This past week I paid attention to the things in my routine that I have changed over the past few years to give me more time and/or energy. You may think, “Oh but that only takes me a few minutes!” But, those few minutes add up and/or they may be sapping your energy! Here are the gifts of time you may benefit from:
- Post Office Automatic Machine. This sounds a bit boring but I think it is the coolest thing that I can go to the Post Office at 7pm on a Friday night and mail gifts. There is a catch that the package has to fit in the bin but it is a fairly large bin. The machine is as easy to use as an ATM.
- Auto pay for utility bills. It is a small amount of time if you pay on-line (see next gift) but you can free up this time completely if you set up auto-pay. After I did it I wished I had done it years earlier.
- On-line banking and bills. This is the next coolest thing after the post office machine. It takes so much less time and saves all that paper for bills and envelopes. A bonus of doing your part for the environment too! Another bonus is security; identity theft risks are reduced by eliminating those bills and checks in the mail.
- Folders. Those in your e-mail and computer. I find things much more quickly with folders for each of my projects, clients, and whatever else I need to separate. Some great advice I received is that if you’re not sure which folder to file it in then put it in both; this is so easy to do electronically. This assures a quick recovery when memory falters later (I can’t remember who to give credit to for that advice).
- Notice what you use daily and put each item in the same spot every time. If you use a purse then the pockets work great for this too. This simple routine has added up to hours of saved time in looking for missing sunglasses, keys, etc…
- In your morning routine, re-arrange or eliminate (if possible) any items that cause you frustration and stress. A simple example is that I organized my sock drawer with shoe boxes and dividers so that I can easily see the pairs and colors and threw out any that I no longer wore. You can do the same with your closet, kitchen drawer, etc…It may seem hard to believe but these small changes made a big difference in the way I start my day.
- Give yourself extra time to arrive at appointments and take a book or some other work with you if you arrive early. This is not always possible and may seem like you are taking more time versus less. But when you start scheduling this way, you will feel the energizing benefits of a relaxing drive versus an anxious race and earn a reputation as a dependable person who values others’ time.
- Last, but one of my favorites: My car’s GPS! It has saved me so many times, just this morning I ran into a traffic jam and I used my GPS to navigate around it via side streets. It saved me a lot of time and avoided a lot of stress.
There are many “ripple” benefits to reviewing your routine and finding more time and energy. Time is the great equalizer; none of us get any more than 24 hours in a day but how you manage your energy and the use of your time can make all the difference in the world.
What gifts can you share of time and/or energy savings? Please share in a comment.
Related Post: Creating More Time for Navigating to Success
photo credit: Premier Packaging via Flickr creative commons