How To Make The Most Out of 24 Hours

How many times have we all found ourselves in that same situation where we constantly wish we had just a couple of extra hours in a day? It just doesn’t seem enough, does it? Why couldn’t we humans have come up with a 30 hour a day system? Well, instead of trying to find ways of making the impossible happen, why don’t we try making the most of our time given. I’ve managed to conjure few ideas that I think might be helpful for those who seem to have difficulties in managing their time.

Wake Up Early

We only have 24 hours a day and waking up around 12pm isn’t going to do you any good in helping you make the most out of your day. Instead it reduces the amount of time you have by nearly half! This in turn will put more stress on yourself by having to make up for that lost time during the course of the day. Set your alarm to a fixed time each day at about 7am and make it point no matter how hard it may be initially to wake up at that set time. Getting that early start in a day makes a lot of difference in terms of what you can accomplish in 24 hours. It may be tough at the beginning, but as the saying goes, anything done continuously after 14 days becomes a habit.

Start Using a Diary

Get a diary or a small notebook to carry around. Record anything that you feel is important and needs to be remembered to be done at a later time. This way you will not spend unnecessary amounts of time trying to remember what you needed to do at that particular day. You can also use the diary to plan for the next day’s activities the previous night and organize the list of things that need to be done. At the end of the day, look back at what you have written down and see if you have accomplished all if not most of the things that you’ve planned for the day.

Blocking Out Distractions

Whenever you set to work on a task that requires the computer, make sure you do not go astray and open your Facebook account at the same time. While many may argue that they are multi – tasking, research has shown that a person’s brain can only be completely focused at one task at a particular time. Switch off your phone if you need to for that few hours until you get your work, studies or project done. Spending two hours without distractions and getting your work done is much better than one hour with distractions and not completing anything.

Use Every Gap Available

Use a separate notepad to jot down those small and minor tasks that can be accomplished during mini – breaks such as waiting for the bus or waiting for a friend. Every minute counts when it comes to making the most out of your day.

Find Your “Alert Time”

Tasks that are challenging and require the most thinking should be reserved for a time when you think your mind is at its sharpest. Find the best time that you think you are able to be the most productive. It could be at night, in the wee hours of the morning or even during the afternoon. This way you will be able to spend the least amount of time working at difficult or tough tasks and have more time for yourself at the end of the day.

Prioritize

It’s a Saturday and you’ve got that big football match to watch at night with your friends. You might even plan on going for a girls’ night out. Start your day by doing the difficult stuff first and keeping the minor ones for a later time. The difficult ones are the most time consuming ones and hence needs to be completed early. Plan your day to get things done early so that there will be no need to worry during your free time.

Plan for the Unforseen

Things may sometimes not go as planned. Unpredictable events may force us to abandon our plans occasionally. Therefore, it is always important to have a plan B in case of these “emergencies”. Have a back - up schedule or allocate a couple of hours that can be used in case things don’t turn out in favour.

Planning is always important in getting the most out of your day. 24 hours can be a long time if only it is used properly. At the end of the day, make sure you unwind, relax and recharge your “batteries” for the next day. Hopefully I’ve helped in a small way in making you get the most out of your day.