25 Common Sense Ways to Make Your Time Non-Zero-Sum

One of the most thrown-around mantras in the productivity realm is something like “Time is the only resource you have and you only have a finite amount of it. You won’t get more of it. Use it well.”

That’s bullshit.

Time is merely one of many resources and we can trade those resources for more time. Further, all seconds are not created equal. By the end of this list, you will agree, and hopefully you’ll never repeat the silly mantra:

1. If you put your phone away, your time is more valuable. Every time you look at your phone because someone calls, every time you get a notification, you lose your spot in whatever activity you’re doing. It takes about 20 minutes to get back to where you were.

2. If you squirrel yourself away to get things done, your time is more valuable. Same reasons given above.

3. If you spend a few minutes journaling, you will reduce the effects of your “monkey mind.” This increases your amount of focus going forward, which makes that time more valuable than it otherwise would be.

4. If you spend a few minutes meditating, your time thereafter will be more valuable. Same reasons given above.

5. Exercise takes time… but it creates time in the long-run. Go for a run, wait a few hours, then see how much energy you have compared to those days when you don’t exercise. That energy will make your time more valuable.

6. “Batching” similar actions together makes time. If you write all of your e-mails at once, or make all of your phone calls at once, or do any similar tasks consecutively, you’re saving all sorts of time. Otherwise you have to ramp-up and ramp-down for each. This also applies to making food.

7. Delegating tasks to others. Now they’re spending their time instead of you spending yours. I’m not exclusively referring to Amazon Fresh, employees, or virtual assistants. When you do a favor for somebody (presumably because you can do it in less time than them), and they return the favor down the road (presumably because they can do it in less time than you), you’ve each won.

8. Done strategically, multi-tasking saves time. While multi-tasking is usually a bad idea because our brains are really bad at it and it wastes resources (e.g., you spend twenty minutes doing two things at once that you could have done in five minutes if done sequentially), it is efficient in certain situations. One example is exercising, or doing mindless chores, while listening to an educational audiobook. But be strategic.

9. Sequential actions can have time-saving benefits. This varies from person to person. For me, if I go for a run first, I almost always spit out my words faster.

10. Coupling a task you don’t want to do with one you do want to do. The latter can reward doing the former. You’ll be more focused and more efficient at the dreaded task so you can get to your preferred task.

11. If you’re organized, you’ll save seconds and minutes every time you do something. Over time, those seconds and minutes will become hours and days.

12. Leave “breadcrumbs” when you close up a work session without completing a task. This saves time when you resume the task later.

13. Go to bed earlier. The few hours before bed are usually wasted, the few hours upon waking are usually not.

14. More importantly: Get more, and better, sleep.

15. Coffee. Or other forms of caffeine. There’s vitamins, supplements, and such too. What takes me 20 minutes pre-coffee will take me 5 minutes post-coffee. The key is to make sure you do a high-impact activity during the (disappointingly brief) post-coffee high.

16. Water. Hydration is undervalued by caffeine addicts. It has several benefits related to productivity (in addition to keeping you alive and stuff.)

17. Eat better. This makes a significant difference in our productivity both day of, and on the next day (not to mention the long term benefits.)

18. Create routines and habits. They put your body on auto-pilot, requiring less focus and energy, and saving time in the long-run. A morning routine is particularly important because how you start the day affects the rest of your waking hours. An evening routine that includes a to-do list for the next morning is not a bad idea either. It’s great to not have to think about what to do when you’re just starting your day.

19. Stop bleeding minutes. Fifteen minutes here, fifteen minutes there; it happens throughout the day. When given these unexpected moments, you can either check Facebook or Twitter (the short term world’s pets), or you can get something done.

20. Find the time in front of your nose. Ask yourself: How can I make more blocks of time for high-impact activity? How can I make the existing blocks longer? Because if you can do that, you will be better able to actualize tips 21–25.

21. Work for longer periods of time. The more challenging a task is, the more important it is to have large blocks of uninterrupted time to work on it. In such sessions, with the requisite energy and focus, you can enter a flow state during which each second is worth far more.

22. Minimize the lapse between sessions focused on a complex task. The longer the time between sessions, the greater the chances you will cover the same ground two or three times. If, instead, you work consistently on something, it will be far easier to get your mind back to where it was before.

23. Make a weekly schedule based on your monthly objectives. Block off the times you have appointments, work, and other obligations. Schedule specific tasks for specific times, each aimed at meeting your monthly objectives.

24. Make a daily schedule and to-do list based on your weekly objectives. Inevitably, the week won’t unfold as you envisioned on your schedule. But that’s okay. Be flexible and creative. You can still get stuff done.

25. Be nimble with your daily schedule and to-do list. Inevitably, the day won’t unfold as you envisioned on your schedule. But that’s okay. Be flexible and creative. You can still get stuff done.

For more on time and other resources, you can check out this article and my book.