2 min

How To Manage Your Time and Get More Done

Do you wish you had more time in the day to get more done?

That would make things a bit easier, wouldn’t it? But as we all know, we’re only given 24 hours every day to create, run a business, learn, read, relax, and so on.

In this video, Chris walks Pro Group member, Peter, and Futur team member, Ricky, through an exercise to help them prioritize their tasks to make the most of the time they have each day.

If you’re wondering how to manage your time better and get more done, you’ll definitely want to take some notes.

Time is a resource

The very first thing you’ll want to do is to start to think of time as a non-renewable resource. We’ve all heard before that time is money; so start to think of your time the same way you do money. How do you feel it’s best spent? What constraints would you apply to time that you would for money?

Gather the largest amount of discretionary time

Take note of what time you go to sleep and wake up on an average weekday. (We’ll exclude weekends from this exercise.)

If you’re going to sleep at 12AM, and waking up at 7AM, that’s 17 hours of discretionary time in your day. How are you spending each one of those 17 hours?

Time block tasks

What tasks take an hour of your day? Or thirty minutes? Start to jot down everything you do in a day—and be specific. Remember, you still need to cook, eat, brush your teeth, shower, and so on.

What is one thing you’d like to accomplish?

Whether they’re big or small, we all have goals we’d like to accomplish. And surely, there’s something you want to do, but you feel like you don’t have enough time each day to work on it.

Now that you’ve time-blocked your day for the hours you’re awake, consider what you can cut out, become more efficient at, or spend less time doing. Create a timed sprint for yourself to get this one goal knocked out.

For example, if you’re spending an hour on social media and two hours playing video games, try to cut each of these in half. If you find yourself working a full 8-hour day, see where you can be more efficient to maximize your time and finish work earlier.

Remember to spend your time wisely

At some point, life is going to end for each and every one of us. The time we have today, then, is more precious than we can even fathom. Be frugal and thrifty with your time. Say no to the things that don’t help you grow, and live life on your terms, on your own time.

ABOUT

Chris Do

Chris Do is an Emmy award-winning director, designer, strategist, and educator. He's the Founder and CEO of The Futur—an online education platform that teaches the business of design to creative thinkers.

Enjoyed this? There’s more where it came from.

Get insights on creativity, business, and design from The Futur.

You can unsubscribe anytime. By submitting, you agree to receive communications and to our Privacy Policy.