How To Instantly Make Time For Yourself – And Get More Accomplished

Instant Time Product Just Add Water

“An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth.”
– Bonnie Friedman

Ever wish you had more time? You’re not alone.  A recent survey found that:

  • 70% rate themselves as busy or very busy
  • 50% are more busy than they were last year
  • 45% sacrificed time with friends
  • 30% sacrificed time with family
  • 90% wished they had more time to spend with friends and family.

(Source:  USA Today Survey.  Dr. Zimbardo discussed these statistics in a presentation at the Commonwealth Club, video available in my article about my favorite free online psychology tests.)

We’re all busy, and getting busier – but our lives don’t have to be so rushed. Imagine what you might do with an extra hour or two a day.  Picture yourself going from project to project unhurriedly, knowing that you had enough time in your day to complete everything you needed to do.

In this article, I’m going to lay out strategies I use to instantly make more time for myself – actionable strategies that you can use today.  I’d love to hear your thoughts, additional strategies you have, and stories of how you make time for yourself in the comments!

5 Tips To Instantly Make More Time For Yourself

1.  Outsource

When most people hear the word outsource, they imagine workers in remote parts of the world doing business tasks or research. Books such as the Source Control outsourcing guide focus on this, but I’m talking about a more fundamental type of outsourcing:  hiring people to do chores that you don’t want to do. Some example:

  • I don’t cook.  I hired a chef off Craig’s list and eat out at restaurants.  I literally do not have a frying pan in my apartment.
  • I have with hired people to do my laundry
  • I  use a maid service who clean my apartment, empty and load my dishwasher
  • I never wash my car, I always take it to the car wash

If you really do need a virtual assistant, then get one – but I imagine for many people, it’s the little chores that add up and eat away at our days.

2.  Be Unavailable

Do Not Disturb Sign Hotel Room DoorMany of my favorite productivity bloggers advocate setting some limits on how often you check your email.  When I really need to focus, I don’t just target email however – I make myself completely unavailable. I turn off my cell phone, turn off IM, log out of Facebook, close my email, and if I am trying to focus at work, I’ll put on headphones – even if I’m not listening to music.

Not only does making myself unavailable keep me from being interrupted, the whole routine of preparing myself and mentally deciding I’m unavailable really helps me to focus on what needs to be done.

3.  Stop Doing What You Don’t Want (Nor Need) To Do

How many commitments have you taken on out of obligation, because you felt they were the right thing to do – or simply because you weren’t thinking about it and said yes to them?  I’m all for trying new things, but if you’ve taken on too much and are being stretched thin – stop trying to optimize and squeeze seconds out of the day, when cutting activities and projects can save hours.

I’ve been heavily influenced by Leo Babauta’s writing, in particular the excellent book The Simple Guide To A Minimalist Life.  I do so much less now than I did last year, and I’ve actively been trying to remove physical items as well as unnecessary projects and tasks out of my life.  Take a look at what you’ve got on your plate, and let some things go.

On a related note, if you’re having trouble saying no when people ask for help, you may benefit by reading about my strategy of saying no with an empathy sandwich.

4.  Use Your Time Actively (Cut The Television and Web Browsing)

One of the things I learned when I tracked where I was spending my time online was just how much of my time was flat out wasted.  I didn’t need more time – I needed to just stop wasting the time I already had.  Instead of passively wasting days away, actively live your life.

I think one of the biggest challenges of our generation is dealing with is the twin time sucks of television and the internet.  I have a whole slew of strategies for how to stop wasting time online.  Here’s on thought that helps me focus:

Imagine how much time you already have right in front of you that is spent online or in front of the television.  Every moment you spend watching TV or browsing random websites – you are making someone else rich.  Why not instead spend that time on yourself?

5.  Put Yourself First

I Love Myself Put Myself FirstI previously discussed my strategy for paying myself first with my time.  Briefly, I work on my personal projects first thing in the morning – and then the rest of the day I deal with whatever else needs to be done.

I work on myself first regardless of how busy a day I have, and regardless of any external obligations I need to take care of.  I don’t worry about the details of how everything will get done.  Regardless of how much or little time I have the rest of the day, I always find a way to take care of everything.  And if I don’t?  Then clearly I’ve taken on too much, and I need to let some things go.

Put yourself first, and work on your goals before anything else. My good friend Austen wrote about this recently as well, about how working out early in the morning one day changed his life.

Your Thoughts? Strategies?

What strategies do you use to make more time for yourself? Do you have any examples of using these strategies in your life?

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  • Sid,

    I love these tips. I'm a big fan of shutting out distractions because they really do make it hard to get things done. I've found that when people have less time they are more productive. Looking forward to our conversation today.
  • Hey Srini,

    Thanks for your comment! Had a great time on the call today - looking
    forward to sharing our discussion with your readers. Keep up the great work
    on your podcast, I think you are really on to something.

    The hardest thing for me about shutting out distractions is if I have only
    one distraction to shut out - like if I'm telling myself "ok, write, don't
    look at twitter." Now the whole time I'm thinking about "Gotta not check
    twitter, gotta not check twitter."

    I don't have a good solution for that just yet =)
  • Shaun
    Hey Sid,

    When your thinking "gotta not check twitter" you are still focusing on twitter!
    Try closing your eyes for 60 seconds and thinking about the task you need to complete. Nothing but that task! By the end of the minute you should be itching to start the task. If you find your self getting distracted whilst completing the task, just stop for another minute to re-focus. Worst case scenario you have to stop 5 times. Is 5 minutes getting re-focused better then hours wasted on twitter?
  • mrjWells
    Hey Sid, as time goes by #2. Be Unavailable has been playing a bigger role in my life. Too many interruptions can derail the best intentions.
  • Hey mrjWells,

    Thanks for the comment!

    I totally agree. Interesting how you point out that it's as time goes by, as
    I've been thinking about that a little too. I think that when we're
    younger, maybe all these different things we try are "learning experiences."
    And then as we get older, we've already tried a number of different things
    and need to now focus - and these same things end up being "distractions"
  • Hi Sid, I find your article really interesting. I especially agree with tip #5 "Put yourself first", it really works - including working out first thing in the morning, I find that it energizes me through the day. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :-)
  • Hey Gianni,

    Thanks for your comment!

    You know, I didn't realize that but you've brought up a great point -
    working out, or doing something else you're excited in doesn't just mean you
    can check it off your todo list for the day: it also means you can go
    through the rest of the day energized by it!

    Thanks for the comment, that wasn't something I thought of when I wrote the
    original article, and I really appreciate you adding to the discussion!
  • remarkablogger
    Sid, great stuff. Nice to see someone walking the talk! That matters.

    If I could add anything, it would be this: stop over-committing to projects you know damn good and well you have no time for. We do this because we're scared the money's going to dry up, which is understandable, but wrong. If you can't execute (and make money) on the projects you already have on the burner, taking on more is like trying to drink away alcoholism.
  • Hey Michael,

    Thanks so much for your comment.

    Being that you are an in demand blog consultant (and if I may throw in my
    two cents here, a dispenser of excellent advice) I can only imagine you
    likely need to turn down projects all the time to avoid being stretched
    thin. It's a problem I definitely struggle with - that right balance. It
    seems like I'm always just a little *too* and want a little more, or I'm
    just a little bit overcommitted and need to drop some things. Maybe there's
    no perfect balance for me =)
  • chrisharmon
    Great post! ( Stop Doing What You Don’t Want (Nor Need) To Do) This hit home with me. I'm doing a project now that I should have said no to. I used the excuse that the economy is slow, so I need this job to keep the cash flow going. What I should have done is more marketing to get the type of projects that I like.
  • Hey Chris,

    Thanks for your comment!

    I think that's definitely a tough one to consider. My career path has been
    pretty secure (corporate work), but I have some friends who are riding out
    the economy by traveling, some by going to school - and some hustling for
    projects.

    Like you mentioned below, I think only you know whether the project is right
    for you. That's a really good point you bring up, that instead of doing
    things that we don't want to do, perhaps we need to actively take steps to
    get more projects we *do* want to do - whether that's marketing, or
    something else.

    Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective and comment, I really
    do appreciate it.
  • Hi, Sid - I am new to your website and have new entries emailed to me - thank you.
    I come at time and chores w/a little different perspective. First, I consider myself a religious hermit, though one actively engaged in the world - no, it really is not an oxymoron :). I try to use the daily chores of laundry and cleaning as time for focused prayer. I, too, outsource chores which have become too much for me - mowing 2+ acres, some housecleaning. I am unable to swallow, so all my nourishment goes through my stomach tube - hence, I have a pan to warm up coffee w/some spoons but that is about it (coffee and cocoa in my tube feeding - hey, it smells good!). I do have a dog sanctuary w/20 dogs currently in residence - literally - they all live in the house w/access to the yards. This is what threatens my time most of all - I need to focus on my personal priorities: prayer, healing (RN) and animal rescue. I do a lot w/other local and regional rescues - here is where I could better manage my time, too. thanks for the post. I follow Leo, too.
  • Hi Silverwalk,

    Thanks for commenting - and welcome to the site!

    You know, you really do bring a unique and interesting perspective to the
    situation - and a lot of different ways of looking at it that I hadn't
    considered.

    Someone else commented to me about laundry, cleaning and doing dishes as
    time that lets them mentally "downshift" - that is, after working hard all
    day and thinking at their job, they enjoyed the peace and quiet of
    physically taking care of some things while their mind wandered. I think
    that your comment really brings a different point of view, and it has given
    me some things to think about.

    Thank you once again for your comment, and I'm happy to see you're reading
    the entries I've emailed - and getting involved =)
  • I am a firm believer in putting myself first ~:-)

    Fortunately, I have managed to blend what I like surfing for, with sharing of resources for the students, collecting info for posts and tutes, or sharing something uplifting and inspiring on my social networks.

    Getting up early helps; up at 6, by 10am when the "work" begins I've been doing my own stuff for 4 hours. Though I am poaching the first hour now for getting physical.
  • Hi Char,

    Thanks for your comment!

    I've definitely noticed a theme of working out in the morning among some of
    my readers - I wonder if it's making a comeback, or if perhaps it's just
    popular among people who, like us, actively put ourselves first =)

    Sounds to me like you've got the right blend of doing items which you enjoy
    and put yourself first - and yet also benefit others at the same time. I
    think that's great - and that's something that I think is really important,
    to do things which are not just personally beneficial and enjoyable, but
    also make a difference in the world.
  • alexfayle
    The last point - put yourself first - is one that many of my clients have troubles with. Women especially are taught to put others first and then they end up totally unhappy with life and feeling too busy and unproductive.

    A little bit of selfishness is a good thing!
  • Hey Alex!

    Thanks for your comment!

    I'm going to print that out and stick it on my wall.

    "A little bit of selfishness is a good thing!"
    - Alex Fayle

    ;)
  • This post was spot on Sid! I love the concept of "paying yourself first" when it comes to your time. I had heard about it for money, but it totally makes sense to apply the same principles to time as well.

    Great tips!
  • Hi Natalie,

    Thanks for the comment! I do like to mentally treat time as a "liquid
    asset" just like money - makes for some fun comparisons =)
  • This is a great post.

    I particularly like the advice about putting oneself first early in the day. What a fabulous idea - spend your best energy on yourself and your most important pursuits rather than relegate them to the fag-end of the day. I can see how that can alter your outlook, not just to the things you do first thing, but in general. I'm going to give this a go!

    The one thing that helps my productivity is to always have in mind what I'm trying to achieve, even on a daily basis, and when I'm feeling swamped or unfocussed, getting back to the critical few things that are going to make the biggest difference really helps.
  • Hey Christine,

    Thanks for your comment!

    I know what you mean about keeping in mind what we're trying to achieve!
    Sometimes I take off on tangents and find myself doing something completely
    unrelated to the task at hand - and have to remind myself to focus on what I
    was working on in the first place =)
  • Sofi
    Do you really think the average person would be able to afford to to hire a maid or a cook?! Or eat at restaurants all the time? Maybe if you are a rich man, but not a starving student, a single mom, a struggling working class family...
  • Hi Sofi,

    Thank you for your comment - you bring up some really interesting points.

    I agree with you - if someone is having trouble finding time for themselves
    and also stretched thin financially then spending even more money may not be
    the answer. I know when I was a student I had to really watch where I spent
    money, and I'm still pretty frugal. I've found that for me, since I live
    alone, it's not much more expensive to eat out than it is to cook - but for
    a family, cooking at home is definitely something to consider and weigh the
    time spent cooking versus the amount they would spend to eat out

    Thanks so much for the discussion and bringing up some great points. You're
    absolutely right - some of my suggestions may not be practical for everybody
  • paulwill
    Sometimes the hardest thing is putting youself first. If you truely are serious about doing that task, then you must make yourself do it. I always feel way better AFTER i have made myself do something. Much better then never doing it at all.
  • Hey Paul,

    Thanks for your thoughts - I appreciate it!

    I really have a hard time paying myself first sometimes as well. Just like
    you I always feel better after I do it though =).
  • Here's what I do...

    My default setting is 'Do it Tomorrow'. Whatever comes my way can probably put off until the next day. Why does this work? Well, in a nutshell, it reduces the 'stimulus-response' approach and means I have a time buffer to really think about what's worth doing.

    Bottom line? I cut out more time wasting activities because I react less and respond more.