Working Smarter Rather Than Harder

I super thrive on being more efficient with my use of time, because I enjoy doing, accomplishing, and being a part of a lot of things. 

 

I have three large projects that I am currently working on and managing. Each project requires a lot of energy and time, and so I have had to weigh the sacrifices I need to make in order to commit to each of them. And I did this carefully.

 

When we make a decision to commit ourselves to something, that will mean that something else we are already a part of or are already doing will need to be eliminated. A swap out if you wish.

 

Our greatest mistake is committing to things without thinking of the time it will take in order for us to do them. We feel that we have extra time to give here and there, however, just like you would not throw your money away, you should also take care with how you use your time. If you have a bank account and begin to spend what is in the bank account, you will eventually have less money in that account and it is the same with your time.

 

We need to treat time the same way we do our money. Both are valuable, but perhaps time is more valuable for most. 

 

We need to realize and picture how committing our time to something is like drawing money from our bank. I don’t know about you, but if I do not know what is in my account I will also think twice before pulling anything out of it.

 

Know what is in your TIME ACCOUNT. Know how much ENERGY is in there as well, because the time you give away will also pull on your energy levels. 

 

I tend to overcommit myself to projects, whether they be other people’s projects or my own. I am also an over achiever who struggles with perfectionism. And I have a strong need to get things accomplished as an individual with an adoring type A personality. (Adoring might be too strong of a word, sorry.)

 

Because of all this I am always looking for ways to better manage my time. I, sadly, am almost obsessed with it actually.   

 

I believe that managing our time well is a huge key with us WORKING SMARTER RATHER THAN HARDER. And if we work smarter then we save ourselves energy from working too hard. Now we can place those saved energy deposits into other things or things that we enjoy doing.

 

One of my greatest temptations with all of this, however, is when I have saved energy and time deposits, from being so proficient with my time, I want to pour those deposits into new projects. This is also not wise, and I am definitely speaking to myself here.

 

It is better for us to take those saved time and energy deposits and spend them on rest and caring for ourselves. We can easily become overworked even with good time management skills. I know this because I am guilty of this the most!

 

I struggle with getting something done quickly and then looking off to the next thing I can tackle and accomplish instead of allowing myself and brain to rest.

 

It is very important for us to work smarter rather than harder. Simply put, we do not want to waste time and energy with doing tasks the hard way. How we set up daily, weekly, and monthly systems in our lives to get our tasks accomplished is important in reserving our time and energy.

 

Let us look at the simple to-do list. There are folks that have to-do lists everywhere, on their mirrors at home, in drawers in their kitchen or workshops, and on the dashboard of their cars for example. Having your to-do list in ten thousand locations is not using your time and energy well. I promise you are spending a lot of your time looking for those lists and the sheer number of them are overwhelming your brain and draining your energy. An easy fix is to consolidate all these lists in a notebook.

 

Sounds easy, but if we evaluate our systems we have adopted over the years, we can be surprised at what I call the loopholes in our systems that equate to us wasting our time. 

 

Take an evening in your week and write out the systems you use to plan your schedule and get things done, and honestly answer if you can tweak them a bit to be more proficient in your time, thus saving you a bit more energy. You might think this is ridiculous, but those small moments saved over time can offer you a free hour or two that you have gained back to go to a movie or plan a visit to the park.

 

You’re welcome!