This week, I want to challenge you: work one hour a day less, yet conduct the same tasks you would usually do.
This way, you’ll win seven precious hours of time. Time you can use to take a nap, to read, to spend on an activity of your choice. Or to do nothing.
Sounds too good, right. How on earth will you succeed this challenge?
Let’s dive in!
Time. It’s o so precious.
It is a fresh slate, ready to be filled. Every day.
It seems so simple: just fill that blanco page efficiently, productively, notimetowastely.
Yet it turns out to be the hardest thing: to find enough time.
Since my head needs a lot of rest (this is why), I am very conscious that my limited dose of available time needs to be productive-to-the-max.
And I’m not the only one with limited time. Parents who need to navigate the school hours of their kids + earn money + build their dreams within these 24 hours a day. People who work two jobs to be able to create art in their spare time. You name it.
My perspective on time? The less time I have, the more selective I am. I make quick decisions. I do not overthink. Because overthinking is a tremendous waste of time & energy. Social media for example: I allow myself 60 minutes to prepare a post. Of course, I sometimes lose myself in that addictive, colorful rabbit hole of interesting stuff. Nobody is perfect, and definitely not me. 😊
Here are 3 different scenarios of time struggles my coachees — all of them are professional creatives — encounter a lot and the techniques that often work for them.
Scenario 1: the day is over and what did I actually do today?
Techniques:
Create routines: by creating routines you win time. Make processes for your work, and always handle certain tasks the same way. I heard photographer Willy Vanderperre in his exhibition, talking about how his photoshoots always follow the same steps. Act like Willy!
Eliminate choice: by not having to contemplate, you win time. For example: always eat the same breakfast. Have a limited number of clothes that all fit together, so you can easily pick an outfit.
Clear planning: ideally, you have a monthly and weekly plan. But to start, you can put a couple of to do’s on your list each day. Only two or three tasks you really need to finish. And tick them of proudly if you managed.
Scenario 2: the day is too short to handle my massive amount of tasks
Techniques:
Shorter meetings, or none at all: before accepting a meeting request, ask yourself if you really need to be there. Avoiding meetings is a huge time saver. Ask to bundle your to-do’s and send them to you through email. Otherwise: keep meetings short & quick. Keep the attendees on track if needed. This is perfectly possible if you prepare your meetings super well.
Boundaries: don’t let clients determine how to spend your time. If they call you, you’re not obliged to pick up — especially when you’re in the middle of something completely different. Educate your clients on when and how to contact you.
Batch: batch same style tasks as much as possible. Nothing is more time-consuming than a scattered day with twenty different mini-to-do’s.
Scenario 3: I’ve got so many ideas, so many thing I would like to do, how will I ever manage
Techniques:
There’s no such thing as ‘too many ideas’: embrace your creativity. Allow yourself to invent new ideas, and new projects. Some say: you need to narrow down to a niche. I say: try everything, see what works for you, see what you like the most. Do you like it all? That’s perfectly fine.
Have trust: don’t blame yourself because you ‘still have no idea what you actually want to do in life’. Trust the process, trust yourself. All your skills and interests will eventually click together like a puzzle. You’ll be happy you took the time and had the guts to explore it all.
And be patient: just because you have 1000 ideas, doesn’t mean you need to execute them all at once. That’s just physically impossible. You have time. Choose a couple of ideas and break them up into small actionable steps.
So, are you ready to start this challenge this week and work one hour less, every day for the next week?
Let me know how this worked out for you at hi@isupportcreatives.com