Struggling for more time in a day? Here’s how to have it

11 effective ways to have more than 24 hours in a day

At least once in our lives, all of us would have wished to have more hours in the day.

I mean twenty-four hours go just like that and we aren’t even done with half of our stuff

We are always behind the things we want to do.

This keeps on going until the accumulated unfinished tasks create a big huddle which we can’t move and then we start focussing on the task in hand and forget about the pending things.

And before we know, it becomes a habit to avoid things.

It’s not that we don’t want to, but we can’t due to lack of time.

But what if I tell you, there are people on this planet who are able to achieve more than all of us in the same twenty-four hours.

These are the people who have learned the secret of getting more hours in the same day & are able to get more out of the same time.

I’m sure you are wondering how’s that possible when you are struggling to make up with those mundane tasks itself for years together.

Here’s how these people are doing that and you can too.

Plan your day in advance

Most of our time is wasted in the day by doing things which will jump off just like that and leave us surprised.

Because we are nor prepared physically and mentally for that, it takes more of our time than usual and that frustration eats into the time being used for other tasks too.

Planning your day will make you mentally ready for the day ahead and if at all anything comes up which is not DO IT NOW stuff, you can plan it for the next day, leaving you in full control of the day.

Prioritize similar kind of tasks together

How often you have just come back from the market and realized that you had another task on your route back home.

You pick your bag, go to that same route again you visited a few minutes ago and come back after wasting anther few important minutes & energy of your day.

We have limited time and energy for a day, so you must prioritize the tasks which can be done together, like finishing off all kitchen chores together, finishing off all school work for the children together.

The momentum in the work helps you in getting the work done faster with better quality as well.

Stop watching news first thing in the morning

The most favorite thing for the people to do in the world is to watch news first thing in the morning and what does it have?

All the problems the world is facing for which you can’t do anything.

And after that, a big chunk of your energy is eaten out and leaves you exhausted mentally to concentrate on other tasks.

Mornings are to be filled with positivity and fresh energy which can never come by watching the news.

Schedule the news during any other time of the day when you are just waiting for other tasks to be completed. Don’t take out time exclusively for the tasks which will only bring more negativity to you.

Do this favor to you and you will thank yourself for doing that.

Fill the gaps

Almost 4–5 hours of our day are gone in those gaps between the tasks when we are doing nothing.

Ah, I have 30 minutes to go for that meeting, let me scroll through social media till then.

I know you are doing this every day and not realizing how those 30 minutes add up to 20% of your day leaving you dissatisfied at the end of the day

Instead fill them by reading that book you wanted to, fill that by making that call you wanted to do, fill that by watching that documentary you wanted to.

Filling those gaps with other tasks on your list will help you create more time for other things you want to do.

Exercise daily

‘I don’t have time to exercise’-This one is the most common excuse for not doing the exercise.

I have been guilty of that too and now when I have made this a part of my routine, I can say that you can’t afford to not have time for exercise.

Why?

One, it lifts your mental and physical energy which helps you in finishing other tasks in lesser time.

Second, it keeps you healthy and fit, which saves that downtime you had yesterday due to the headache you had.

Third, as per a study, you add three years to your life by doing 15 minutes of exercise daily.

So much for not having time.

Skip that television serial, that morning news and jump on to the trade mill or simply go out for a walk, whatever you do, just do it.

Say NO to toxic people

There are people in our life who comes with a signboard- “I’m gonna spoil your mood now, or maybe day itself.”

Stay away from such people.

They might be your best friends, your goody-goody neighbor, or maybe your relatives, whoever it might be, no one is worth your peace of mind.

And if you can’t, minimize your interaction with them cause their negative energy is going to cause you a few priceless minutes of your day which can get you some of those tasks in your list done.

Avoid tasks which are not taking to your goals

There are always things on our lists which we don’t know why.

Just because others are doing, we are also doing.

Just because you never thought you could not do it as well.

Avoid or eliminate those tasks which are not adding up to the quality of your life or taking to your goals,

Avoid television

Let me just see this one episode and I will switch it off and that one episode turns in to another and by the time we realize it, we have been sitting there for a few hours.

All of us have been there some or other time and we know we don’t like what we did, but we can’t help it.

I was also like that a few years ago until I decided that it is not adding value to my life.

But still, sometimes I gave up and wasted a few priceless hours of my day.

So now, to avoid that, I don’t get my DTH recharge itself.

Simple.

Even if I feel like switching it on and just play with the remote buttons, I can’t.

And whenever I want to watch something, it’s available on the internet, so I can watch it when I want to as per my schedule.

Try it, it works wonders for your time.

Visit a task only once

Many of us have this habit of opening our emails, reading them, and closing them thinking that we will reply to it later.

Again we open it, read it again, and then reply to it or don’t.

Do you see here that you have done the same work twice without realizing it?

Like this there are so many tasks which we do subconsciously and kill time in our days.

And until we have finished that task, we are also keeping our mind busy because it has to remember all the time that the task has to be done.

Just by vising a task once, we are not only saving our time, we are also saving from the mental fatigue which comes because of that.

Turn off technology during your most productive time

When I started writing initially, I will always have my phone with me on the table.

In case someone calls.

And subconsciously, I was getting disturbed by it without me knowing it,

But now when I write after switching my phone off, I can finish the same article in less time and with better quality because of the total focus on the task in hand

Same way, we have a habit of doing things while the television is on or that stereo is on to have music in the background.

It looks like it is saving time and increasing our productivity but it isn’t.

Organize your surroundings

Every day morning, before leaving for the office, a number of people have this hide and seek with their mobile, wallet, car keys, handkerchief, etc.

Because they will keep it wherever they want and then waste a few precious moments in searching for them.

In the process, they spoil their mood as well.

Having an organized place brings that calmness and peace which comes from knowing your stuff.

It makes your place look tidy and clean, it saves your time, and it brings you calmness which spreads in other areas of your life as well.

Final Thoughts

Life is nothing but a collection of days so if we take control of the days we have, life will automatically fall in place.

I’m sure you would notice that it takes nothing big to have more time in your day,

Simple mundane stuff done with conscious efforts to make time is the key to have those few more hours which you can spend on the side hustle you wanted to work on, or to mend your relationship which is struggling for lack of time or can give time to your children who are abandoned in a home even after having parents with them,

A simple change can make a profound effect on your life.

Start with one basic task you can do and then move slowly to take over your entire day.