Time-poor means not having enough time to do everything, or lacking free time.

For sure you’ve said this before- “I don’t have enough time.”

While we all have the same 24hrs a day, why is it that some people seem to accomplish so much? Do they move by the minute? Are they too smart? Are they so fit that they never get tired? or is there such a person who never procrastinates? Why is this? Why do some struggle and drown in their obligations, while others make the impossible seem effortless? Why are some people time poor while others are time rich?

The difference is in how they choose to spend their time.

Let’s understand the 3 ways we spend time

Things that we have to do.

Example: daily obligations

• Taking care of the family
• Do household chores
• Take care of the kids
• Go to school
• Work for a living etc.

Things that we need to do.

Example: Working for a living

It’s a fact that we need money to live. Money is an important part of life, and one that cannot be ignored, so whether we like what we’re doing or not we need to do some sort of work or business in order to make money

Things that we do because we want to do them.

Example: Passion projects

Don’t you just long for the freedom to do something you are passionate about. To own your time, work where and when you want to, no pressure? Yes, that would be a dream, yet for a lot of people, it’s just not ideal.

Nevertheless, it’s not impossible to live this kind of life- check out WHY YOUR BEST BET FOR A SUCCESSFUL FINANCIAL FUTURE HAS SOMETHING TO DO ONLINE

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3 Truths of poor Time Management

1. You can’t manage time, you can only manage yourself. There are 24 hours in each day and you can’t change that. You may try to manage time with the help of productivity apps, lists, and tools -but the real question is: how are you managing yourself?

2. “Too much to do” and “Not enough time” – Are you playing the victim role? Do you know that when you say those words, you are letting yourself off the hook for managing yourself? These are Excuses, pointing fingers at circumstances.

The best bet would be to make an assessment of yourself, your goals & priorities, and the choices you make every day.

3. Too many priorities means no priorities.

By definition. Priorities are those top few tasks that deserve 100% focus and undivided attention. Set you 3 MVT‘s for the day (Most Valuable Task) because if you have an endless list you’ll end up with stress and a job undone.

Try Not To Compare Yourself With Others

• We are all different. We all have different energy levels, and we all draw energy from different things. 
• Some of us can do tasks quickly, and some of us are painfully slow. Some of us are fast learners, and others are not. Some of us have great memories, and some of us have to be reminded a billion times before it sinks in.
• We also don’t know how much of a priority this is to them. It might not be such a priority to us.
• Just because someone else can do things in a certain way, or a particular time frame, that doesn’t mean we all can.

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2 Must Read Time Focused Books

1. Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life by Ashley Whillans
2. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris

Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time and Live a Happier Life

 Ashley Whillans in her latest book, “Time Smart,” has a simple premise: we’re much better at spending and saving our money than our time, and we’d be much happier if we valued our time more wisely.

She argues that focusing on time ― freeing it up from activities that don’t make you happy and filling it with activities that do ― can improve your well-being.

Whillans’s top “to-do list

1. Choose time over money. That means spending a little bit more money to save time. For example, paying more to live closer to work and thus spend less time commuting.

2. Outsource Tasks – For example, If you are not familiar with a project task, pay for someone to do it instead of wasting hours learning to do it.

3. Say ‘NO’ more often. Whillans recommends people take control over their time by saying NO to favors and projects.

4. Cut out activities that make you unhappy

5. Track activities to figure out how you spend your time

6. Use leisure time wisely When you do have a minute of free time, doing the right kind of leisure activities can make a difference in your quality of life.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris

Imagine working 4hrs a week with the possibility of making enough money- working less, but achieving more and being more productive. Tim Ferriss is convincing entrepreneurs that there’s a better way to live: work less and make more money.

The 4-Hour Workweek is divided into four sections, DEAL- Define, Eliminate, Automate, Liberate. Each explores one of the components of lifestyle design

• Define your objectives. Decide what’s important. Set goals. Ask yourself, “What do I really want?”
• Eliminate distractions to free up time. Learn to be effective, not efficient. Focus on the 20% of stuff that’s important and ignore the 80% that isn’t. Put yourself on a low-information diet. Learn to shut aside interruptions, and learn to say “NO”.
• Automate your cash flow to increase income. Outsource your life — hire someone to handle menial tasks. Develop a business that can run on auto-pilot.
• Liberate yourself from traditional expectations. Design your job to increase mobility. This could mean working from home, or it could mean using geographic arbitrage to take mini-retirements in countries with favorable exchange rates.

The Pareto Principle (80/20)

Tim Ferriss stands by the 80/20 rule. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes. By doing 20% of the work you’re doing now, you’ll achieve 80% of the results.  

The goal is to observe your entire workload and decide what’s effective and what’s making you waste time.

“Doing something unimportant well does not make it important”.- Tim Ferris

Ask yourself the hard questions so you can narrow down on your goals.

SMART Goals setting

Professor Robert S. Rubin of Saint Louis University wrote about SMART in an article for The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Smart stands for SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, RELEVANT, and TIMEBOUND

Specific (simple, significant)

• What do I want to accomplish?
• Why is this goal important?
• Who is involved?
• Where is it located?
• Which resources or limits are involved?

Measurable (meaningful, motivating)

• How much?
• How many?
• How will I know when it is accomplished?

Achievable (agreed, attainable)

• How can I accomplish this goal?
• How realistic is the goal, based on other constraints, such as financial factors?

Relevant (reasonable, realistic, results-based)

• Does this seem worthwhile?
• Is this the right time?
• Does this match my goals/needs?
• Am I the right person to reach this goal?

Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

• When? (start/ deadline)
• What do I do for the next 3 months?
• What can I expects 6 months from now?

Must Read: LIVING FORWARD: 10 WAYS TO ACHIEVE A WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Ready but not sure where to start? Try these 22 easy time management tips

1. Waking up early, for your ME time
2. Set SMART goals
3. Keep mornings for MITs — Most important tasks
4. Discover your time zone-Time where your focus is 100%
5. No multitasking — Quality over quantity
6. Staying organized
7. Prioritizing what you need to accomplish
8. Setting goals clearly
9. Develop Strong communication skills
10. Effectively planning through out the day
11. Practicing delegating tasks or outsource
12. Postpone – Some things can wait. Push them out.
13. Do less but impactful tasks
14. Batch similar tasks together
15. Track your time
16. Ignore – Some tasks just don’t need to be done.
17. Handling stress in a positive way
18. Take small breaks frequently — refresh and rejuvenate
19. Find Inspiration
20. Prioritize Sleep at least 7–8 hours
21. Say “No” more often
22. Review your To do list- most of the time you have more on the list that exceeds the day

In Conclusion:

Look at everything you do each day, make an assessment of what adds value and what’s irrelevant. Focus on impact, not on existence. Just go at your own pace, because if you want to, you will get there. Last but not least, develop a greater sense of mindfulness and move towards a mindset that time is abundant.

More articles to get you started IF YOU ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF THE SUCCESS IN YOUR LIFE: ITS TIME TO BE ACCOUNTABLE

SHARING IS CARING

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