How To Pack 48 Hours Into Your Day

Too much to do, too little time, constant stress. Most of us have been there. Not too long ago this is how I lived my life. I had deadlines to meet but I would constantly come up with excuses not to do the work that needed to be done. "I'll start after watching this TV show." or "I don't have time to complete this tonight. I'll start on it first thing in the morning." are some of the things I'd tell myself.

Of course the result would be that I was always rushing to finish things at the last minute and I'd produce poor quality work.

Usually, there's not much you can do about the amount of work that needs to be done. But there's a way you can increase the time you have to do it in. A recent time management study by the University of Leicester, in England, found that for every hour we spend working only 30 minutes are actually productive work. The rest of the time, we waste on little or no value tasks. The study also found that most people worked in short bursts followed by periods of waiting, distraction or mini-breaks. Just think: If you could do an hour's worth of work every hour, you'd be able to pack 48 hours into each day!

Bad work habits usually result from some form of fear of failure or procrastination. You learn over time to protect yourself from the hurt of failing by making excuses. "I would have done better if I had more time" becomes a self fulfilling reality. In order to have that excuse you unconsciously leave things to the last minute. Watching a show you always hated suddenly becomes very appealing when you have work to do.

So how can you learn to pack 48 hours into each day? Surprisingly, it's not that difficult. Most bad work habits tend to be sub-conscious. To avoid them, you first need to be aware of them. Try these five tips to a more productive way of working.

  • Break tasks down. It's much easier to get motivated to start and finish a small task than a large one. For example if you need to do yard work tomorrow, chances are that tomorrow will come and you'll find a dozen excuses why you can't work on the yard. However, if you break the task down into smaller pieces: (a)Rake the leaves. (b)Mow the lawn. (c)Trim the edges. (d)Mulch the flower beds. Then tell yourself that tomorrow, you'll start by raking the leaves. Chances are pretty good that when tomorrow comes, you will rake the leaves because you know exactly what to do and it's not a big job. If you do that, then guess what, you just started on your goal of doing the yard work.

  • Set achievable goals. Break tasks into bite-sized pieces. Don't say I'll tidy the lawn because that's too vague and too big. You'll find a dozen excuses not to get started on that. Far better to say rake, mow, edge the lawn instead.

  • Reward your successes. It's very important to give yourself a mini-reward for achieving your mini-goals. For example, if you tell yourself "I'll start by raking the leaves but I'll have a can of coke after I finish edging the lawn." You'll be amazed at how fast you finish edging.

  • Start on the best tasks first. The hardest thing is to make a start so if you schedule your favorite tasks first then it's much more likely that you'll start on them. Once you make a start, the momentum will carry you over into the other tasks.

  • Keep records. I use 5 x 3 index cards to list all the things I want to do on any day. In the top left corner of each card I write the date in red ink. Everything else, I write in pencil. At the start of a day, the card usually has three or four high level items listed in order of priority. Then I expand each of them into sub-tasks (here's where using pencil becomes important). Some days, I might reprioritize tasks onto the next day's card. The point of the cards is to train myself to be more disciplined. I never remove a high level task from a card. I may only write down a few sub-tasks under it but it's important that I make at least a start on each high level task. As I work, I jot down task related notes on the card itself. By the end of the day, not only have I used the card to pack more into my day, the card itself becomes a record of what I did that day. I use the date in the top left corner to file the card.

    Technology can also help in your quest for the 48 hour day.

    The most underrated piece of technology for managing your time is your watch. It's very easy to spend way too much time on tasks that you enjoy and too little on ones you don't. A glance at your watch or clock every now and then will give you a balanced sense of time. It's OK in the beginning to be way off on your time estimates. You may write down too many or too few items on your 5 x 3 card. Eventually, you'll gain an instinctive feel for how long tasks will take you and what you write on your card will exactly fit your 48 hour day!

    PDAs are really useful for 48 hour dayers. They can be used to store all your to do lists and almost all have schedulers and clocks built in. When shopping for one, be sure to get the lightest, slimmest one that has the features you want. I can speak from personal experience that once the novelty wears off, you won't want to carry around that bulky PDA. Which kind of defeats the purpose of owning it.

    Another invaluable time management tool, if you work in an office is the online group calendar. In our office, we rely on our web calendar as a centralized office notice board. We've set up sub-headings for each person in the office and use them to communicate with the group on our schedules, our vacations, important deadlines, whose turn to make the coffee etc. Another really useful feature, for when I'm away from the office, is that our group calendar can also be accessed from a cell phone or a PDA.

    It's not difficult to gain control over your work habits. It is mostly being aware of the excuses you make to yourself and countering them. If you start saying to yourself: "I may not be able to finish this today but I'll start now and see how far I get." You'll be surprised how many times you actually do finish today.

    About The Author

    Ayesha Dean has helped 1000's of people find time to do the things important to them. She's CEO of Web Software Firm ManagedTime.com Visit http://www.managedtime.com and signup for E2Cal, the only FREE wireless enabled group calendar.

    http://www.managedtime.com

    bathroom cleaning service Lincolnshire ..
    In The News:

    The Omoway Omo X features a modular design, obstacle detection and emergency braking, and can drive itself to charging stations, signaling the future of smart urban mobility.
    PillTrek, a tiny wireless smart capsule created by Caltech, provides real-time gut health data by detecting electrolytes, metabolites, glucose, hormones, pH levels and temperature.
    Learn to spot fake bank text messages with five warning signs of Chase phishing scams, including suspicious links and urgent deadlines designed to steal your account information.
    Robot coyotes built on motorized cars reaching 20 mph are being deployed at military airfields as an innovative solution to wildlife threats to aircraft safety.
    Explore Google Drive's strengths and weaknesses as a backup solution, including its encryption security, privacy concerns and comparison to dedicated backup tools.
    As environmental challenges grow, underwater habitats gain momentum with DEEP's Vanguard, supporting short missions and Sentinel designed for 28-day stays at depth.
    The new Urban Eyes safety vest features dual cameras, reflective panels and a wireless remote to deter harassers and provide peace of mind for outdoor workouts.
    The $200 billion data broker industry tracks your personal details across websites, posing privacy risks that can be mitigated through data removal services.
    UCC Holding has teamed up with COBOD to create desert-inspired, 3D-printed schools in Qatar, featuring dune-like wavy walls impossible with conventional construction.
    Darkling beetles equipped with microchip backpacks can be guided through disaster areas using electrical signals, offering a biological solution for search and rescue.
    Scammers use number porting to take control of outdated landlines still connected to financial accounts, bypassing two-factor authentication to steal funds while avoiding detection.
    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey developed Bitchat, a privacy-focused messaging app that works offline via Bluetooth without requiring email, phone numbers or personal data.
    Google is making a push to ensure its AI, Gemini, is tightly integrated with Android systems by granting it access to core apps like WhatsApp, Messages, and Phone.
    A new green energy system is set to change how we capture clean power, and it all starts with the ocean. French startup Seaturns has designed technology that taps into the natural motion of the sea.
    Cybersecurity researchers are warning that hackers have started exploiting flaws in chatbots to carry out AI phishing attacks.
    Google has just made it easier than ever to regain control of your inbox with Gmail's new Manage Subscriptions tool.
    Despite the benefits, residential power saver programs come with several potential drawbacks and concerns that have been raised by both customers and experts.
    The Blackdot AI tattoo machine is quiet. It's steady. And according to early users, it hurts a lot less.
    Attackers have started to exploit the very signals that users assume will keep them safe when it comes to add-ons to improve productivity or entertainment.
    Located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, the world's most powerful digital camera is set to transform how we see the universe.
    The innovative DQ Tower stands 28 feet tall with 420 square feet of living space, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows and premium amenities in a prefabricated design.
    A new mmWave imaging system allows warehouse robots to scan and create 3D models of objects inside sealed containers, potentially revolutionizing shipping processes.
    Family fraud endangers seniors when relatives exploit their trust, but removing personal data online and monitoring identity can prevent financial harm to aging parents.
    A study analyzing 500,000 customer service interactions shows chatbots struggle with complex issues while human agents excel at matching customer communication styles.
    Aigen's Element robot uses solar power and AI to provide farmers with a sustainable alternative to herbicides, working efficiently in cotton and soy fields.
  • Delegate or Drown

    Why waste your precious time working on tasks, which are... Read More

    Avoid 7 Time and Life-Robbing Mistakes and See Your Productivity Soar

    41 practical and quick ways to get on top of... Read More

    How You Can Double, Triple, or Even Quadruple Your Reading Speed!

    Are you drowning in a sea of unread papers? Do... Read More

    How To Manage Your Time

    I would like to touch upon a subject that it... Read More

    First Things Last

    Years ago clients would tell me they could not identify... Read More

    The Myth of What We Manage

    Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More

    Busy, Busy, Busy

    ?busy, busy, busy, busy, busy?busy, busy, bus? OK, slap me... Read More

    How Can I Get Some Time to Myself?

    "I never seem to have any time for myself. What... Read More

    Do You Have The Time?

    Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number... Read More

    Increasing Your ROI

    All requests are not equal; all customers or clients are... Read More

    Prioritize with Two Questions

    "Because there will always be something more to do, we... Read More

    Time Management Tips for Busy Moms

    If you are like most moms I know you think... Read More

    Procrastination - Understanding & Overcoming it

    Whenever I've worked on 'de-cluttering' my living or working space,... Read More

    It?s Not The Same Old Routine

    We are constantly inundated with routine (often boring!) tasks around... Read More

    Effective Time Management Techniques

    TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind... Read More

    Effective Email and Verses Voicemail

    Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More

    Living on Purpose: Achieving Balance Between Work And the Rest of Your Life

    Many of us get so caught up in day-to-day pressures... Read More

    Doing Things We Dread

    As I sit here in front of the computer... Read More

    7 Reasons to Take Breaks at Work

    My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I... Read More

    How Are You Viewing Your Time?

    In working with and coaching people across the country, one... Read More

    Tips to Manage Your Time

    Time and money are both very important in business. Yet,... Read More

    Are You Always Late?

    "Fashionably late" is no longer in fashion. In today's heavily... Read More

    Time Management - How To Get More Done In A Day?

    Everyday, in life, we are bombarded with 101 tasks that... Read More

    Everythings Blurry Except For You

    Riding the subway home yesterday, my typically silent car was... Read More

    Time Management - Keeping a Clean Desk

    I have worked with so many people over the years... Read More

    recurring housekeeping Des Plaines ..