your work capacity.

 

Stop watching TV - or at least, watch less.

 

My basic home management tips.

Empty the dishwasher and/or clean the stove when waiting for your toast to be ready.

I do exercise at the bus stop... waiting up to 10 minutes, you can do a reasonable amount of exercise.

I refer to the calendar on my phone and on Airbnb a lot... I must stay on top of when every checkin and out will occur.

For bills, I keep them all together in one standard place and pay each just a few days before due. Though someone else recommends to pay them all as soon as you receive them. Horses for courses.

My clothes management, I used to be very untidy, everything used to end up on the floor next to my bed. Now the system is the clean clothes go in a certain corner for me to go to to pack away. Dirty clothes go in another particular area.
It sounds so simple, but I had to stop the old habit.

Dishwashing... I can have that as delayed start. Cool.

Laundry Washing - I have lots of washing from Airbnb. I wash them as soon as I practically can.

Clean as you go.... much better to not see mess and piles of dirty dishes and clothing everywhere. So put things away in a timely manner.

Much more pleasant to see a clean toilet and bathroom basin.

My partner still has quite a bit of clutter, I cannot force him to get rid of home clutter. But at least I can ask that he keeps public areas clean.

 

Along the lines of what @D.T. said I find being disciplined and limiting when I check my email to certain times helps, when I am working on things like reports (and tempted to procrastinate by checking and replying to non-urgent emails).

Delegate and outsource.

If I'm busy, I buy things online and get them delivered. If I know what I want, and it will take me more than say 40min in total to drive there, park, find the item, drive home etc, its worth paying $9.50 or whatever for delivery.

 

PC while watching TV

 

Ever considered "paying" them when you receive them but setting a scheduled transfer so they don't actually get paid until the due date?

 

Time management is simply prioritisation of what matters to you.

A few years ago I did an MBA. Basically I went to the office every day for the duration. At the same time I also had responsibility for teams in Australia, but also USA, Latin America and Africa meaning I had to struggle with ridiclous timezones. In one of the years (while doing my MBA) I did more than 30 international flights. Still I completed my MBA 'cause I de-prioritised everything else (except work).

Previously I was an avid rugby and MotoGP supporter, including travelling to multiple races each year. I have not even watched a race on TV in recent years, let alone attend any.

As another example, one of my colleagues spends his commute watching various TV episodes. Mine is spent listening to podcasts. Different priorities.

This year I completed another Masters. Have also continued to build my property portfolio, although the majority of my interest is in shares. I will admit that I did track down and watch a superb 90 minutes of Ireland beating the All Blacks this afternoon.

For specifics of day to day time management, I hate lists, they are however essential. Get the highest priorities done first. That, and delegation, it is one of the best time management techniques in existence.

Don't get me wrong, life is about balance. Thankfully for me, my wife provides this and insists in periods of downtime. I think most of her research into our travel destinations starts "is there mobile service" and if there is, she keeps looking.

 

I mostly use phone apps and not the actual normal internet site. I think some phone apps allow it though... and maybe the apps are improved and now have that feature... I should check. Cheers

 

Definitely routine, planning and blocking time are a few good ones.

An AM/PM model idea where creative tasks are scheduled for the high energy times of the day and routine tasks for when you aren't as mentally tuned it, perhaps after lunch etc.

Monitoring where time is spent, rescuetime is a good online app, reviewing and improving.

Taming email... that's a huge area for a potential time sink.

 

I am anal retentive for many management tasks, but Mr Angel is more Homer Simpson Casual. After he arrived at our engagement party two hours late and at least an hour late for his sister's wedding, I decided to always mark important events on our kitchen whiteboard two hours earlier than they really are. I also email him the dates to book his holidays from work commencing a day before I actually intend to leave.

 

This.

I have 99% of my bills on schedule or auto EFT. The only things that aren't are the green slip, car service, and its respective insurance.

There's enough to worry about without stressing over the time you need to spend actually paying a bill.

Other than that I'm a big Google Calendar user with multiple cals synced to our iPhone's. Everything goes in there, including a cal just for when the local markets or on within a 50k radius so we can go bargain or food hunting when we feel like it.

 

Calendars are a dated concept

Bircher museli is also a great breakfast timesaver. 30 seconds to prepare in a small bowl the night before and straight out of the fridge in the morning. All it then needs in the morning is a dollop of yoghurt.

 

I heard a good quote on a Tim Ferris podcast recently. He said "if it isn't "f@$k yeah" then it's a "no".

I think it is good to challenge a lot of the things we do to see if they are really bringing happiness or adding value to your life. Also having the confidence to say no to other people's or society's expectations. For a big chunk of the population it is perfectly normal to come home after work and spend 3-4hrs wstching TV each night, or on computers/video games/social media I choose to spend that time renovating my house, or researching the next purchase or exercising or something else I see as productive. Each to their own, but we all get 24hrs each day, it is up to us to decide how we use them.

Also for the love of God don't have kids! spare time with two preschool kids - Bahaha!

 

Time management is pretty simple really. Its a matter of doing what you should be doing, when you should be doing it... even if you dont feel like it.

That includes down time.

Nothing wrong with checking PC, facebook or watching TV if thats what you should be doing at that moment. The issue is when you are just doing it to procastinate from doing something else.

Take on less but do more. Most time management issues can be solved by not wasting time. Plan your day/week/month and do what you scheduled to do when you scheduled to do it.

Emails can be toxic if used poorly (and 99% of people use them poorly).
TV is a killer (I threw my TV out years ago and never looked back).
Delete facebook, twitter and your 'news' apps.

PC is just a neccesary evil

Blacky

 

Im really not sure about some of this guys advice. If you have ever worked with anyone who follows his 4hr work week its a right pain in the you know what.
You call them up and there is a message requesting an email. So you email them, and get an auto reply saying "I only check emails once a week - please wait till monday.
Painful. Keep doing it, and you wont need to worry about getting 'bugged' by pesky clients... you just wont have any.

 

Outsource things

I do some small things, can be better
- laundry 1-2 times a week. Turn on machine either early morning when prepping for work, or before sleep. Hang the clothes when either food is in the oven cooking, or within the 15 mins when hubby is still asleep.

- cook easy stuff (oven it, pan it or slow cook it)
- put dirty dishes in the dishwasher as soon as I finish the meal, same with laundry.
- get things done asap - I don't use notes, so either the tasks get done or they frustratingly stuck in my head
- have a hubby who always organised with his calendar

 

I read something interesting in "Men's health" magazine that people like Obama, Steve jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg do the same routine everyday ie clothes and etc so they can use the time and energy to focus on the important decision making. Maybe it's ot time management per se but interesting concept.