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8 Simple Habits that could save your Time and Energy

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You are busier than ever before, but you have very little to show for all that time spent working and hustling. You spend your days rushing and being pulled in five different directions at any given moment.  Priorities change constantly.  Your job responsibilities are intense, and, simultaneously, your co-workers keep sending you meeting invites. How are you supposed to get things done right amongst all of these?

With a few simple habit changes, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy;

 

  1. Focus until completion.

The act of switching between tasks wastes a lot of extra energy.  When a task is something that you are not used to doing, or something that doesn’t come as second nature to you, you have to mentally convince yourself that you have to do it, which is even harder.  That’s why, once you have started, you should drive that effort to completion as often as possible.

 

  1. Be predictable in certain areas of your life.

Think of what you can automatize and streamline in your life. Maybe it’s your finances, or your meal preparation.  In any case, having a fixed plan in the right areas of your life will eliminate the wasteful time spent deliberating over excessive options.

 

  1. Create a minimalist workstation.

You want to keep your desk and workstation as clutter-free as possible but if your desk is plagued with paid and unpaid bills and piles of papers you have read in months, you will get distracted. Concentrating on the task at hand is harder when you see a massive pile of papers and items that need to be sorted and put away.  Create a peaceful space to work.

 

  1. Plan to succeed, gradually.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. If you want to make the most of your life, with plenty of time to do the things you enjoy, you must come to terms with a plan that works for you. You can start by making a list of goals and projects that need your attention.  Keep in mind that if you try to do too much at once, you will become discouraged and you will be setting yourself up for failure, even before starting.

Use your list to classify the goals/projects and sub-tasks by importance, and keep reminding yourself that you won’t be able to get all of it done in a day.  Make a pact with yourself that you will do at least one thing for yourself every day that you truly enjoy.

 

  1. Use reward substitution to motivate yourself.

Everyone has a list of tasks they have to get done, but don’t like doing.  The longer you wait to start, the longer you will have the stress of not doing it, and the less progress you will likely make over the long-haul. For those difficult tasks, you can force yourself to do them by rewarding yourself with something you truly enjoy.  The secret is to put off that wonderful reward until you are done with the task.  It’s a powerful force.

 

  1. Wipe needless worries off your mind.

Worries take valuable space in your mind, and if you want to be as efficient as possible, you need to get rid of them.  You simply can’t concentrate as well when part of your brain is worrying about something. But it’s not always easy to get worries out of your mind, especially when what you need to do stresses you out.  But you can control the way you think about things.  If you let your mind start thinking about the worry instead of what you need to do at the time, nothing will get done, which ultimately just adds to the stress.

You can try writing down what is worrying you. Identifying the worry for what it is can take away the compulsive power it has on your mind.  However, if the worry persists, or it’s something you really need to solve, you must schedule some time in to work on solving it.

 

  1. Take advantage of waiting time.

Whether it’s waiting in line at the bus station, sitting in traffic, or folding clothes at home, you will always have “dead time.”  You don’t need to be 100 percent productive every minute of your day, but you can definitely use time wisely that would be otherwise wasted. Waiting time does not need to be wasted time.

 

 

  1. Think of yourself as an efficient person.

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”  Practice thinking about yourself as an efficient person first thing every morning when you wake up, and I guarantee you’ll be right by the end of each day.

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