Five 1-Minute Time Savers

Picture by Elliott Brown

Time is the one resource we can never get more of. Eventually, it will run out, and we won't have a chance to get to back or to buy some extra, no matter what common expressions my say.

The idea of 'saving time' is actually quite odd as well. It's not like we can take some time, put it in a bank, and withdraw when we need it most. Time is not money.

But what we can do, is try to use our time as efficiently and carefully as possible, thus creating limiting the time we spend on activities that don't really matter to us. On this blog, there are some ideas on how to do this, and below you can find the 5 best ones.

1. Keep stuff in the same spot. At all times, keep your things in a designated location. Even if it's something that you use often, like a phone, try to give it a certain location in every room. For example: in the office it should be on your desk, in the kitchen next to the fridge, etc. Then, even if you don't know which room it's in, you limit the places you have to look for it.
   Read the post on keeping your keys in one place here.
   
2. Write lists. Lists are a good way to use your time more efficiently because you've basically done the thinking before the doing, thus focusing on each of those two in turn instead of trying to do both at the same time. A good example of a list that can save you tons of time is a grocery list, but it also goes for checklists when you pack or when you're working.
   
3. Clean up as you go. Clearing stuff away is one of those things that takes up time depending on the kind of person you are. Messy people have to spend a lot more time on this because of the magical way in which stuff just seems to fill up their space. It seems difficult to control, but it isn't. You just try to remind yourself to put everything you touch back in its designated spot. Taking off your clothes? Put them on a hanger in the closet or toss them in the laundry.
   Mind you, in certain situations this may ruin a perfectly good moment. On these occasions, use your better judgment.
   This post gives you more info on putting things away when you're finished with them.
   
4. Make activities shorter. Some things we do don't really require as much time as we take for them. How long do you really need to talk on the phone? Or be in the shower? Do you really want to spend your time slowly meandering through the supermarket?
   Try to do some of these things a little faster to save a couple of minutes. They will add up to give you time to do something you enjoy.
   
5. Give up a big time waster. Stuff that wastes time is something you do that doesn't really mean that much to you, but that just kind of makes time go by. We all have these activities. It could be reading a magazine, watching TV or surfing the web. It's the kind of stuff that makes you feel a little 'blah' after, and in hind sight turns the day into one of those days in which nothing really happened.
   We gave up facebook and TV so far. What would you give up?

What do you do to save time? How important is it to you? What would you do with an hour extra each day? Let's share some of our ideas with each other!