3 basic steps to find the time for getting things done

I'm a fan of Jennifer Derrick's writing over at Savingadvice.com

In this oddly-titled piece (well, you can't really capture wasted time), she lays out 3 basic ways to avoid wasting time. It starts by being mindful of our choices.

Here are some excerpts providing a gist of the article:

"I finally had to determine that the novel was more important to me than some other things. Once I made that decision, time miraculously appeared."

So the first step is to decide for yourself what is important for you. I'd add that it is also important to write this down on a piece of paper and stick it up where you can see it everyday. The act of writing (physically putting pen to paper) is vastly underrated.

"I decided that my project was more important to me than TV, mindless Internet surfing, sleeping in on Saturdays, and even some household chores. It required some conscious thought on my part. Whenever I sit down to watch TV, I ask myself which is more important: The show, or the book. The book almost always wins. Whenever I find myself mindlessly clicking links on websites, I ask myself which is more important: The newest stupid viral video, or the book. Again, the book wins. Can the dusting wait one more day while I finish a chapter? Of course it can. Suddenly all kinds of time became available once I stopped wasting so much of it."

 The second step is to apply that decision before every act one chooses to do during the day. The key here is 'conscious thought'. In my opinion, this is very tough and she covers that later in the article. I'd highlight the part about one's project being more important than 'even some household chores'. Household chores are one of the most common ways to procrastinate. I am guilty of this way more than I'd like to admit. Although this flies in the face of theories like structured procrastination, I prefer Derrick's way of giving up some chores in favor of the project at hand.

 "Wasted time is time spent doing something that isn’t important to me or fails to move me forward.....While sometimes it seems like time is limitless, the truth is that it isn’t. I’ve started asking myself if whatever action I’m about to take is important or something that will get me closer to my goals. If the answer is no and I have a choice, I don’t do the activity."

Can't emphasize this enough. The third step is to remind yourself again and again of your mortality and the limited time you have available. This is not a morose way of going about your life. Instead it is empowering, as Steve Jobs pointed out in his famous commencement speech. Again, a conflict arises here - if my time is limited why not spend it in doing things I love rather than on some activities which I need to do (say, for a living) but which I do not enjoy. The answer to that are beyond the scope of this post but some people have tried writing about it. The answer is more nuanced than simply finding work that you are passionate about and love to do. Of course, if you do have work that you really love, that's great.

"Paying attention only to what is important requires conscious thought on your part, at least until you get the hang of it. You have to constantly evaluate everything you do to see if it represents wasted time and attention."

This is where mindfulness comes in. It is a fascinating concept that I'm still exploring as yet but Leo Babauta has written extensively about it. i particularly like his concept of pausing just for a second before giving in to the next temptation. If you have given thought to what is important to you and why, this pause should serve as the moment when those reasons come back to you and prevent a slide into another bout of wasted time.

"I thought I’d be more tired from keeping so active, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. The more I do each day that is important to me, the better I feel."

This is my favorite part  of the article because it clears away one persistent doubt I've had. It seems like a fallacy now, but I'd always had this idea that working with intense focus will drain you out and you will need to take frequent breaks. and if you keep taking breaks, won't that affect your focus? So, those two concepts seemed to contradict each other. I now realize that breaks are needed, but it's equally true that getting work done (the real work which is important to you) will make you more energetic. It is like a positive feedback cycle. Reminds me of Zig Ziglar's concept that action creates motivation and motivation creates energy (which in turns feed action). So, you will need breaks but less and less frequently.

In summary, decide what is important for you (and write it down), remind yourself of your limited time and consciously apply that decision by taking a pause before every time-wasting opportunity that comes up during your day. There are more ways to do each of these basic steps effctively and I'll write about them in the coming posts.

Any other ways that have been beneficial to you in getting things done?