5 Steps to Saving Time with June
How to create more time for yourself with task management apps.
At some point you might find yourself sitting on the couch and asking yourself “Where did all the time go?”
Perhaps you’ve felt guilty about all the time you’ve wasted by not doing more productive things. Maybe even after you’ve planned out your day, you still find yourself unsatisfied with how it all turned out.
Einstein famously proved that time is relative. Figuratively speaking, the way we spend our time reflects how productive we are.
We believe that saving time starts with understanding your goal; to take measurable ownership of each part of your day. It means being honest with yourself and confronting how you think, converse, and perform your daily tasks. Productivity is not an accident. It is conscious.
1. Download a planner.
Let’s not kid ourselves; you don’t carry a paper planner or notebook anymore. Instead, try using an app that displays your day/week/month clearly helps to reduce ambiguity and confusion. By now a smartphone is your most used device each day. Let it work for you.
Planner apps with alarms or reminders are a huge plus. A simple notification will do, but nothing too distracting. You’ll want something that serves as a reminder, not a disruption. The reminder feature is the most underrated and underutilized feature of productivity apps, yet it’s the most important step in a plan.
Having an easy way to jot things down also comes in handy. Being able to track notes about what you’ve done or how you’ve felt can make a huge difference in self-diagnosing your behavior and improving your routine.
2. Write your tasks in order.
Freedom isn’t given. It’s planned. Free time is no exception so if you need free time, then make time for it. Having a planned list of tasks isn’t about giving up your humanity and free will to time. It’s about reducing risk and increasing the chances of success at reaching your goals.
Planning out tasks are the simplest steps that you can take to save time and feel more rewarded later. There are hundreds of ways to prioritize tasks. Here’s how I order mine:
a. By time: If it’s due within the next 4 hours, knock it out. Time is the ultimate equalizer when it comes to urgency.
b. By difficulty: If it takes 5–10 minutes, knock it out. Every victory counts, even the smallest ones.
c. By flexibility: Try to resist the temptation to ‘multi-task’; find some flexible tasks to delay and increase your chances at finishing urgent ones. In the words of Ron Swanson, “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”
“Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.” - Ron Swanson
3. Set time limits
Your two biggest measurable components of any plan or routine is the result of a task and the number of minutes or hours it took. Defining a realistic amount of time to spend on a task should also account for some wiggle room so you don’t stress yourself out. My favorite method is the Pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes at a time, regardless of whether you finish or not. It’s all about focus.
4. Schedule breaks
Really. Schedule them. Time them. Regardless of whether you complete your task on time or not, breaks are important for recovery and sanity. Breaks also serve as a reminder that you own and control your time and not the other way around.
Talk to a co-worker or lean back and listen to a poppin’ track on Soundcloud. The key thing is to let your body and mind do a quick charge.
5. Stick to your schedule.
The most obvious is also one of the hardest to do. An 8 hour work day is a not a race. It’s a marathon. So set a good pace and stay the course.
Then, take a step back and look at your schedule. Are your goals set? Check. Are your breaks included? Check. All that’s left to do is… to do it.
Sticking to your schedule is the most important component, which is why JUNE’s calendar view was designed with simplicity in mind. As long as you can quickly glance at your schedule and recognize your pace, it becomes easier to focus on and trust in your plan.
Remember that your plan is made by you and for you so believe in yourself. Make sure to check off completed tasks along the way and remind yourself of all the progress you’re making.
6. Reap the rewards.
Follow a good pace, stay focused and trust in your plan. You’re going to be fine. Happy Hour will turn into Awesome Hour. The best part of completing a day is not just about successfully reaching all your goals, but it’s about celebrating that you did it all your way.
A couple minutes saved here and there can really add up towards the end of the day. Reward yourself because you deserve it. It might be daunting to do it all over again tomorrow, but after a few tweaks and adjustments your planning should get better and better.
