They say time is money but I beg to differ, time is more important than money, time is life. Money can be saved, money can be borrowed, and once lost, money can be found again but time is finite, once it’s gone it’s gone. There are only so many hours in a day, none of which can be reclaimed, and what you spend your time doing is ultimately what you will account for in your life. As Lord Chesterfield says, “Take care in your minutes, and the hours will take care of themselves”

From time without end, man has never been created equally yet there is only one resource that we all get equal; time. Rich or poor, young or old, we all get the same hours every day. 24 hours every day, we all get it and how we use this precious resource is what determines where we end up in life. Our successes and failures are all dependent on how we utilize this time variable in our lives. “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine.”~Mike Murdock says,

Time is precious and we should be cautious about how we spend each day, each hour, minute, and each second.  Managing time is about making every minute of your life count. You have to account for every second of your life because each second lost can never be regained. Those seconds are what build into minutes and those minutes into days which ultimately build into years, decades and centuries. You have to utilize the 86400 seconds you have every day and be accountable for each and every one of them.

A lot of times, however, there are things that waste our time, and some of them I have listed below;

Potential time wasters

1. Sleep

Most people sleep more than necessary. Manage your sleep or your sleep will manage your life. You need to sleep enough but not more than necessary.

2. Technology

Mainly phones, TVs, and other electrical gadgets. Technology is neither good nor bad. How you manage it is what determines its value to you. The advent of technology has seen a lot of people becoming slaves to their own phones for example. Rating yourself, how much time do you spend each day on your phone doing things that are not enriching to you in any way? Technology is a very good servant but a very bad master! Do you really have to spend so much time on TV or your phone every day?

3. Unnecessary Conversations.

There should be a greater purpose for every conversation that you have. Avoid wasting your time with conversations that do not lead anywhere such as gossip. Every conversation you have should be beneficial and self-enriching to you.

4. Procrastination.

How many times must you procrastinate doing something before you actually get yourself to do it if you are ever going to do it anyway?

5. Social media.

We are in this age and generation where social media has robbed the world of its productive time. Companies are suffering, families are suffering because all the productive time is being spent on social media. Social media has become so addictive that a lot of productive time has been wasted through this.

6. Drinking and partying.

How much time do you spend drinking and partying or attending some unnecessary breakfasts, lunches, or dinners?  Do you really have to drink or party every weekend?

The first step to time management is by realizing your time wasters. Once you have realized your time wasters, there are certain things that you can do to manage your time properly and be on the right track in terms of time management.

How to utilize your time properly

1. Planning

A lack of planning leads to a lack of action. Planning makes you more efficient therefore make sure you have your day scheduled. Never wake up without knowing what you are supposed to do because this is the greatest time-waster. Be conscious about your habits and you will find yourself having control over them. As Tom Greening said, “All time management begins with planning.”

2. Proper Organization.

Lack of organization leads to haphazardly doing things and accomplishing so little at the end of the day. We are very busy, but at the end of the day, we can’t tell what we have been busy doing. You spend too much time hopping from one thing or thought to another. You need to be organized and one way of doing this is by getting rid of things you don’t need! Whether in your house, your laptop, your phone, or your mind, get rid of stuff you don’t need.

Stop cluttering yourself with unnecessary things, only keep what’s necessary, what you need and what you are going to use. It saves you a lot of time time.

3. Stop procrastinating.

Most of the time most of us are found not wanting to do certain tasks, for whatever reason that may be. But this is a great time-waster, having something weighing over your head, will actually slow your performance. Act as you go, even if you don’t have to eat the whole elephant at once but breaking it into small pieces and consuming one piece at a time, will help you realize it’s actually doable over a period of time than just looking at it and being deterred by how big it is.

4. Scheduling social media time.

Stop using “social media on the go” Say no to social media obsession! Responding to chats and checking status updates in real time is a pure waste of time. Scheduling social media time helps you reduce unproductive time. Imagine all the time spend checking people’s profiles, status updates, and group messages on all your social media accounts. Schedule time for social media and abide by the scheduled time. The Internet has made it possible for information to move all over the world in seconds but instead of saving time, the same medium is being used to waste countless hours in frivolous discussions in chat rooms or meaningless net surfing!

5. Scheduling TV time for the programs you need to watch.

How many times have you been sitting on the couch and surfing the TV for something to watch? From Amazon to Netflix and everything in between. Rather you should tune in to TV to watch one or 2 programs you like and not actually surf for something to watch.

6. Delegate what you can.

Often times we find ourselves wanting to do everything by ourselves and thereby not being able to accomplish everything we are set to do. If you check your schedule, there are definitely things that you can delegate, delegate. If you are a perfectionist like myself you will often find it hard to delegate because you will be thinking if you do it yourself, you can do it perfectly but don’t fall into that trap.

Delegate whenever possible, there are tasks that you do yourself but you really don’t have to. You will be able to accomplish much if you realize that you can actually get help from those around you, be it your spouse, your kids, your siblings, your friends, or your colleagues. Delegating frees your time for higher priorities. Get into the habit of asking yourself if what you are doing can be handled by someone else.

7. Say No to certain requests.

As you already probably understand, you cannot please everyone, and therefore stop saying yes to every request, be honest and say no if you can’t do certain things. As a human being, you do not live in a vacuum, therefore, certain requests may come up that can take you away from your normal daily schedule. You can allow one or 2 derailments but often learn to say No to any interruptions to your planned schedule. When you overbook yourself, your productivity falters. Do not waste time on meaningless pursuits, some things should just not be given the time of your day.

8. Always create time for yourself.

Always find time for yourself, to do the things you love and I call this, your Energy Booster. If you fail to get time for yourself, this will directly affect how you will perform your other tasks, it is very important. No matter how busy you are, do not deprive yourself of your alone time. This is the time you use to reflect on everything and gain foresight of what you need to adjust, change or improve. It helps you to recharge and refresh.

In Conclusion

If you want the future to change for you then you have got to change what you do with your time. If you don’t change what you do with your time, then expect the future to be the same as your past and what is at stake here is the entire eternity.

Where would you be today if you did the things you planned on doing yesterday, last week, last month, last year, or 10 years ago? Where will you be tomorrow if you do the things that you planned on doing today?

Time is not money, time is life, and if you lose it you have lost a great deal of your life that you will never be able to recover. So use your time wisely!

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