5 Ways to Find 3 Lost Hours Every Week!
When you stop to realize that the reason we become hamsters on the proverbial wheel is that we do the same things as everyone else, at the same time as everyone else, every day of our lives. From last minute Christmas shopping to leaving the house late, we are a culture of procrastinators. That is exactly what causes the vast majority of our stress.
Think about it. The things we choose to do are the very things that frustrate us the most! The key word here is “choose”. The simple question is, why do we do it to ourselves? Why are you creating your own stress? Not enough without creating something else?
The good thing about that is that you have full control over how to change it. You are the one creating the stress and frustration, so you are the only one who can do anything about it. Pretty cool, right?
How do you “flip the switch”?
Let me talk about “the magic 10 minutes”. What magic 10 minutes, you ask?
An example of this is the daily commute. Do you have any kind of displacement in the morning or in the afternoon? If so, you will most likely be stuck in traffic, especially if you live in a larger metropolitan area. This traffic is quite frustrating. It can stress you out. It can “make you late” (at least in your mind). It’s probably something you’re not really looking forward to! However, it is a conscious decision that you make every day of your life to participate in this stress.
But, you may argue, I have to drive to work!
Yes… but what if I told you that you’re doing it all wrong?
I first discovered the “Magic 10 Minutes” phenomenon when I had a meeting early every Thursday morning. Being in a place 45 minutes from my house, I had to drive through the city going from one busy highway to another busy highway to another busy highway. Did I mention it was a weekday, early in the morning? Although I, like most people in our society, am an expert on the “last minute” habit, one particular morning I found myself awake, showered, dressed, and ready to leave the house about a half hour earlier than usual. Oddly enough, my first thought was, I can’t leave this early.” When I asked why not, I replied, “because I’m going to be extremely early.”
I thought about that for a moment. Something about it didn’t sound right. Exactly what was wrong with being early, I wondered. At that point I realized that I had been so brainwashed by “last minute syndrome” that I couldn’t see the value of leaving a few minutes early, taking my time and having less stress.
I put on my coat, packed a few things into my briefcase (of course, my stuff was scattered all over the dining room table because I hadn’t put it in my briefcase the night before even though I know I’d need it the next morning), and headed out. to my car.
Something that changed his life happened during the next 30 minutes. I discovered a window of opportunity. There were fewer cars on the road. Not only that, but I drove the speed limit the entire time I was on the freeways. No more stop and go. I was less stressed. Not only that, but it also took me less time to get where I was going. How big is that!
Arriving at my destination early, I took a few minutes to reflect on this discovery. It was so simple, so refreshing and gave me a “gift of time”. Aren’t we all looking for those every day?
I began to think of other areas of my life that I could apply it to.
Here are 5 easy things I’ve started doing that give me a collective 2-4 hours a week of what I simply call “found time”:
1. At the end of each day, take 5 minutes to gather all the things you will need for the next day. This sounds like common sense, but how often do you find yourself fighting for your keys, your phone, your calendar, the information you need for the meeting in an hour? By spending five minutes the night before, you can save 15 minutes each morning, not to mention you avoid starting the day running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off.
2. Do your Christmas shopping during the 10 months of the year. Do you think that gives you enough time? Avoid all the stores in November and December, and you’ll eliminate a ton of stress and self-imposed time constraints. Think you’ll miss out on the great deals? Do your Christmas shopping in January and February. They are often as good, if not better, than the Christmas sales themselves! Buy things “out of season” and you’ll save money, time, and a lot of energy.
3. If you have a commute of any kind, find your “magic 10 minutes.”
4. Write down three things every day that you will do no matter what. Make them simple things: a quick phone call, a reply to an email, pay that bill. Get in the habit of accomplishing things every day. Get in the habit of checking all those little things off your to-do list early and often, and you’ll find you have much more time for the big things you want to accomplish.
5. Use the “f” word… FOCUS! Studies have shown that it takes several minutes to recover from an interruption. If you feel like you’re “putting out fires” throughout your days, schedule “focus” times. You can find 30 minutes to lock your door, turn off your phone, check out your email, etc. If you tell yourself that you can’t do that, you are lying to yourself. Once you realize that you accomplish more in those 30 minutes than in the next 4 hours, you’ll never look back!
Hans Hoffman said: “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary can speak.” When you identify where you find your stress, you’ll find that you’re creating most of it. The beauty of that is that you are the only one who can slow it down simply by modifying the things you are already doing. Only then can you find where you get your energy from. That is clarity.
Get clarity… Move… Get results.
