How to Add More Time to Your Day
We all have used this as an excuse at one point in our lives
With so much going on in our lives, it's easy for us to say that cliche phrase:
“I don’t have enough time.”
Work, school, kids, other responsibilities, sometimes it feels like things get out of hand.
Life is flying by fast, you want to get more things done but just never have enough time to do it all.
I’ve been there before, but I once came across this quote that said:
“If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse.” — Ryan Blair
One day, my 14-year-old sister came from school tired but she wanted to film some Tik Toks because she’s close to having10k followers and becoming monetized.
She said: “I want to film Tik Toks but with school and homework, I just never have enough time.”
I thought to myself, I wish I was in school again and only had to worry about going to school and coming home and doing homework every day.
Even though I work from home, I have about 40 different responsibilities to fulfill every day involving family duties, work, and trying to make time for myself.
I am sure all of you can relate to this.
I’m an online college student running 2 Youtube channels, building up my travel blog, trying to start my freelance writing career, post consistently on Medium, and trying to stay active on my other social media platforms as well.
I always used to get frustrated with myself every day for feeling like I do not have time to do everything.
The truth is, there are 24 hours in a day, and it all comes down to how we structure our day.
I knew there were different things I could do to have more time like:
- plan my day the night before
- wake up earlier
- come up with a time blocking schedule
- find a designated “workspace” in my house to be more productive
- meal plan
- prioritize my tasks
“It’s not about “having” time. It’s about making time.” — Unknown
So how exactly do you make more time in your day?
Some self-development books like the 7 habits of highly effective people and the 9 habits of successful entrepreneurs have taught me how to maximize my time in my day.
It will teach you habits you should incorporate into your day to help set you up for success.
Go To Bed Early
Having proper sleep is important to increase your productivity the next day and helps you to feel more energized from the time you wake up.
This is step one to help set up your day for success.
Waking up earlier will give you more motivation and allow you to have more time to get your tasks done.
When we don't get enough sleep the night before, we all struggle to be productive the next day.
It’s easier to get lost in time and it’s even harder to complete tasks while running on low energy.
Prioritize Your Tasks
Have you ever started your day feeling like you can’t decide which task to check off of your to-do list first?
Research proves that it is best to complete your hardest task first.
Why?
When you start with your easier tasks first, it’s a form of procrastination from getting your most difficult tasks out of the way.
If you tackle your hardest tasks first, you are overcoming your big challenges for the day, and the small tasks after will be effortless to complete.
Even if you are in a bad mood or have low energy, you are still most likely able to get your small tasks done once you’ve accomplished a big task in the morning.
Avoid getting that big task done, and you’ll go through your smaller tasks knowing you are one step closer to doing that one thing you’ve been putting off.
A common habit of many successful entrepreneurs is to tackle their biggest task shortly after waking up.
Why?
It allows them to feel more relaxed the rest of the day knowing their biggest task is already checked off of their to-do list.
People that tend to tackle their bigger projects first, tend to become more successful.
This is because they are not taking the easy way out.
They are facing their challenges head-on right from the beginning.
Focus On One Task At A Time
When we are feeling overwhelmed, it is easy to jump between multiple tasks to try and give time to everything we have to get done for the day.
Many successful people plan their day out and prioritize one task at a time.
They usually don't move on to another task until that one task is 100% complete.
Putting a little bit of time into multiple tasks will be draining and then you will most likely end up not getting a single thing done as you multi-task trying to get everything done.
Make an effort to put all your focus into getting one thing done at a time.
Then when you are done with that, move on to the next task on your to-do list.
This will allow you to feel more productive and know you are accomplishing your goals which will keep you feeling motivated too.
Create A Schedule
Now that you’ve figured out your most important to least important tasks, it is time to create a daily schedule that you will stick to for the day, week or month.
Try your routine for at least a week to get more into the habit of doing things and then you can decide whether you like it or not.
I have been following the same daily routine since the beginning of 2022 and I am really happy and consistent with it.
It allows me to prioritize my important tasks first and have more self-care time for myself the rest of the day.
You can schedule your day out on Notion or this cool app called TimeBloc.
If you arent interested in using these, you could simply create a to-do list on your Notes app on your phone.
I have been doing this for a while before using Notion and it is very effective!
Electronic lists are cool but I enjoy writing my to-do lists out in a notebook because it is satisfying to physically check things off of my list after I complete each one.
“The key to forming good habits is to make them part of your rituals. It’s one way to bundle good habits into regular times that you set aside to prepare yourself for the life you want. Rituals help you form habits.” — Lewis Howes
Schedule Your Day In Advance
After you’ve figured out how you want to plan out your day, either by using a notebook, time blocking, or in your Notes app, it’s best to create your to-do list the night before.
This will save you time in the morning by not having to stress about what you have to get done the morning of.
Planning the night before will allow you to feel more ready for the day.
It will give you peace of mind when you go to sleep knowing you have some type of structure to your day ahead. No matter what may come up tomorrow, you can at least be glad that you took time to plan out your day in advance.
When you wake up the next day, you can get a headstart by completing tasks on your to-do list right when you wake up.
I like to write my to-do lists right before bed because it gets me more excited to wake up the next morning knowing exactly what I have to get done.
Even if I decide to sleep in the next morning, I will still feel ready for the day knowing what I have planned to do.
Key Takeaways:
Creating a schedule for yourself is one of the best habits you can do for yourself and your productivity.
It helps you to build discipline and work more efficiently.
The worst time waster is to wonder what to do next and not have a plan in your mind.
Planning is everything, and I never gave much thought to it until about a year ago when things started to occupy my time and I was going crazy not knowing what to do next.
It’s like when we don't know what to cook, we spend so much time wondering what we can make for dinner.
If we already had this planned out, we could use that same time getting something else done.
Lots of entrepreneurs like Grant Cardone, Elon Musk, and Jack Dorsey all have a daily routine.
There is a reason many successful people have some sort of structure to their schedule and that is because it works.
It always allows them to have “enough time” for everything it is they need to get done.
Some of these entrepreneurs I mentioned, like Elon Musk, are said to have an 80–100 hour workweek.
But how do they manage all their tasks without going insane?
Elon Musk, for example, has a clear schedule he follows, and although he spends so many hours working, he still has time for himself and his family.
This goes to show you that scheduling works and there can always be enough time to do the things we want to do.
It is just about how we go about our day and how we can make time for the things we want to do.
The more comfortable we get with our routines, the better flow we have to our day and then we can get things done more efficiently and have extra time for the things we enjoy or are working towards achieving.
I no longer use the excuse “ I don’t have enough time” even if I have 100 things to get done on my to-do list.
I think the only people who are allowed to say they dont have time, are those who have been wrongfully imprisoned and put in jail for a lifetime.
To me, those are the only people who don't have enough time.
I think we all have time.
Let’s ask ourselves:
- How am I spending my time?
- How can I better manage my time?
Let’s stop complaining about time and start using our time doing what we have to do.
Let’s accomplish our dreams and goals and spend more time with our loved ones before our time runs out.
Try out my advice above if you are not already doing this, or share it with a friend and I would love to find out if it helps you in any way.
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