Let's start with the basics!
There are 24 hours in the day. Ideally we only want to spend a max of 8 hours at work, another 8 of those at play and 8 hours sleeping.
Tell me does your day go more like this?
Work 14 hours a day or more, get 4 hours play time if we're lucky and sleep only 6.
If this sounds like the cycle you're stuck in you're no Robison Crusoe!
We need to find more time for our own personal activities after cubicle hours!
The first place to start is obviously the 14 hours we spend at work. We all have intense jobs, but I've often found there are some things I can do during the day to claw back a few precious hours.
Let's look at a few time management skills I've found successful:
I've said "No" to people when I've been at capacity. I know in some jobs it's actually your job to say yes. I've done a lot of consulting and I used to be dead scared to say "no" to customers because that could mean a loss of work. However I noticed a bizarre thing. I was at breaking point once and was forced to say "NO" to a customer. Guess what, they actually respected my push back. We able to address that request at a more appropriate time.
I've put headphones on to send a message to talkative co-workers. Some co-workers are time vampires, sucking the very time from your day and forcing you to reread material or rework something. Give them the busy look while pretending to listen to music.
I commonly work through lunch to ensure I can make a clean get away. I'm lucky enough to get a 1 hour lunch break as a part of my day. Only, I don't need it at all. I never use it. Instead I make it well known that "I continue to work through my lunch time".
This sends two messages. One, I'm a keen worker who sacrifices my lunch for the company, and two I've effectively overworked and earned my right to leave on time.
Work on getting the cubicle hours under control and you'll find you recover a few extra hours for yourself.
Personally, I use this time to work on building a second income business.
What could you do with the extra time?
