OWN YOUR TIME

No matter what we do, time keeps rolling. If we had the chance, many of us would probably choose to freeze it, if we had the power to do so, just to buy ourselves a little bit more time to get things done. So if time is so precious, why do we end up spending time so inefficiently.

 
Did you know that the average person spends yearly on average 110 hours commuting to work, 275 hours running errands, 450 hours eating and drinking and 1,011 hours watching TV. If you knew that most of us waste our limited time with time-wasting habits, wouldn’t you start to make a few adjustments? Take watching TV for example – and by TV we mean TV, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube… If you’d cut down that time by just 10%, the average person would win about 100 hours a year to devote to pursuing your goals, feeding your mind or making memories with loved ones.

 
There is a direct link between your quality of life and how much freedom you enjoy, so what can we do to master our own time and use it more efficiently? Here are a few things where you can start to own your time.

 
#1 Plan and Prioritize
We know that it is important to budget our money, but it is just as important to budget our time. One of the simplest ways to take control over your time is to plan ahead and schedule your day/week. Make sure you do tasks that are most important first. You are fresh and alert in the morning and have the most mental and physical energy available. So don’t waste it on emails or social media, but spend the time on activities that produce the biggest results. Scheduling your time and setting priorities also means that you have to set boundaries and learn to say ‘NO’. Recognize what is important to you and make sure you devote enough time to take action or to enjoy ‘Me-Time’. Stick to it no matter what and remember this is YOUR life. You are the most important person in it. Make sure you schedule some time for distractions as well, so you have a designated time for them.

 
#2 Be Diligent
We’ve all been there… We sat down to watch a video on YouTube and three hours later we realize that we spend more time than we care to admit getting lost in the caves of YouTube. In order to avoid wasting your time mindlessly, have the discipline to take care of important tasks first and don’t waste it on procrastinating. Maybe set an alarm that will remind you to stop watching mindless videos.

 

 
#3 Take Breaks
To avoid wasting time mindlessly, schedule breaks. It is also one of the biggest myths about productivity that you can accomplish a task in one sitting. Make sure you schedule breaks if a large task will take up several hours or days and take a break every couple of hours. Take a step back and schedule some rest time to recharge.

 
#4 Be Aware of Your Time
The key to using your time most efficiently is being aware of time and staying productive. During free pockets of time, for example while you wait for a client to show up or on your commute, answer emails, pull out a book, think about your goals, update your social media, make that call to your friend, sneak in smaller tasks and activities. Don’t just sit and wait, use your time wisely and you’ll be surprised how much you can get done in those small pockets of time that will free up your time to work on your priorities.

 
#5 Inspire and Motivate Yourself Daily
It is important that you recharge your battery every single day with content that inspires you, motivates you and raises your spirit. If you are inspired and motivated, you are in a mindset of getting things done. Give yourself that extra push to keep your momentum going and feed your soul. Just think about a flight on an airplane. Should there be trouble and the oxygen masks drop, put the mask on yourself first before helping your loved ones. If you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be able to take care of others. So every single day, make sure that you spend time to inspire yourself, spend time with your friends and family, feed your mind with podcasts, audio-books and powerful talks… This is not ‘wasted time’, this is ‘free time’ that may turn out to be just as valuable as the time you spend being productive and completing a project.

 
While time management looks different for everybody, having the ability to choose how you spend your time is an integral part of freedom. If you learn how to use your time efficiently, you can take control of your life and the freedom allows you to make time to pursue the goals and dreams you live for.

 
We hope we have inspired you to see the value of time. The question is, who owns YOUR time? If it’s not you, make a plan to get it back and let us know how you achieve it.

 
OWN YOUR TIME!
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked