Home
>
Time Management
>
How To Pack 48 Hours Into Your Day

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

move in cleaning service Lake Forest ..

In The News:

Fox News Digital's artificial intelligence newsletter digs into a robot in Russia that faceplanted, George Clooney's alarm and OpenAI's rivalry with the New York Times.

Major data breach at Conduent exposes personal information of 10+ million people. Government contractor hit by cyberattack affecting Medicaid, child support systems.

Texas startup Janta Power raises $5.5M for innovative vertical solar towers that generate 50% more energy than traditional panels while using just one-third the land.

NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft launched aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket Thursday afternoon from Cape Canaveral, beginning their journey to Mars with arrival expected in 2027.

Learn how to set email reminders on iPhone and Android so you never forget to reply again. Simple built-in features help you stay organized and on top of messages.

Discover how Apple's passkeys revolutionize Mac security by replacing vulnerable passwords with biometric authentication and encryption for ultimate protection.

New survey reveals 78% of parents fear AI scams targeting their kids, yet nearly half haven't discussed these threats. Learn why this dangerous gap exists.

Chrome now autofills passport and driver's license info automatically. Google's latest browser update adds official document support with encryption and user control.

Scammers impersonate Department of Veterans Affairs employees claiming veterans owe money, but real VA communications only direct to VA.gov or official channels.

The AltoVolo Sigma hybrid-electric aircraft flies 500 miles at 220 mph while operating 80% quieter than helicopters, featuring safety systems and compact design.

Google search scam alert: fake customer service numbers can give scammers remote control of your phone. Learn how to spot these traps and protect yourself.

Electric vehicles overtake gas cars in total CO2 savings after just two years of driving, with emissions benefits growing over time as power grids get cleaner.

Louvre Museum reportedly used "Louvre" as password for surveillance system during $100M jewel heist. Learn how weak passwords put even famous institutions at risk.

Bipartisan AI jobs bill from Sens. Hawley and Warner would require companies to report AI-related layoffs and hiring to Department of Labor quarterly.

Joe A. from Shelton, Connecticut, lost $228,000 to a ZAP Solutions cryptocurrency investment scam after his divorce, highlighting rising online fraud.

AI-powered autonomous trucks from Waabi and Volvo target U.S. freight driver shortage with Level 4 self-driving technology and NVIDIA computing platform integration.

Survive flight disruptions with expert travel tips: Book early morning flights, download airline apps and know your refund rights during service cuts.

Apple's iOS 26.1 update delivers major security fixes, performance boosts and enhanced privacy controls for your iPhone. Discover why updating now protects your data.

Russian hackers use fake CAPTCHA tests to spread dangerous malware targeting governments and journalists. Learn how to protect yourself from these deceptive attacks.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Miami-Dade debuts America's first autonomous police SUV with AI cameras, drone deployment and real-time crime detection in groundbreaking law enforcement pilot.

Bank impostor scams cost Americans $2.9 billion as criminals use AI voices and caller ID spoofing to steal life savings. Learn nine essential fraud protection tips.

Foreign-owned apps secretly harvest personal data from seniors, making them prime targets for scams. Learn how to protect your privacy and stop data brokers today.

Sens. Josh Hawley and Richard Blumenthal introduce bipartisan GUARD Act to protect minors from AI chatbots through mandatory age verification and disclosure requirements.

Ghost-tapping scammers exploit wireless technology to drain accounts through small transactions, but RFID-blocking wallets and transaction alerts can protect you.

How To Pack 48 Hours Into Your Day

Time Management