Mastering Time Management: A Guide to Reclaiming Your Day

Controlling your time is about creating room for the things that are important to you rather than about running every last second out of your day. To be honest, occasionally it means realizing you have taken on way too much. Not too far from here. Sure, same.

A Simple Exercise to Free Up Your Time

This is a simple exercise to help you choose what you may cut out. It's fast—five or ten minutes or less—and really, it's very fulfilling. Grab the worksheet—which comes from the course materials—then spend some time considering all the many things you have ongoing. Not only the major obligations but also all those minor ones. Now consider which ones you find yourself groaning every time you think about them. You know the ones I mentioned—the activities you signed up for with good intentions but suddenly seem like a complete drain.

At least two of the responsibilities should be included on the worksheet. More if your ambition drives you. Are you looking for samples? Perhaps you offered to be your child's classroom parent, and it has become a logistical mess. Alternatively, you can be caught on a work committee that felt significant but now seems to be a weekly waste of time. Heck, it may even be anything like handling a poisonous friendship or cutting the grass. Still, whatever it is, note it.

Three Strategies to Reclaim Your Time

1. Extract Yourself

The courteous "I'm out" alternative is Extract Yourself. If you committed yourself, you will most likely have to see it through for a predetermined length of time (such as completing the semester as room parent), but after that? You have free will. Tell the person in charge your circumstances, then work out a polite departure strategy. Most individuals will be able to grasp—life is happening.

2. Delegate

Delegate: Have a staff at your company? Give the work to someone else who could profit from the experience. Perhaps it's time for your partner or children to help at home. Delegation involves sharing responsibilities as much as it does lessening your workload. Win-zag.

3. Outsource

Outsource: This may be revolutionary if your budget permits. Employ a food delivery service, pay someone to handle that item you have been avoiding, or hire a house cleaning. And if finances are limited, think about trading favors with a pal. You cut their grass; they arrange your garage. Start to be imaginative.

Creating a Calendar for Action

After you know what you can let go of and how to let it go, create a calendar. Really, do not overlook this stage. When are you going to have the talk? When you search for service providers? Be reasonable but tough with yourself; this is about acting, not only about wishing for it.

By the time this brief exercise ends, you will have a well-defined strategy for freeing some of your priceless time. And that's time you can spend on things you truly want to do—from picking up a new pastime to hanging out with your family to guilt-free binge-watching of your favorite program. All set to reverse your chronology? Let's start this.

For more insights on time management, consider exploring Time Management on Wikipedia or check out time management tips by Forbes. Additionally, learn more about delegation techniques on Moz.