Change how you spend your time and maximize your happiness & productivity.
Time management is a tricky process. What is especially tricky about it, is that it has little to do with management. Or time.
Most people think that the trick to properly planning our day in order to save time and succeed in doing everything is to (roughly) divide the 24-hour-day into 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep and 8 hours of free time.
Not only is this an oversimplification of time management, but it additionally contributes to an underestimation of our capabilities. When we are working 8 hours per day, how much of this time are we actually being 100% focused? The truth is, the average worker (meaning most of us) uses a very small percentage of his/her work hours being in complete flow — not distracted and highly effective.
This means that we spend (on average) 8 hours per day working on things that - if we maximized our concentration skills - would take us way less time. Working longer hours does not mean increased productivity. As David Johnson writes in his article on TIME:
Mexico — the least productive of the 38 countries listed in 2015 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — has the world’s longest average work week at 41.2 hours (including full-time and part-time workers). At the other end of the spectrum, Luxembourg, the most productive country, has an average workweek of just 29 hours.
Time management at its core has to do more with being focused on the activity you are engaging in and less with planning your time.
As Anthony Moore said in his article: “you have all the time in the world, if you know how to utilize the time you’re given.”
The thing is, most of us let the time go by. Time is wasted by doing something to which we are not committed enough. Working hours slowly pass with us being “kind of” productive, struggling to make it through the day.
But we have to change that. Do we really want to spend our lives being “halfway” present? Being mediocre?
If the answer is no, then the solution is to be truly focused on our activity.
- You are writing an essay? Concentrate only on that task.
- You are enjoying some time with your family? Be as present as possible.
If we manage to make the most of our time then our time can be endless.
H O W ?
Find your most productive hours and use them wisely.
Behavioral scientist Dan Ariely says that people usually waste their most productive hours by doing things that don’t require high cognitive focus. In specific he states:
“One of the saddest mistakes in time management is the propensity of people to spend the two most productive hours of their day on things that don’t require high cognitive capacity (like social media). If we could salvage those precious hours, most of us would be much more successful in accomplishing what we truly want. […] Generally people are most productive in the morning. The two hours after becoming fully awake are likely to be the best.” — Dan Ariely
What did you do the first two hours after you woke up?
Check Social Media? Your emails? Snooze-fest?
This is killing your productivity — and now you are aware of it. For more information about time-of-day productivity, check out this study from the Journal of Neurophysiology.
The most focused hours of the day should be invested in doing things that require high cognitive capacity, effort and a lot of concentration. This will result in the better and faster completion of the task at hand and will yield byproducts such as less procrastination, less stress and more time to invest elsewhere.
… HOW FOCUSED ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?
Being 100% focused can be a hard task.
Especially for millennials who are bombarded every day with tons of different kinds of information on social media and online platforms.
Ding. New email alert.
Ding. Breaking news.
Ding. WhatsApp message from your friend.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
We have to work extra hard in order to help our mind stay focused in one place. All this flooding of information hinders the capability to concentrate on one thing, without jumping to different topics.
The human brain is like a muscle. You have to train it in order to make it stronger, more efficient and focused— and the good news is: we know how. But first, let’s get familiar with two terms: neuroplasticity and meditation.
Neuroplasticity is a term that is used to describe the brain changes that occur in response to experience. There are many different mechanisms of neuroplasticity ranging from the growth of new connections to the creation of new neurons. When the framework of neuroplasticity is applied to meditation, we suggest that the mental training of meditation is fundamentally no different than other forms of skill acquisition that can induce plastic changes in the brain” (Davidson & Lutz, 2008)
A recent study (2010) published in Psychological Science found that intensive meditation training can improve one’s ability to keep his/her focus for a prolonged period of time on everyday tasks (yes, even those boring ones).
But this is not a new scientific finding.
A study in 1970 established that Buddhist monks who have been meditating for years performed better in concentration tests than most of the people in the sample group.
We have had the information since 1970. Meditation requires neither money (you can do it at home), nor a lot of time (10 minutes, 4 times a week already makes a huge difference following regular practice).
Then why aren’t we taking advantage of it?
You are going to answer that one.
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
Being concentrated when working is a great time-saver. But for some people there’s more to life than work (in case you are wondering why, see what happened to Jack…).
Usually our free time pays the cost of our long workdays. This results in those — familiar to us all — lazy and inactive evenings… I am talking about the days when you are commuting home from work and it seems like the only good ending to your day is lying on the couch, mindlessly consuming some form of entertainment. You are tired. You don’t feel like being actively involved in your relaxation.
BUT.
Free time does not have to mean wasted time.
The truth is, we can be our most creative selves in our free time. How many times did you come up with the solution to a problem you were facing while doing something completely irrelevant, like showering or walking down the street? This is because we are wired to be solution oriented — meaning our unconscious mind is always working, trying to find an answer.
In order to be truly happy and productive, we have to find a way to take advantage of our free time in the same way we take advantage of our working hours. Surely we are not robots. We need some time to decompress, to numb our minds, to sit on the couch and watch TV. But the problem begins when this state becomes the rule, not the exception.
It comes as no surprise that meditation is one of the most commonly mentioned habits of successful people. That is because it sharpens the mind and helps develop awareness while also reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and pain.
If you’re looking for some more information on an effective awareness meditation that will greatly benefit you through regular practice, check out this piece of text from our Workout for Happiness program.
Another equally beneficial exercise to take advantage of in your free time is working out, which can maximize your productivity and happiness levels.
Working out is good for both the body and mind. However tired you may be from work, lying on the sofa will not make you more energized. Instead, it will have a counter-productive effect. You are neither relaxing, nor refilling your batteries — you are just being numb and prolonging the state of numbness in your body (and mind).
However contradictory it may seem, exercising gives us an energy and mood boost as a result of the endorphin release in the brain. Kay Ireland (2017) from Livestrong states:
“A low- to moderately paced workout can give you a 20 percent boost in energy, as compared to a leisurely walk. While you may feel so tired that exercise doesn’t seem appealing, it could help remedy your exhaustion so that you feel better throughout the day.”
Just getting through the day is not enough. You have to focus on the things you are doing, not just balance them out.
Be aware. Be there. Be present.
Written by N.L.
Liked this article?
Please clap!
Want to find out more about the Workout, how WfH candidates work on their physical and mental health as well as make good use of their free time for a sustainably happier life? Click on the link here and sign up for our newsletter to keep updated on the launch dates of future Workouts!
You can also find us on:
