Between a hectic work day and private obligations, it's hard to find free time... But having time for yourself is essential to your personal development. Whether you dream of accomplishing great things, such as running a marathon or writing a book for example, or whether you simply wish to increase your leisure and relaxation timeMake it your new priority now! Here are some techniques that will allow you to free up your time and thus, from better enjoy life.
1. Learn to say NO!
More than an assertiveness exercise, refusing to comply with certain requests will allow you to free up time. Say "no" to distractions, "no" to small talk and discussions that don't benefit you, and "no" to all the things and people that waste your time. It will certainly be difficult at first, but learning to say "no" will radically transform your life by allowing you to to invest your time in what really matters to you.
2. Define your real priorities
First of all, it is advisable to take a step back in order to have a clear vision of what you spend most of your time on. To do this, give yourself the time you need to take stock of your life and ask yourself about your deepest aspirations. Once you have completed this little brainstorming session, all you have to do is make your main objectives a priority in your schedule. The next step will be to eliminate and remove all unnecessary activitiesYou can't afford to waste time and effort on your projects.
3. Always start with your primary obligation
Here is a little tip that will allow you to to have more free time while being more productive :
Always start your day by doing the most difficult and important thing you can do.
Tackling your biggest task of the day first will help you get rid of it faster! Once you have relieved yourself of the stress and workload associated with this task, you will enjoy the rest of your day even more. You will be more relaxed and you will be able to find time for yourself.
4. Write
More than a reality, it is often the "feeling" of being overwhelmed by one's obligations that prevents you from making time for anything else. So put your feelings on paper to reduce this heavy feeling.
To clear your brain and make it available again, it is also important to write down your imperatives. You will be surprised to feel instantly more "free".
5. Rethink your daily routine
Establishing a schedule and sticking to it is the best way to optimize your day and free up some time for yourself. Not to mention that it will be an opportunity for you to sort out your schedule. Take advantage of this opportunity to include a time slot specifically dedicated to your personal goals.
6. Give yourself time to take a break
Chacun cherche à être le plus performant possible. Mais il est impossible de courir un sprint toute la journée ! Loin d’être une perte de temps, les pauses que vous vous accorderez augmenteront votre productivité et, de fait, votre temps libre.
7. Avoid procrastination
Procrastinating, that is, putting off your obligations until tomorrow, does not help you have more free time. Often accompanied by a strong feeling of guilt, this time of procrastination is neither productive nor a real source of relaxation for you.
8. Minimize wasted time
Supprimer les « pauses télé », les jeux, ou certaines obligations sociales will free up your valuable time. Also, many of the things you need to do aren't really that important. Learn to re-evaluate your tasks and clear your schedule by reducing the number of meetings or sending group emails, for example.
9. Collect your bonds
Instead of running errands several times a week or answering your emails several times during the day, gathering these tasks and doing them all at once will save you a lot of time.
10. Become a monotasker
Contrary to what you may think, you don't save time and you're not more efficient when you do several things at the same time.
According to scientists, time fragmentation is one of the main causes of professional and personal burnout. It is also the cause of the recurrent feeling of being overwhelmed by work. Stick to doing one thing at a time, without interruptionfor a certain period of time would therefore be the key to optimize your time and be able to extract free time from it.
11. Make it automatic to complete your tasks
It has been shown that daily tasks, performed automatically, do not require any particular effort. On the other hand, occasional obligations require a great deal of willpower, which is quite exhausting for our brain. Integrating our imperatives into our routine would allow us to accomplish them in a minimum of time.
12. Remove distractions
Banishing distractions from your work environment can make you more productive. To do this, start by de-clutter your visual environment by tidying up your living and working spaces. Cutting out games and TV is also a good way to stay focused on the essentials. But the most effective way is probably to "disconnect" from the internet and the telephone in order to limit external solicitations.
13. Optimize your free time
The little breaks that punctuate your day are special moments to indulge in your favorite activities. So why not transform your early mornings, evenings or lunch breaks into "special leisure and relaxation" moments.
14. Do not hesitate to delegate
Call on your friends and family to lighten your schedule and reduce the weight of the burden on your shoulders. Delegating is a good way to get away from some of the menial tasks. And if that's not enough, you can go so far as to subcontract to competent professionals.
Video: taking control of your time
What about you, do you have any tips for saving time and enjoying more free time? Leave us a little comment!
