It's become such a norm these days to feel like we're all stuck with this never-ending list of to dos, but managing our time well, it's not about squeezing more into our day, it's about simplifying the way we work, and working more effectively and decreasing stress. In today's video I want to share some tips and tricks that have helped me make better use of my time, things that have just helped me clear up space for people and my hobbies, and some rest as well. So let's dive in. I don't always do my groceries with a shopping list, but when I do, I find in and out of the grocery store way more quickly. When I don't bring a list, though I'm running back and forth between aisles, trying to remember what I needed, and pretty often I forget to bring a crucial ingredient home. And if you like time management with our work or school, it kind of works much in the same way. If our mind is trying to remember all the things that we need to do, chances are we can't focus so well and we'll just end up forgetting to do something crucial. So to free your mind of all the distractions. Do a brain dump, and as often as you need to, just pouring out all your thoughts and your to dos. Onto a piece of paper or in the notes section of your phone. Getting it out of your head and someplace visible, it just frees up mental real estate, so you can better concentrate on the tasks at hand. To-do lists are powerful time management tools if used correctly but I think that we've all been a little bit guilty of littering our to-do lists with somewhat meaningless tasks, and then we feel accomplished when we cross something off when in reality we aren't getting around to any of the major items on that list. So something that might help is called the rule of three. A concept introduced by the author JD Meyer. First write down three things you want to accomplish this week. Then write down three items you want to achieve today, and repeat this daily. Ideally, the daily to-do items will help work towards achieving those weekly goals. This simple little rule helps provide structure and helps with working much more efficiently. When writing down a list of to dos, I find it really helps to make them actionable, so instead of writing down something like car, even though I totally know what I mean when I write that down, I try to add an action word if I can't, like change the oil of the car or wash the car. Adding that verb wash makes it easier for our minds to visualize us actually doing it which I feel increases the chance that we do actually do it, and if it's a larger item like study, try breaking it down into smaller tasks to make it more manageable. What is it exactly that you need to study? What chapters? What pages? and so on. One of my go-to sources for inspiration when it comes to being productive with my time is books. But sometimes I feel like it can be a bit of a catch-22, like reading a book can help you learn new and better ways to manage your time, but reading books can also take a fair bit of time. So if you're somebody who feels like it's hard to dedicate time to sit down and learn, I want to recommend an app I use regularly, called Blinkist App. It's an app that condenses the best insights from thousands of non-fiction books into just 15 minutes, that you can either read or listen to. And I personally love the listening feature because I just set it to play while I'm working on another task, like making a meal, something that just doesn't require much mental concentration, and in less than 15 minutes, I've learned something entirely new. I recently listened to the book The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey, and it was that book that actually inspired me to make this particular video, so if you're interested in giving book a read or listen, check out the link in the description box below. Blinkist App has actually been kind enough to partner with us on this video, so they're offering the first thousand people to click that link a 7-day free trial plus, 20% off the cost of membership if you're interested, you can get as many books as you'd like, and if it's not a good fit you can cancel anytime. If you schedule too little time to complete a project, you're more likely to feel stressed, if it's not finished on time. But scheduling too much time can work against you, as well. You see there's a concept called Parkinson's law, which states that work expands, so as to fill the time available for its completion. So if you give yourself one hour to write your blog post, it'll very likely take you about one hour. But if you give yourself four hours, it might take you about four hours. And I'm sure that we can all relate to that, so being realistic when you're scheduling time for each of the items on your to-do list, and try to find that Goldilocks sweet spot, not too much, but not too little. When you feel like you have a thousand things on your list to do, making time for stillness is probably the last thing on your mind, and I can totally understand that. I feel like when I do make the time for stillness and I return to the work, it's just easier and it's more pleasurable, and stillness can come in many forms, it can be going for a walk, stretching, even eating mindfully away from work and distractions. It's helped me so much more than I can explain, when it comes to feeling calm and composed, when I'm juggling multiple different projects. So if you're new to adding a moment of stillness, whatever that might be to your routine, the tip here is to add it to a pre-existing habit, so that way it serves as a reminder, for example brushing my teeth each morning, has been my reminder to take a moment to meditate right afterwards. My downfall when it comes to time management is continuously checking my phone. It disrupts my whole workflow, and I'm sure a lot of you can relate to this. But when it comes to these kinds of distractions, I don't try to fight it. I just try to moderate it. So for example, if I've crossed a major item off my to-do list, I welcome the distraction for about five or ten minutes before returning back to work , and setting a timer helps to make sure that I don't get lost in a trance of a scrolling, which tends to happen sometimes. And if you're somebody who feels procrastination happens subconsciously, you can always block certain websites on your computer or set your phone to airplane mode while you're working, until the next task is done. Our lives are full of excess. If you can identify any non essentials and remove it, you'll free up a bit more time for what really deserves your attention. And this might include learning to say no which can be really uncomfortable sometimes. But I found that it's gotten easier as I've gotten more of my priorities in order, and as I've learned that saying no is a sign of strength and not weakness. And also, remembering that you can always do it politely. We all know that expression "if you want something done right, then best do it yourself". And as true as that can be, in a lot of circumstances, it might not be the best use of our time to try to do everything ourselves. So one thing I always do is when I'm reviewing my to-do list, I try to see if there's anything I can either delegate to somebody else or at least do together with somebody else. One thing that Robin and I usually do is divide the tasks based on what we're good at and what we prefer to do. For example, I don't like doing the laundry, but I love watering the plants. So it helps to save time each week, knowing I don't need to deal with the clothes because Robin has it covered and he has more time knowing I'm the one caring for the plants. And now remember that time management is about working smarter, and not necessarily harder, so instead of being robotic with my tasks, I just try to bring in some awareness and see if things can be done in a simpler way, a more effective way, or just eliminated altogether. So try to find a realistic routine that you think is gonna work for you, and give everything time to fall into place. If you have any tips and tricks of your own, I welcome you to share that with everybody in the comment section below, and if you enjoyed this video, it always means a lot when you give it a thumbs up. Thanks a lot for watching Pick up Limes signing off. We'll see you the next video.
