Why you’re short on time
Time. A resource we all seem to be short on, no matter how efficiently we work, or how great our time management skills are.
We’ve been talking to leaders and teams across all industries, trying to crack the magic code on time. And the verdict is that time scarcity comes from that stressful feeling of having a long to-do list of things to tick off in a day, but not quite enough time to do it all.
What we’re looking for is not more free time. This space eventually leads to boredom. What we’re really craving is time abundance. This is the feeling we get when our days are filled up with purpose, passion and excitement.
So what’s preventing you from having this?
You’re capping both ends of the day.
Even though the world tends to operate within the 9-5 time bracket, we still have roughly 8 hours outside of that to fill with other things. A lot of people aren’t maxing out on that beautiful morning period and instead wake up at the last possible moment, have breakfast, get ready, and run out the door. Then after a day of work their energy battery has been spent and all that's left to do is have dinner, watch a bit of tv and head to bed. This compresses the working week, our Monday to Friday, filling it with not much else outside of work. When you make the most of this little windows on either end of the day, you’re doing more things for YOU, creating the feeling of time abundance.
Our suggestions:
Wake up earlier - do things for yourself before the work day begins, whether that’s exercising, getting on top of housework, or even just taking some time to read a book or do something creative.
For night owls - spend this late night time ‘doing’ something, rather than just watching mindless Netflix (a blackhole for time). If you’re a social butterfly, make early dinner plans with a friend, or if you’re more of a lone wolf
Split the day up - use your lunch break more creatively. We often spend ours wandering around the city running errands, or laying out in the sun.
You’re constantly task switching.
In theory multitasking seems like a great idea; to be able to cross a few tasks off the list all at once. But in reality, most humans are incapable of true multitasking. Instead we task switch rapidly. When we task switch, it takes roughly 23 minutes to productively re-engage with a task after a distraction. Multitasking not only lowers the quality of work for each task, but also increases the time taken overall. This is something that most people aren’t aware of and therefore continue to multitask. Overtime this compounds, the 2-3 hours it would have taken to complete a few things becomes 5-6, and you’re left feeling like there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Rather than ‘multi-tasking’, we suggest the following:
Block out 30-45min working slots in your calendar to prevent interruptions - that way you’re holding yourself accountable and giving your team visibility so they know only to interrupt with urgent items.
Set focus timers where you do just ONE thing for that period - avoid having to check the clock and let go of other responsibilities for this
Make a list of ‘park-it’ tasks to come back to later if they pop into mind - give your monkey mind the opportunity to feel heard but not take over while you’re focused
Put your phone on do not disturb while you're in flow state to avoid constant distractions
You don’t really practice time management.
Time management is more than just being able to stay focused on a task, and finish it up efficiently. It’s more than being productive and hustling to get things done. True time management means being able to properly prioritise the different things on your to-do list and actively plan your day in the best way to suit this. This is a skill that needs to be practiced over and over, and is one that we should be constantly improving in.
Our suggestions:
Block out times for both work AND breaks
Set goals for what needs to be accomplish during designated ‘work’ times
Start the day with an easy win - a task with the right amount of challenge and comfort, so you start the day with a sense of accomplishment.
You’re not cultivating or maintaining your energy
Biologically there are two main components that contribute to high levels of energy. These are food and sleep. There’s multiple studies that have the same stance; too little or too broken sleep patterns have a negative effect on both our health and performance. And coffee isn’t the answer. When our energy is low we start moving, thinking and doing in slow motion - rather than time being minimal, it’s more that we aren’t using our time well.
Our suggestions:
Try getting ready for bed an hour earlier
Eliminate coffee and stimulants after 1pm - give your body the chance to settle and slow down well before you start getting ready for sleep
Make sure you’re eating the right fuel your activities for the day - this one is dependent on the individual, eat what gives you energy and ensure it’s not too much or too little.
You’re creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
Although time itself is measured fairly objectively, the way we experience it differs between individuals. Like all things, the mindset we have plays a large part in how we process information. Think about it like this - if you tend to think more negatively, from the lack perspective, you might have thoughts around having too many tasks and not enough time to complete them. You start to create a continuous feedback loop to prevent cognitive dissonance, i.e. you will continue to add to your pile of tasks and in turn feel you have no time available to you. When you think more positively, you start to experience gratitude for the time you DO have available, and think about how to optimise it.
Our suggestions:
Be conscious of the stories you’re telling yourself and what you’d like to be true
Start the day with 3 things you want to accomplish, creating a more bite-size to do list that doesn’t instantly overwhelm you.
Revisit this with gratitude at the end of the day, thanking yourself for what you were able to get done.
“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mother Teresa, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.”
H. Jackson Brown Jr
