Let’s be honest, time really is our most precious commodity. It is not an unlimited resource, and you wouldn’t be alone in wondering on occasion where it all goes. In our line of work, we hear from many customers and patients just how busy life can get. With this mind we’ve compiled a list of top tips that you may find useful to get back a few extra hours in your week to focus on the activities that bring you greater health and happiness.
For starters….
Stop being busy, being busy!
It may sound counter-intuitive, but our brain only has a certain amount of focus at its disposal each day and for many people it often gets used up with activities and conversations that don’t always serve us. One way to ensure you are directing your precious attention where it will be most useful is to choose your top five important tasks for the day, write them down (the night before is best) and block out distractions (a ban on devices for this period can be helpful) until they are done.
If you still find yourself bogged down with constant distractions and requests from others, try and train yourself to say no more often. It can be difficult at first, but in most cases you will begin to notice that people can in fact wait (unless it’s an emergency) until you have the time, or better yet they may come up with a solution of their own in the meantime.
Dial the Doc’s Dr Jeremy Allen emphasises how important it is for our brain function to focus on one task at a time and that building your capacity to avoid distractions (particularly technology) and learning to say ‘no’ to the demands of others can vastly improve cognitive functioning.
“When we try to do too much, cognitive overload occurs, which is when the working memory resources needed to process a task are greater than the working memory resources that are available. Research shows that when the working memory is overloaded, content is difficult to understand, learning slows down and becomes inefficient, and our capacity to transfer knowledge into long-term memory is decreased.”
A major advantage of focusing on one thing at a time and doing so at a time of the day while your mind is still fresh, is that your efficiency will inevitably increase. In essence, you will spend less time to achieve more and free up your resources for the activities you enjoy.
Use technology to your advantage
While technology (when over-used) can steal your focus, there are many ways that when handled correctly it can save you a lot of time and free up some precious mental space.
Here are just a few examples:
- Order your groceries online and get them delivered- No more waiting in line at the checkout or buying unnecessary items. Most online supermarkets also have a function whereby you can save your favourite items so you don’t need to trawl for them each time.
- Automate your payments wherever possible: Although this may not take up huge amounts of time, it can monopolise a lot of mental space remembering each one. Once it is set up you can mostly forget about it.
- Out-source jobs where you can: If there are jobs that you struggle with, take up a lot of time, or that you plain just don’t like, think about out-sourcing. From cleaning, to book-keeping, to marketing and small business administration, there is often someone out there able to do the job quicker and more effectively than you. With so many online platforms designed to match all budgets it can be worth considering.
Here are a just few:
www.offthehookbookkeeping.com.au
- Find an online GP: The rise of telehealth websites such as dialthedoc.com.au have been a game-changer in the time-saving department. No more taking time off work to attend a doctor’s appointment (or worse yet wasting your evenings and weekends) for a simple prescription or hanging out in waiting rooms exposing yourself to infection.
Schedule it in
Schedule the hours in your day so that the important things get done- that includes scheduling in time for yourself, to rest, spend time with friends or for the pursuits you love! Get a dairy with A4 sized pages and write down your day, or even week ahead. You may be surprised when you see all of your hours accounted for on paper just how much time there actually is in a day. There are always opportunities to cut activities that don’t serve you and replace them with those that replenish you and bring you greater health and happiness.
Prioritise your health
Looking after your health will save you time in the long term. The last thing you want is to spend your non-working hours visiting the doctor or confined to a bed.
Dr Allen says there are some pretty simple ways patients can minimise the time spent in consultation with him.
“I know it has been espoused in many ways, but I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to simply get enough sleep (go to bed early and get up early), eat whole foods and move your body for at least an hour a day. They may sound like obvious examples, but they are so often the first to fall by the wayside when a person is busy. So many diseases could be prevented by following these principles alone.”
