Lesson 6: Make Use of Every Second

This is the sixth lesson in the Get It Done Now Series.

In order to get more done, why not create more time in the day? This is easy to do and it ranges from playing audio in your car, to having books and articles available to read in your house. Here’s a good list of things to do to make use of every second and find more time in the day.

• Shut the TV off.
• Place books and articles throughout the house. In the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and living room. Then just pick one up and start reading it when you have some down time.
• When you wake up and get ready in the bathroom, this is a good opportunity to listen to audio that teaches you.
• When driving or commuting anywhere, this is a good opportunity to listen to audio that teaches you.
• While at work, wear headphones and listen to informational and informative programs on YouTube (or your favorite place to listen).
• Don’t go to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or any news site. This especially means the Yahoo front page.
• Plan out your day the night before.
• Wake up 15 minutes earlier.
• Track your work so you don’t spend time trying to remember what is going on.
• Go to bed 15 minutes later.
• Enlist the aid of music to inspire you.
• Post your intentions online of what you will complete in the next hour.
• Find a baby sitter for your kids.
• Clean up the clutter from your work-space. This might give you a sense of order and less overwhelm.
• Learn to type faster on your computer.
• Bite off small pieces of your tasks. Like taking nibbles from a piece of cake. Nibbling is easy.
• Drink loads of water. Needing to go to the bathroom will create greater urgency as you time your work bursts accordingly.
• Attend a social gathering or workshop. This creates massive motivation. I recently (as of 1/17/2012) returned from a workshop in Las Vegas.
• Spend time perfecting your craft in addition to getting things done. This means learning new areas and experimenting.
• Find a college intern willing to do some of your more mundane work. Find some way to give back to the college/intern too.
• Set an alarm for 15 minutes. What gets done in that 15 minutes is a task. Rinse and repeat.
• Have a contest with your peers to showcase your work. This is especially helpful if you are creating something tangible that can be seen or viewed.
• Decide to love what you are doing.
• Decide to hate what you are doing and switch to a more interesting project.
• Treat your work like a game. How far can you really go with it?
• Include socializing as part of your project plans.
• When feeling overwhelmed, say NO.
• When feeling lazy, take a cold shower and imagine yourself getting chased by a sadistic bear.

There’s plenty of ways to get more time in the day. I’ve listed about 30 here. The point is to find what works for you. Getting rid of some of your projects might give you relief for what matters for you. Or if you are feeling lazy, it’s probably worth just getting up and exercising or doing something dramatic to put your body in motion.

Recap

There’s plenty of things to do to make use of every second. Find what works for you. For me, I like to listen to audio in my car and have my head phones on at work to listen to informative podcasts. This helps me get skills while I’m getting my work done.