Finding time is more difficult than ever nowadays. It's great to maximize your time when you have it but how do you get more to really give a chance to your personal business? I have found many tricks in the past years and some of my friends like to make fun making it sound as if I was lazy but in the end, I come out winning and a little more closer to my goals!
What keeps you back?
We all have little tasks that we hate to do or don't mind that much but take more time than they should. I know that many of you like to keep a list of what needs to be done by the end of the week and that was my habit before, too.
I have found that lists can bring you down and I changed the concept of it in my life. I do keep lists, and plenty of them so I can review them as soon as I log on to my computer. But they're not about what I need to get done but more about what I wish to accomplish. It makes it more exciting to review each time, doesn't it?
But before applying this to my life, I made one last general list of recurring tasks I needed to get done weekly, monthly or once in a while and that I wasn't too excited about doing. Once I saw what would take away important free time from my busy schedule, I decided if I should keep doing it or dispatch it.
A few examples?
I have a cleaning lady. I love cleaning and cleaning well! It's probably why it took so much time and energy from me. After asking around, I realized that getting some help every two weeks would be cheaper or equal to eating in a decent restaurant. Now, every time she comes over, I take my computer and my yerba mate on the rooftop of my building and get as much work as I can before coming back to a clean place.
I got an accountant. There's nothing more stressful than filling up taxes reports, especially when you have to mix your own company with other income. An awesome client of mine hooked me up and I've had my accountant for 3 years now. He gives me tips each year on how to make things easier and all I have to do is keep track of any important piece of paper until I meet him. Instead of wasting a few evenings on this, I see him twice for 15 minutes and I'm done.
Don't be stingy ;)
When it comes to freeing up your week, don't mind spending a few bucks. People have made it their work to help us out and they usually do it better than us!
Once you have made that list, go online and look for what or who can you help you out. Whether it's about doing your groceries online or taking care of 90% of the emails sent to your business, there's always a way!
One really cool startup I found is TaskRabbit, where you can offer a price for a task or an errand to one of the many task runners. The service is only offered in the United States for now.
If you need to get online work done so you can concentrate on other things, a virtual assistant could be the solution for you. Look around and read reviews to find the best team to go with.
And it's not only about work!
Finding free time should always be the single item on your to-do list because once you get your work done, you also get to start having fun! Social interactions are so important and having time for a long dinner with my friends or playing with uber cute nephew always makes it for a successful week.