A day consists of 24 hours, no more, no less. Every day, you are given 24 hours to live your life. Within those 24 hours, you should be able to accomplish everything you need to do for the day. How do you do that? Slice the time to hours and determine what activities are to be done on a per hour basis. If the tasks can be accomplished quickly, break down your hours into minutes or try combining some activities together to make an hour. It will depend on how important those activities are and which activities you want highlighted.
During a work day, a large amount of time is devoted to your work. If you are an employee, the norm is you go to work and do your job until it’s time to stop working. As a self-employed person, it becomes slightly complex since you depend on yourself for a regular income. If you don’t do good, your income will suffer more than a person who is guaranteed a salary regardless of performance. The disadvantage however is the salaried employee might not get any further pay increases unlike the self-employed who can earn a large amount of money depending on their initiative and capabilities. The bottom line is - try to earn as much as possible. Since 24 hours is fixed, you should try to optimize the allotted time. Ensure that the time was well spent.
Plan your daily activities. There will be routine and administrative work that needs to be done daily. Also there are regular house chores that need attending. These are essential daily activities but do not help augment your income. In fact, it may even be a stumbling block for you to earn additional income. The quandary is that it needs to be done to lead a neat, orderly and organized life and you “waste” time on these chores. Review those activities and see how you can accomplish them in a shorter time. There may be new technological equipment or appliances that could improve your work and shorten the time to accomplish them. Look at the possibility of assigning the tasks to other members of the household or workplace. You can offer members in the household some monetary compensation to do the tasks for you. This is feasible if the time you saved will earn you additional income. People in your workplace may be doing similar administrative tasks like yours and it may be more logical to have one person do all similar administrative tasks rather than spread it among different people, including yourself.
Look at the “wasted time” on a daily basis. It may not appear “wasteful” since these are activities that must be done, such as traveling and rest time. Review your trips and see if you are spending more than the normal time for traveling. Is it possible that you are on the road when the traffic is heaviest? Can you cut your travel time if you opt to go on the road at a different time? Sometimes, it’s faster to commute rather than drive your own vehicle. It may be slightly inconvenient as you are bunched together with many people in the train or bus. Use the time to strike new acquaintances. You might be able to close some business deals along the way. Be productive during your coffee breaks. Socialize with others at the coffee stand and learn what’s happening around the office.
If you are an employee, see how you can do your work more efficiently and effectively. The boss may notice your excellent performance and give you an increase or even a promotion. Use the time you saved in your work place to learn other work. Offer to help other people in their work. Don’t use the saved time to do sidelines as this might not be allowed in the workplace. If you are self-employed, look for alternatives and options to boost your sales. Use technology to handle the administration aspects of your business.
Remember there are only 24 hours in a day. Use it wisely.