There Just Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day

How many times have you looked up from your computer and noticed that it’s already time for lunch, or time to head home for the day? It happens to me all the time. No matter how much time I think I have to get stuff done, there just never seems to be enough hours. Even writing this right now I’m noticing how much time has zipped past without me realizing.

Well, after doing some research this morning I was able to put together a few tips and tricks from across the web to see if we can’t combat this issue together.

Tip #1: Remove Big Chunks – Scott H. Young (Lifehack.com)

In this article for Lifehack, Scott goes into detail about why you should be eliminating those activities that seem to just eat up “big chunks” of time that could be spent in more useful pursuits.

The first step to reclaiming more time from your day is to get hold of the big chunks that aren’t being put to good use. “Good use” is a fairly subjective term here, but it could mean both work that doesn’t get much done or leisure time that isn’t enjoyable. Here are some places to start looking:

1. Television– This is a good starting point if you need more time. If you don’t completely eliminate it, cut it down to only the key shows you enjoy viewing or news you need to hear. Otherwise power-off this time-waster.

2. Internet – Quickly replacing television as a huge time consumer is the internet. Try going on an internet diet where you halve your net usage for two weeks. The first few days will be hard, but each time I’ve done this my results have been that almost no work was lost in the cutback.

3. Games – A friend once told me that World of Warcraft was electronic crack. I’ve seen 14-Day subscription CD’s for dirt cheap, so I can see they’re even using the drug dealer business model. In all seriousness though, cutting back on game playing can give you more time.

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/21-ways-to-add-more-hours-to-the-day.html

http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/welcome

Tip #2: Don’t Listen to the News First Thing in the Morning – Kathryn Matthews (Oprah.com)

I find this one very interesting. According to Kathryn, we should be avoiding the news early in the morning because it plays on our emotions and can get us off on the wrong foot. Which is a new way to look at things, as the news is usually a staple in the average person’s morning routine.

Depressing reports can distract you from efficiently accomplishing your a.m. routine—getting ready for work, feeding the kids, mentally preparing for a good day, says Los Angeles lifestyle coach Ruth Klein. If you really want to watch Good Morning America, TiVo it.

http://www.oprah.com/home/How-to-Get-7-More-Hours-in-Your-Day/2

Tip #3: Spend More Time with Other People – Adrian Granzella Larssen (TheMuse.com)

Researchers at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania have honed in on a major factor that can lead to more hours in your day, or at least what feels like more hours.

While adding a few more hours on the clock is never going to happen, researchers have found a way to make us feel like our time is being extended.

Counterintuitively, it’s not by pushing things off your plate, thereby getting more free time back in your day—it’s by giving away some of your hours and minutes away to others. As iDoneThis recently reported:

Cassie Mogilner, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, found that spending time on other people, instead of wasting time or spending unexpected free time on yourself, expands your sense of present and future time. For example, in one experiment, participants had to either write a short letter to a seriously ill child or count the number of times the letter ‘e’ showed up in some Latin text. The letter-writers reported that they felt like they had more time.

In a follow-up experiment, Mogilner and her colleagues asked some people to spend 10 or 30 minutes ‘doing something for yourself that you weren’t already planning to do today.’ Others were assigned the task of spending 10 or 30 minutes on someone else, doing something that hadn’t been planned. The duration of the time spent didn’t matter but what they spent it on did—spending time on others expanded people’s sense of the future.

The lesson? If you’re feeling like your days and weeks are flying by, stop stressing about how fast the clock’s moving, and start thinking about ways to give back.

https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-fun-little-secret-to-adding-more-time-in-the-day