Time Management 101: How You Can Be Productive

The trap of laziness looms menacingly over all, and any of us could fall victim to it’s enticing ways. And the reality is that laziness is indeed an attractive vice. This is because being inactive (as much as we internally hate it) gives us an opportunity to shut out all the stress and anxiety that surrounds the normal life. I for one am a professional procrastinator. But the older I get, and the more responsibilities I have piled on top of me, the more and more I realize that I cannot be wasteful with my time. This is my simple guide to help people stay on top of their busy schedules (or at least try to!).

1. Don’t put off emails. Look guys. We live in a tech age, and the importance of email has been steadily increasing since its advent. Email is no longer optional but mandatory. Within that same wavelength, an important discipline to begin to develop (that will save you a lot of time in the long run) is to respond to emails that won’t take that much time immediately. Most emails you get nowadays will probably only take you less than 1-2 minutes to respond to. And yet, it’s incredible how many of us put a “star” next to the email and put it off to respond to later. The only problem with this strategy is that you end up with fifty starred emails, some of them being 2-3 weeks old and already expired. Not only have you created more work for yourself, but you’ve probably frustrated some one (whether it’s a friend or employer) due to your lack of urgency.
2. Budget your time. I know this is not really appealing to do. No one likes the idea of being restricted, or pigeonholed into a certain daily existence. But at the same time, there is something very advantageous about being conscious of how you spend your time. Set aside specific amount of hours for things that you enjoy (like Facebook’s recently trending Farmville) but make sure that you also get your work done! This is especially important if you’re unemployed or self employed. When you have to make your own decision about how to spend your time, and someone else isn’t doing it for you a la 9-5, it’s really tough sometimes to use your time wisely. You have 16 hours in a day, unless of course you sleep like a monster (another time management issue!). Use the weekdays productively, and if you want, go crazy on the weekends.
3. Create a to do list. Then do it. It’s funny to me how many people I know that create to do lists every week (religiously) and then don’t do anything on it. Basically, you’ve essentially wasting the 15-30 minutes it takes to actually prepare the list! It’s important for people with a busy schedule to have some way to manage the workflow that is required of them. Even those with impeccable memory, unless you have photographic, will eventually be cluttered with so much work junk that you will forget something. Don’t fall into this trap: create a to do list and then do it!
4. Utilize the bathroom. I’ve literally finished an entire book while taking care of my business in the bathroom. I mean, of course this didn’t happen in the course of one trip (oh my goodness that would be disgusting). But over the course of a month, I’ve finished a small book that I’ve always wanted to read while on the toilet. My philosophy is, if you’re going to be in there anyways… Honestly, that 10-15 minutes if used properly can be used toward some productive end (besides the obvious immediate productive necessity!).

These are just a few simple ways to begin living a more productive lifestyle. Look, the bottom line is, everyone desires to be productive to some end. Productivity in and of itself is rewarding because you release the stress and anxiety you normally get when you are unproductive! Instead of wasting time, let’s use our time meaningfully. We only have one life to live. Do something with it!