It's a Matter of Time

Where did all time go?  

How much time do I have left?  

Time flies when you're having fun.  

I don't have enough time to get it all done.

These statements view time as an uncontrollable force. The fact is that time is an exhaustible resource.  Like money, you only have so much of it, and if you don't budget it, you won't have enough when you need it most.  When determining your effectiveness, a good starting question to ask yourself would be this.

"How am I spending my time?"

But before you go there, I'd encourage you to embrace the mindset of waste leads to haste.  In other words, if you don't watch the minutes you waste, you will be forced to rush through the minutes you have left, and ultimately, you will waste those minutes as well.

10 Ways to Stop Wasting Time

1. Stop checking your phone, and set a time that you will check it.
2. Turn off notifications on your phone.  These are big-time time-killers, and they do nothing but steal minutes from your day.
3. Build a regular routine into your day for getting your job done, and follow it.
4. Check email only at specific times and don't check in between.
5. Analyze how much time is lost in between tasks.
6. Reduce the number of minutes you lose in lengthy conversations.
7. Set alarms and reminders on your phone for completing tasks and don't ignore them.
8. Use the task feature on Google or Outlook calendars to ensure the completion of tasks.
9. Schedule a block of time in your day just for you to get your job done and let no one interrupt you.
10. Set daily deadlines to complete tasks and end your work day.  Deadlines accelerate productivity.

It's All a Matter of Time

Time is the constant, but how you use it is the variable.  To reach success, creativity is important, but productivity precedes creativity.  In fact without productivity, you'll never have the time to be creative.  If you can focus your efforts on optimizing your minutes, you will bank plenty of time to become more creative and ultimately more successful in your role.