Yes vs No: Economist’s Method of Getting an Extra Hour To Do What Matters.

Sometimes, you have to say no to say yes.

The word 'NO' is associated with negativity yet is one of the strongest words in the English vocabulary. (Not bad for a 2-letter word).

Economics has proved that human needs and desires are insatiable. The resources to meet them all are scarce; limited resources can be put to different uses.

In this context, the limited resource is time. With a look at your to-do list, I am almost certain that an extra 5 hours won't have them all ticked.

With that in mind, you'll have to be very specific about what you want to achieve.

You also have to prioritize. In economics and finance, this is known as the scale of preference: a list of unsatisfied wants arranged in the order of their relative importance.

Allocate time to each desire. Just like money is allocated to each desire in economics.

(pro-tip: add 30min -1 hour extra to each task. Why, because things take longer than we think)

After which you have to decide. YES or No.
Say No to everything under the third want.

Once again in economics, this is known as opportunity cost: an alternative wants foregone as a particular want is satisfied.

It may be difficult to say NO to doing other things, you might feel like you are losing something important or missing out.
Just remember that saying No means you get to say YES to other things. (That are more important and that matter.)