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Reclaim Your Time: 20 Great Ways to Find More Free Time

“The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.” - Henry David Thoreau

Are there a hundred different things you wish you could do with your life someday — anything from exercising to meditation or yoga to writing that novel you always wished you could write to reading more to relaxing and watching the sunrise?

But perhaps you never have the time, like most people.

The truth is, we all have the same amount of time, and it’s finite and in great demand. But some of us have made the time for doing the things we love doing, and others have allowed the constant demands and pressures and responsibilities of life to dictate their days.

It’s time to move from the second group back into the first. Reclaim your time. Create the life you want and make the most of the free time you lay claim to.

It’s not hard, though it does take a little bit of effort and diligence.

Reclaiming that free time

Take my life, for example: there was a time, not too long ago, when my day was packed from morning to night, when I had meetings and long to-do lists and worked long hours and the rest of my time was filled up with social engagements and meetings for civic responsibilities. I had little time for my family, which ate me up, and little time to do the things I’ve always wanted to do.

I’ve always wanted to write, but never had the time. I’ve always wanted to exercise, but was too busy. I always wanted to travel, but who can get away? I’ve always wanted to spend time with my kids, but work comes first, right?

Wrong. I finally got smart and decided that my life is my own, to do with as I wished, and so I took a time out to decide what I really wanted my life to be like. Then I designed my life, and made a series of decisions and steps to get my life to what I wanted it to be.

Today, I wake early and exercise or spend some quiet time reading and writing. I’ve written a novel and a non-fiction book. I write this blog. I run and have finally run a marathon (two actually) and completed a triathlon. I spend afternoons and evenings and all weekends with my kids and wife.

My life is what I’ve always wanted it to be, because I designed it to be that way and worked to make that design come true.

It can be that way for you, to the extent that you’re willing to make changes. Even if you just want to free up a little time for a hobby or for doing something relaxing, you can do that.

20 Ways to Find More Free Time

Not all of these will be applicable to your life — choose the ones you can apply and give them a try:

Take a time out. Freeing up your time starts with taking a step back to take a good look at your life. You need to block off at least an hour. Several hours or half a day is better. A whole day would be awesome. A weekend would be even more ideal, though not necessary practical for many folks. With this block of time, take a look at your life with some perspective. Is it what you’ve always wanted? How would you get to where you’ve always wanted to be? What do you enjoy doing, but don’t have enough time to do? What things actually fill up your day? Are there things you could drop or minimize to make more time? We’ll look at some of these things in the following items, but it starts with taking a time out to think and plan.
Find your essentials. What is it that you love to do? Make a short list of 4-5 things. These are the things you want to make room for.
Find your time-wasters. What do you spend a lot of your time on that isn’t on your essential list? Take a close look at these things and really think about whether they’re necessary, or if there are ways to reduce, minimize or eliminate these things. Sometimes you do things because you assume they’re necessary, but if you give it some thought you can find ways to drop them from your life. Figure out what you do simply to waste time — maybe surfing certain sites, watching TV, talking a lot at the water cooler, etc. You’re going to want to minimize these time-wasters to make room for the more important stuff, the stuff that makes you happy and that you love to do.
Schedule the time. As you sit down and think about your life and what you want to do, versus what you actually do, you will be looking at ways to free up time. It’s crucial that you take a blank weekly schedule (you can just write it out on a piece of paper, or use your calendar) and assign blocks for the things you love — the stuff on your essentials list. If you want to exercise, for example, when will you do it? Put the blocks of time on your schedule, and make these blocks the most important appointments of your week. Schedule the rest of your life around these blocks.
Consolidate. There are many things you do, scattered throughout your day or your week, that you might be able to consolidate in order to save time. A good example is errands — instead of running one or two a day, do them all in one day to save time and gas. Another example is email, or any kind of communication — batch process your email instead of checking and reading and responding throughout the day. Same thing with meetings, paperwork, anything that you do regularly.
Cut out meetings. This isn’t possible for everyone, but in my experience meetings take up a lot of time to get across a little information, or to make easy decisions that could be made via email or phone. As much as you can, minimize the number of meetings you hold and attend. In some cases this might mean talking to your boss and telling her that you have other priorities, and asking to be excused. In other cases this might mean asking the people holding the meeting if you can get the info in other ways. If so, you’ve saved yourself an hour or so per meeting (sometimes more).
Declutter your schedule. If you have a heavily packed schedule, full of meetings and errands and tasks and projects and appointments, you’re going to want to weed it out so that it’s not so jam-packed. Find the stuff that’s not so essential and cancel them. Postpone other stuff. Leave big blank spaces in your schedule.
Re-think your routine. Often we get stuck in a routine that’s anything but what we really want our days to be like. Is there a better way of doing things? You’re the creator of your life — make a new routine that’s more pleasant, more optimal, more filled with things you love.
Cut back on email. I mentioned email in an earlier point above, regarding consolidating, but it’s such a major part of most people’s lives that it deserves special attention. How often do you check email? How much time do you spend composing emails? If you spend a major part of your work day on email, as many people do (and as I once did), you can free up a lot of time by reducing the time you spend in email. Now, this won’t work for everyone, but it can work for many people: choose 2-3 key times during the day to process your inbox to empty, and keep your responses to 5 sentences. (Read more.)
Learn to say no. If you say “yes” to every request, you will never have any free time. Get super protective about your time, and say “no” to everything but the essential requests. Here’s how.
Keep your list to 3. When you make out your daily to-do list, just list the three Most Important Tasks you want to accomplish today. Don’t make a laundry list of tasks, or you’ll fill up all your free time. By keeping your task list small, but populated only by important tasks, you ensure that you are getting the important stuff done but not overloading yourself.
Do your Biggest Rock first. Of the three Most Important Tasks you choose for the day, pick the biggest one, or the one you’re dreading most, and do that first. Otherwise you’ll put that off as much as possible and fill your day with less important things. Don’t allow yourself to check email until that Big Rock is taken care of. It starts your day with a sense of major accomplishment, and leaves you with a lot of free time the rest of the day, because the most important thing is already done.
Delegate. If you have subordinates or coworkers who can do a task or project, try to delegate it. Don’t feel like you need to do everything yourself. If necessary, spend a little time training the person to whom you’re delegating the task, but that little time spent training will pay off in a lot of time saved later. Delegating allows you to focus on the core tasks and projects you should be focusing on.
Cut out distractions. What is there around your workspace that distracts you from the task at hand? Sometimes it’s visual clutter, or papers lying around that call for your attention and action, or email or IM notifiers on your computer that pop up at the wrong time, or the phone, or coworkers. See if you can eliminate as many of these as possible — the more you can focus, the more effective you’ll be and the less time you’ll waste. That equals time saved for the good stuff.
Disconnect. The biggest of distractions, for most people, is the Internet. My most productive times are when I’m disconnected from the grid. Now, I’m not saying you need to be disconnected all the time, but if you really want to be able to effectively complete tasks, disconnect your Internet so you can really focus. Set certain times of the day for connectivity, and only connect during those periods.
Outsource. If you can’t delegate, see if you can outsource. With the Internet, we can connect with people from all over the world. I’ve outsourced many things, from small tasks to checking email to legal work to design and editing work and more. That allows me to focus on the things I’m best at, the things I love doing, and saves me a lot of time.
Make use of your mornings. I find that mornings are the absolute best times to schedule the things I really want to do. I run, read and write in the mornings — three of the four things on my Essentials List (spending time with family is the other thing on the list). Mornings are great because your day hasn’t been filled with a bunch of unscheduled, demanding, last-minute tasks that will push back those Essentials. For example, if you schedule something for late afternoon, by the time late afternoon rolls around, you might have a dozen other things newly added to your to-do list, and you’ll put off that late-afternoon Essential. Instead, schedule it for the morning, and it’ll rarely (if ever) get pushed back.
The Golden Right-after-work Time. Other than mornings, I find the time just after work to be an incredible time for doing Essential things. Exercise, for example, is great in the 5-o’clock hour, as is spending time with family, or doing anything else relaxing.
Your evenings. The time before you go to bed is also golden, as it exists every single day, and it’s usually completely yours to schedule. What do you want to do with this time? Read? Spend time with your kids? Work on a hobby you’re passionate about? Take advantage of this time.
Lunch breaks. If the three golden times mentioned above don’t work for you, lunch breaks are another good opportunity to schedule things. Some people like to exercise, or to take quiet times, during their lunch breaks. Others use this time to work on an important personal goal or project.

“The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.” - Arthur Lacey

—
If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)

Reclaim Your Time: 20 Great Ways to Find More Free Time

“The really efficient laborer will be found not to crowd his day with work, but will saunter to his task surrounded by a wide halo of ease and leisure.” - Henry David Thoreau

But perhaps you never have the time, like most people.

It’s time to move from the second group back into the first. Reclaim your time. Create the life you want and make the most of the free time you lay claim to.

It’s not hard, though it does take a little bit of effort and diligence.

Reclaiming that free time

My life is what I’ve always wanted it to be, because I designed it to be that way and worked to make that design come true.

It can be that way for you, to the extent that you’re willing to make changes. Even if you just want to free up a little time for a hobby or for doing something relaxing, you can do that.

20 Ways to Find More Free Time

Not all of these will be applicable to your life — choose the ones you can apply and give them a try:

Take a time out. Freeing up your time starts with taking a step back to take a good look at your life. You need to block off at least an hour. Several hours or half a day is better. A whole day would be awesome. A weekend would be even more ideal, though not necessary practical for many folks. With this block of time, take a look at your life with some perspective. Is it what you’ve always wanted? How would you get to where you’ve always wanted to be? What do you enjoy doing, but don’t have enough time to do? What things actually fill up your day? Are there things you could drop or minimize to make more time? We’ll look at some of these things in the following items, but it starts with taking a time out to think and plan.
Find your essentials. What is it that you love to do? Make a short list of 4-5 things. These are the things you want to make room for.
Find your time-wasters. What do you spend a lot of your time on that isn’t on your essential list? Take a close look at these things and really think about whether they’re necessary, or if there are ways to reduce, minimize or eliminate these things. Sometimes you do things because you assume they’re necessary, but if you give it some thought you can find ways to drop them from your life. Figure out what you do simply to waste time — maybe surfing certain sites, watching TV, talking a lot at the water cooler, etc. You’re going to want to minimize these time-wasters to make room for the more important stuff, the stuff that makes you happy and that you love to do.
Schedule the time. As you sit down and think about your life and what you want to do, versus what you actually do, you will be looking at ways to free up time. It’s crucial that you take a blank weekly schedule (you can just write it out on a piece of paper, or use your calendar) and assign blocks for the things you love — the stuff on your essentials list. If you want to exercise, for example, when will you do it? Put the blocks of time on your schedule, and make these blocks the most important appointments of your week. Schedule the rest of your life around these blocks.
Consolidate. There are many things you do, scattered throughout your day or your week, that you might be able to consolidate in order to save time. A good example is errands — instead of running one or two a day, do them all in one day to save time and gas. Another example is email, or any kind of communication — batch process your email instead of checking and reading and responding throughout the day. Same thing with meetings, paperwork, anything that you do regularly.
Cut out meetings. This isn’t possible for everyone, but in my experience meetings take up a lot of time to get across a little information, or to make easy decisions that could be made via email or phone. As much as you can, minimize the number of meetings you hold and attend. In some cases this might mean talking to your boss and telling her that you have other priorities, and asking to be excused. In other cases this might mean asking the people holding the meeting if you can get the info in other ways. If so, you’ve saved yourself an hour or so per meeting (sometimes more).
Declutter your schedule. If you have a heavily packed schedule, full of meetings and errands and tasks and projects and appointments, you’re going to want to weed it out so that it’s not so jam-packed. Find the stuff that’s not so essential and cancel them. Postpone other stuff. Leave big blank spaces in your schedule.
Re-think your routine. Often we get stuck in a routine that’s anything but what we really want our days to be like. Is there a better way of doing things? You’re the creator of your life — make a new routine that’s more pleasant, more optimal, more filled with things you love.
Cut back on email. I mentioned email in an earlier point above, regarding consolidating, but it’s such a major part of most people’s lives that it deserves special attention. How often do you check email? How much time do you spend composing emails? If you spend a major part of your work day on email, as many people do (and as I once did), you can free up a lot of time by reducing the time you spend in email. Now, this won’t work for everyone, but it can work for many people: choose 2-3 key times during the day to process your inbox to empty, and keep your responses to 5 sentences. (Read more.)
Learn to say no. If you say “yes” to every request, you will never have any free time. Get super protective about your time, and say “no” to everything but the essential requests. Here’s how.
Keep your list to 3. When you make out your daily to-do list, just list the three Most Important Tasks you want to accomplish today. Don’t make a laundry list of tasks, or you’ll fill up all your free time. By keeping your task list small, but populated only by important tasks, you ensure that you are getting the important stuff done but not overloading yourself.
Do your Biggest Rock first. Of the three Most Important Tasks you choose for the day, pick the biggest one, or the one you’re dreading most, and do that first. Otherwise you’ll put that off as much as possible and fill your day with less important things. Don’t allow yourself to check email until that Big Rock is taken care of. It starts your day with a sense of major accomplishment, and leaves you with a lot of free time the rest of the day, because the most important thing is already done.
Delegate. If you have subordinates or coworkers who can do a task or project, try to delegate it. Don’t feel like you need to do everything yourself. If necessary, spend a little time training the person to whom you’re delegating the task, but that little time spent training will pay off in a lot of time saved later. Delegating allows you to focus on the core tasks and projects you should be focusing on.
Cut out distractions. What is there around your workspace that distracts you from the task at hand? Sometimes it’s visual clutter, or papers lying around that call for your attention and action, or email or IM notifiers on your computer that pop up at the wrong time, or the phone, or coworkers. See if you can eliminate as many of these as possible — the more you can focus, the more effective you’ll be and the less time you’ll waste. That equals time saved for the good stuff.
Disconnect. The biggest of distractions, for most people, is the Internet. My most productive times are when I’m disconnected from the grid. Now, I’m not saying you need to be disconnected all the time, but if you really want to be able to effectively complete tasks, disconnect your Internet so you can really focus. Set certain times of the day for connectivity, and only connect during those periods.
Outsource. If you can’t delegate, see if you can outsource. With the Internet, we can connect with people from all over the world. I’ve outsourced many things, from small tasks to checking email to legal work to design and editing work and more. That allows me to focus on the things I’m best at, the things I love doing, and saves me a lot of time.
Make use of your mornings. I find that mornings are the absolute best times to schedule the things I really want to do. I run, read and write in the mornings — three of the four things on my Essentials List (spending time with family is the other thing on the list). Mornings are great because your day hasn’t been filled with a bunch of unscheduled, demanding, last-minute tasks that will push back those Essentials. For example, if you schedule something for late afternoon, by the time late afternoon rolls around, you might have a dozen other things newly added to your to-do list, and you’ll put off that late-afternoon Essential. Instead, schedule it for the morning, and it’ll rarely (if ever) get pushed back.
The Golden Right-after-work Time. Other than mornings, I find the time just after work to be an incredible time for doing Essential things. Exercise, for example, is great in the 5-o’clock hour, as is spending time with family, or doing anything else relaxing.
Your evenings. The time before you go to bed is also golden, as it exists every single day, and it’s usually completely yours to schedule. What do you want to do with this time? Read? Spend time with your kids? Work on a hobby you’re passionate about? Take advantage of this time.
Lunch breaks. If the three golden times mentioned above don’t work for you, lunch breaks are another good opportunity to schedule things. Some people like to exercise, or to take quiet times, during their lunch breaks. Others use this time to work on an important personal goal or project.

“The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.” - Arthur Lacey

—
If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg. I’d appreciate it. :)

Posted on 23 July 2008 in Happiness, Simplicity |
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Comments (71)

Laurie Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 18:47 pm

I made free time yesterday and when canoeing in my new “Mad River”! It was incredible!!!

Vered Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 18:56 pm

Ah, learning to say no… that’s a tough one for me. It’s certainly a personal goal of mine, and I think I’ve got the theory of it covered. But when faced with a request, I find it VERY hard to say no and let people down.

Writer Dad Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 18:58 pm

Nothing is better than the morning, before the ceaseless sounds of the city conspire to strangle my quiet. Anything I really want to get done, gets done then.

Thomas Herold Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:01 pm

Ask yourself every morning if what you are doing is really what you want to do. On the weekend get up and take 30 minutes to think about what your dream life would look like.

Don’t wast any time going after the money, it will not lead to happiness and success in your life. You will always run behind it. One day you are exhausted…

Live your dream life and you will have plenty of time. There is nothing you have to do, only what you like to do.

Cheers

Thomas Herold
CEO Dream Manifesto

SpaceAgeSage Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:02 pm

Leo,
Your post reminded me of this quote from Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones: “I used to think freedom meant doing whatever you want. It means knowing who you are, what you are supposed to be doing on this earth, and then simply doing it.”

Corey - Simple Marriage Project Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:29 pm

Learning to say no. Many times, no is a complete sentence. This is a great way to claim your life.

Decluttering is way up there as well. I’ve discovered these two are the most important for me to live life on my terms.

Andrea Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:32 pm

Some years ago I started reclaiming my commute time, by switching from driving to and from work to taking public transit. It takes about the same amount of time, costs less (especially given the current price of gas!), and I now have about two hours a day for myself. I love to do handwork (knitting, crochet, quilting, needlework, etc.), and many projects can be made portable so that I can do them on the train or bus. It’s so much better for my nerves than sitting behind the wheel being mad (at other drivers, and at the fact that I was wasting such huge chunks of my time).

Tanner Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:48 pm

Love this list, I find that my most creative time is early morning and late night! I have already identified some real time waters, thanks for the article!

Adam Sicinski @ Study Matrix Art Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:49 pm

These are some great suggestions.

I would like to add that effective time management heavily relies on the questions we consistenly ask ourselves on a daily basis. We should always be focusing our mind on “time saving” thoughts that move us away from busyness and into productivity. Moreover this will free up our time to do other things.

Questions like:

- What is the best use of my time right now?
- How can I do this faster and more efficiently?

These types of questions will help us focus on areas that will make us more productive and save us time to do the things that bring a greater sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

If anyone is interested I have created a Time Management Mind Map on my site that can be used as a great reference guide that will help you gain more time throughout your day..

Stephen Smith Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:56 pm

>>Thomas - “Ask yourself every morning if what you are doing is really what you want to do.” - that is a great suggestion, thanks for sharing!

Ashley S. Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 19:58 pm

Amen to this message. Meetings are a waste of time when you could use time more effectively via shorter conference calls or widely distributed emails. Plus, they totally induce sleep, especially if they last longer than 30 minutes.

Great post!

Ashley S.

Michael Moniz Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 20:23 pm

“Time is a gift, given to you, given to give you the time you need, the time you need to have the time of your life.”

-Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

I love this quote and it always reminds me to make the most out of my time because you can NEVER get it back once it is gone.

Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 20:24 pm

I love using my lunch time to edit my blogs. I go to the local library and knock out an hour of work before I go home to post a blog. It helps reduce my stress.

That’s what taking advantage of your time is all about.

Tony Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 20:32 pm

Excellent advice, Leo. 12, 13 and 14 truly make a difference in my opinion.

hak Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 20:48 pm

I’ve found that the busier I am, the more I’m forced to pare down to essentials. Not ideal, yet it works for me…someone with the attention span of a three-year-old.

Otherwise, great advice as usual.

hak

Andre Kibbe Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 21:00 pm

I find it helps to reexamine how much time is spend indulging in a certain habit, and questioning whether or not that amount of time is necessary to satisfy the impulse. Instead of watching hours of TV a night, maybe watch the one show you really want to watch. Instead of drinking cups of coffee, see if only one will give you the energy boost you need. Review which feeds in your RSS reader that you look forward to reading, and eliminate the rest.

These are just examples — they may or may not be time sinks for you. But try to see if there are other habits that can be curtailed or eliminated.

Adam Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 21:02 pm

These are excellent points. Setting time aside in your life is extremely important and something that I generally forget to do.

My work takes over and I lose time for myself.

Great tips.

Mister Poppy Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 21:17 pm

Leo,

I freed up a great deal of precious time by simply not reading that very long list.

Leo Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 21:30 pm

@Mister Poppy: It sounds like you are already a master at this, and don’t need the article … congratulations!

nick Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 22:08 pm

Great article. Learning to be more effective and efficient has allowed me a lot more time. Anyone looking for more detailed info should check out the book “The 4 Hour Work Week”. Very down to the point tips and how tos.

Kris Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 22:15 pm

Although I always yearn for more time, I realize that I have to accept that each day has limits and I must make choices according to my priorities.

Even on “bad days” as long as I’ve done my morning exercise, made time for play with my son, and ate healthy, then it is still a good day.

Those are my main priorities right now.

Thanks for the inspiration as usual, Leo!

I have Zen Fever! Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 22:19 pm

Another great Article. Keep up the good work Leo. I like the lists.

Victor Cheng Says:

July 23rd, 2008, 23:50 pm

Vered,

Something to think about. You said you find it tough to say no to people because you don’t want to let them down. Is it more important to not let others down or more important to not let yourself down?

If you had to choose one, which would it be? The answer you give to yourself is typically very revealing of your inner dialogue. Managing your time is hard to do without managing your mindset first.

Incidentally, I’ve personally found #12 to be the most effective - do your big rock first. I disagree with #11 keep your to do list to only 3 items. I like keeping my to do list to 1 major item per day. The rest just somehow gets done with the leftover time. But the progress in life, relationships, and business is all done in the 1 big thing each day.

Eugene (Editor, Varsity Blah) Says:

July 24th, 2008, 0:24 am

“The happiness of too many days is often destroyed by trying to accomplish too much in one day. We would do well to follow a common rule for our daily lives – do less and do it better.” – Dale E. Turner

mobashir Says:

July 24th, 2008, 1:18 am

All good tips. I would like to add one of my own. Sometimes you can save time searching for the answer to a question by using a question answer service like Question Mania or Texperts, where someone will do the search for you. It’s especially handy when you are out and about, and don’t have ready access to a computer.

Liara Covert Says:

July 24th, 2008, 1:25 am

Time does not cost anything. It is always free and available. Human beings sometimes convince themselves there is a shortage. Yet, time only exists in your mind just as happienss and contentment or fulfillment are also visions you create. Discipline yourself to be selective.

Courtney Moore Says:

July 24th, 2008, 2:12 am

What a great post, thank you. I’ve been meaning to cut back on my online time, and this will really help me.

IBS symptoms Says:

July 24th, 2008, 2:23 am

Email is the killer, and checking webstats, and eating and sleeping ;)

BurningR0m Says:

July 24th, 2008, 3:38 am

Maybe it’s also useful to communicate more via phone than with emails. At the very most cases you can avoid misunderstandings, and check out things faster.

“The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.” - Arthur Lacey

Full acknowledge to this saying. This is what we should keep in mind.

Thank you for this great post!

Joe | A New Band A Day Says:

July 24th, 2008, 5:06 am

This is pretty much why I read Zen Habits: clarity and intelligence. These tips are all ones which can actually work, if applied.

For me, setting a defined number of things to do each day amnd sticking to them really works, as does finding out what the important stuff is and ensuring they get done to make you happy. Happiness doesn’t equal selfishness, but a lot of people see it that way.

Joe - http://www.anewbandaday.com

banji - LessonInLife Says:

July 24th, 2008, 6:33 am

My number 1 time waster is the internet.. There’s so many things to do,

1) articles to stumbled and digg.. I so happen to come across quite a few high quality post, and it feels like a responsibility to share it with friends :)

2) RSS Feed to read - Being a some sort of a perfectionist only make this worst, I want to read everything in my list just to avoid missing good ones

3) Work - both my full time work and my freelance demand a lot of my time. At least they’re paying my bills so can’t complain

4) Email to reply and take action - I love replying emails and comments. Since I started blogging, I never ignore a comment on my blog. Of course I only get about 4 to 5 comments per day but it is my way of appreciating those who take the time.

5) The new love of my life - I very recently am blessed with the birth of my baby. Now everything else take second place. :) It’ll be awhile before I’m able to restructure my whole schedule again.

Thanks for the post, Leo.

Marc and Angel Hack Life Says:

July 24th, 2008, 7:26 am

How about grouping similar tasks back-to-back? Switching gears between different types of tasks can be tough. It takes most people several minutes to get into a productive mental groove geared toward a speficic type of task. Therefore, it makes sense to group similar tasks in an effort to minimize the number of rough patches, and thus wasted time, between task orders.

I wrote a bit nore about this here:
10 Ways to Save 10 Minutes Daily
http://www.marcandangel.com/2008/06/09/10-ways-to-save-10-minutes-daily/

Your other points are great! Thanks Leo! ;-)

janelle Says:

July 24th, 2008, 8:05 am

Great article..It is so easy for me to get caught up in “work” that at the end of the day I’ve realized that I’m too tired and worn out to do much else. It’s difficult to break away from work-mode sometimes..Thanks for the advice :)

Zendad Says:

July 24th, 2008, 8:07 am

My personal fave is making the most of just before going to bed to set the agenda for the next day. I find it very effective when one day’s tasks are done to begin focusing on tomorrows with clarity. In our house, turning off the damn tv is a help. That sucker lures you in and before you know it you’ve watched half an hour of something you’re not that particularly interested in. Great tips Leo!
Zendad
http://www.zendad.net

BeyondRandom Says:

July 24th, 2008, 8:31 am

As usual, Great Post!

I know a few people on my contacts I’m going to have to forward this to.

Thanks!

Lisa | Holistic Treatment for Depression Says:

July 24th, 2008, 9:20 am

Yes, hold onto those precious morning and evening hours! I’ve also made the decision to stop spending time with people who aren’t essential to me, you know, the “easy-come, easy-go” people. Real friends increase happiness and make leisure time more precious — and I find I’m more myself with them, as well.

Lisa
http://www.Holistic-Treatment-for-Depression.com
“Your Daily Foothold to Happiness”

keyvan Roshanbin Says:

July 24th, 2008, 9:23 am

good web

Abhijeet Rajwade Says:

July 24th, 2008, 10:05 am

Great knowledge in simple words!!!

PersonalBudgetTraining Says:

July 24th, 2008, 10:14 am

Time wasters are a big thing. Write down what you do all day long, sort of like a food log. Make sure you put how long you were doing the task. In a perfect you are going to want to minimize these time-wasters to make room for the more important things.

The Four Hour work week is a good start for reading on this matter. This book really addresses the email auto response letting people know that you are not checking email every 15 minutes throughout the day.

My 10 kids cringe when they tell me they do not have time for chores!

Vishnu Says:

July 24th, 2008, 10:15 am

Leo,

It would be nice if you could intersperse your list with more real life examples and anecdotes. It would provide a better perspective of what you are trying to convey and also make the article a more interesting read. On the flip side it would make the article longer. Just my 2 cents.

Nevertheless, this is a great list and I am planning to implement a few of the suggestions in my life. Especially 1, 2, 3, 12 and 14. Thanks,

Vishnu

Eden Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:07 am

So many great tips. I have a lot to work on!

Alecia D. Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:21 am

I personally already use the 3 items on my daily MIT list and batch processing of errands and emails at work. Just using those two tips have already improved my productivity and lifestyle. I’m still looking to pick up two more tips so that I can begin to carve out big enough blocks of time to accomplish the things that will help me move toward living life on my terms (ie. working for myself)!

Mookie Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:22 am

Leo-
Do you have any suggestions for getting others to help with the housework without causing a fight?

Dragan Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:28 am

I think seriously that the best way to find much more free time for yourself is to momentary stop read such shit like this, go somewhere and take a rest of people who force you to do something stupid. Only person who do not have any serious purpose of life can read things like this. If you want to live, go and just live.
PS. Every time when I read similar shit I think how everywhere exist a lot of stupid people!
I wish you good luck! I think it will be necessary!

TDC Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:29 am

Recently I spent a week in hospital and used that time away from the PC as well as all the day to day stresses of life to assess where my life currently is and where I want it to be. Although it wasn’t planned taking that time to assess where I spend most of my time and where I can do things more wisely really helped to revitalise my outlook.

Pete Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:35 am

I read a great book called ‘The Four Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferris (google it). You would be amazed how much more productive you are if you create more free time for yourself. People think the more they work the better off they are. However, nothing could be further from the truth.

http://www.YinVsYang.com

Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Map Says:

July 24th, 2008, 11:53 am

I make every use of my time. When I’m waiting for my kids for their classes to end, I would be reading. I notice that more often than not, other mummies will be just sitting there and staring into space. I also do not watch any more TV programs that are meaningless. The garbage on TV is really a time waster!

Evelyn

Jonathan B. Says:

July 24th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Dragon, may I suggest that you don’t waste time worrying about “stupid people” and instead focus on improving your English writing ability? See what I did there? ;)

However, it is true that many people are already aware of what they need to do in life. They just need to do it. It is also true that some people just enjoy reading things as a reminder, and there’s nothing wrong with that either.

United Voices Says:

July 24th, 2008, 12:08 pm

It is due to posts like these that I keep coming back to zenhabits.net

I’m a really die hard fan of zenhabits and I don’t hesitate to refer this website to my friends as well.

Thanks for this particular article and wishing you the best of luck.

tyroeternal Says:

July 24th, 2008, 12:19 pm

Wow. I went into this article not really worrying about finding free time… I did not know what I would do with more free time if I found it. By the time I finished, I realized that there ARE things I want to accomplish and the means to do so are already there! Thank you for the reality check!

Julie in Houston Says:

July 24th, 2008, 12:42 pm

I love your site. I just mentioned it on my blog today. I’m inspired to do less, although in the end I think it’s really doing more. It’s good to take the time to implement these things into your life. I really need to make time to get back into a hobby of mine and I really need to cut back on EMAIL!!!!

http://www.peglegstarfish.com

Brent Says:

July 24th, 2008, 12:56 pm

Leo said:
“Then I designed my life, and made a series of decisions and steps to get my life to what I wanted it to be.”

I occasionally hear about people “designing” their life. I’ve made a couple of attempts at this, but they always fail to come to anything. I’m sure that this is because I don’t have a starting point and don’t really have a good idea of what a design would look like once it was fleshed out.

So my question to Leo (and the rest of you) is: what does your design look like? Is it something as mundane as a list of goals, a description of your perfect day, or something entirely different? Do you have a process that you used to arrive at it, or did it just sort of come to you?

Some people are very good at understanding the things they want and putting them into words and then actions. Others of us need some help. I’d really appreciate an article that gave me some starting points and a recipe to follow to get me on the road to my own design.

nudgeme Says:

July 24th, 2008, 13:10 pm

This was such a timely post as I was torn about taking time out today to go for a bike ride and swim in the sea with my sister’s step kids. I almost stayed glued to the computer … again, and then decided to switch it off and get outside! I’m based in the UK and we had glorious sunshine so it would have been madness not to go. I like what you say Leo about doing your important stuff, but sometimes we can get very blurred about exactly what that is. Getting clear on that makes it far easier to do a lot of the other points you made eg say no! I spend my time helping people to get to their important stuff, and have just written a ‘how to’ on exactly this, hence your post resonating so much with me. Thanks for adding to my thoughts on this, appreciated.

Amy Says:

July 24th, 2008, 14:55 pm

I’m with mookie. It is hard to function in a messy home, but I don’t want to spend my life cleaning. How do we persuade partners and kids (or room mates) to pitch in?

Leo - how do you allocate housework in your home? I’d love to know how you manage with 6 kids!

Leo Says:

July 24th, 2008, 15:00 pm

@Mookie: It’s best to try to enlist their help and use a team approach … something like, “How can we work together to make sure all the work gets done and distributed fairly? Maybe we can make a chore chart or something similar?” Just stay away from blaming.

@Dragan: Well, that’s certainly another approach. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to insult people who read lists of tips they find useful — who can’t find value in other people’s ideas? I know I use such lists all the time, and I’m glad people find use in what I write.

@Brent: It’s not a complicated design or anything. I just list the things I love to do (spending time with family,writing, reading, running), and then block out time for those things. I create a perfect day and a perfect week. I eliminate as much as possible everything else, so that I have more space in my life. That takes time to achieve, but in the end it’s worth it.

Leo Says:

July 24th, 2008, 15:01 pm

@Amy: How do we allocate work? We sit down and figure out what needs to be done and how everyone can pitch in. My wife and I make sure everyone who can help does. Even the two year old knows how to pick up her toys when we ask her. The older kids can clean just about anything in the house, so in the end my wife and I aren’t doing a ton of work.

dai Says:

July 24th, 2008, 15:29 pm

Wow!
Great points.
However, I could not get the point “outsourcing”

etavitom Says:

July 24th, 2008, 16:25 pm

these are great tips!! taking a time-out, outsourcing and saying no are my favorites. most appreciated, brad

Kris Says:

July 24th, 2008, 20:14 pm

Leo- I’m guessing that, although having six kids is a challenge that requires a lot of organization, life was probably more difficult for you and your wife when all the kids were a lot younger?

Do you find that as your kids get older that it frees up some of your time?

I find that with my son at 4 years old, that I have more time than when he was 2 and younger. And I would imagine that will continue as he will be able to help out more and more (i.e. getting his own drinks or food, etc) as he gets older.

I also notice that although it’s harder for me to find personal time these days now that I have a family, I have the major benefit of not being lonely that sometimes would happen when I was single.

I can’t remember where this quote can from but I always remember it: “Life is either barren ease or rich unrest” (I’m sure I butchered it, but it’s something like that.)

So the point of my comment is that it seems there are times in our lives where we are more tied down by responsibilities such as children or caring for aging parents and other times when we may have more free time. Both have their challenges and benefits.

Leo Says:

July 24th, 2008, 20:59 pm

@Kris: You’re very right — my kids demand less of my time as they get older, although I should say that the older ones also require more driving around as they get into soccer and music lessons and school performances and whatnot.

My life is definitely full of rich unrest! :)

Ryan McLean Says:

July 25th, 2008, 5:36 am

I love this post. Sometimes my world can get so busy and so hectic and I need to get a little more time to do the things that are really important. So thankyou for this

manoj Says:

July 25th, 2008, 9:03 am

Great article.

Deadlines need to be lifelines for one.
Only when one has purpose can one be committed and disciplined

Having a gretaer purpose in goals set will automatically lead one to find it easier to say no and not be interferring in otheres activities.

So set a Ideal, plan for it and stick to it till completion without worrying about end result as : “when one eye is on the goal, only one is left for the task at hand”.hVaing set a goal, lets focus only on execution and correcting on the way till goal is achieved.

Thanks,

Manoj

irish Says:

July 25th, 2008, 23:43 pm

I’m actually practicing my new mantra now Leo, which is do less and focus more equals accomplish more. :) Thank you for those great articles. :) you are a great writer and an inspiration to people like me who are goal oriented and has a desire to improve.

Elvira Says:

July 26th, 2008, 10:05 am

Today I awoke at 5:30. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep I got up, made myself a cup of tea, finished the novel I was reading (Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson. Great ending!), posted on my blog and read others. More importantly I enjoyed the quiet house, the morning bird song and the dawn. Thank you for the encouragement to greet each day with fresh eyes.

Miss Gisele B | myBeautyMatch.com Says:

July 26th, 2008, 11:15 am

Leo,
Each of your post has helped me to go ahead in my life.
You are absolutely right! Everyday one should be able to made free time for oneself from his/her tight schedule. Each one should have space for his/her.

Paul Says:

July 26th, 2008, 12:00 pm

Great list. And the best part comes when you have completed the tasks of that particular day, especially before the ‘workday’ is over. Enjoying the reward not only of completing those tasks, but also of enjoying the ‘extra’ free time.

Stephan Says:

July 27th, 2008, 4:17 am

Agree on “Make use of your mornings”. I’m most productive in the mornings.

anonyjw Says:

July 27th, 2008, 12:18 pm

Thanks for posting this, and for helping us all become more productive and focussed in our daily lives.

Great blog. Been reading it via RSS for a few months now. Keep up the great work.

Myrko Says:

July 28th, 2008, 19:00 pm

I like “Do your Biggest Rock first”. In the other article you linked was already the side-note to Stephen Covey’s “First Things First”, and I found the same expression by Brian Tracy saying: “Eat That Frog” :)

It’s the major roadblock he also asks to remove first to get ahead effectively and also get the feeling of accomplishment to keep you going afterwards.

Tom Says:

July 29th, 2008, 4:30 am

I think it is about time for many to go to back to basics an think about how we use time at all given all the productivity trends, tools, gadgets and communication technologies around us. We just published a first article on this subject at http://www.whakate.com/lead-articles/how-to-become-more-time-conscious/

Vinny Says:

August 19th, 2008, 23:34 pm

I often found that looking at things a day or so in advance at the END of a previous day allows you to route your schedule as well as you can. For instance if you have a meeting on one end of town, where the next day you were going to pick up something from a store, you could move picking it up to the day of the meeting, and flip flop some other un time constrained task with it.