HOW TO GET MORE TIME.

I've identified a couple of tips to really get more time out of your day.

ASSESS HOW MUCH TIME YOU'RE CURRENTLY WASTING. We live in the age of distraction.

Because of that, we need to pay special attention to what we spend our time on and to see if we have a gap that we are not aware of.

Next thing is to define the biggest time wasters (activities that you spend time on, which are not contributing to your goals). Be honest with yourself.

Evaluate how much time you spend daily on activities such as social media, YouTube, television, and others. It doesn't mean you need to get rid of those activities all together. It just means that you should be aware of how you spend your time, and where you allocate it.

The point is that you have full freedom to decide where you will invest time at any moment of your life.

Now that we have assessed where you currently are at, we'll now move to the second important piece…

1. Optimize sleep and get up early.

OPTIMIZE SLEEP AND GET UP EARLY. Oh man, this is still taking me years to establish as a habit. Luckily, you don't need to go through this yourself.

By "optimizing sleep", I mean that you should find the perfect time you should go to bed each night, and discover the ideal time you should get up in order to maximize energy and health.

Try to hit sleep cycles, which last for 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
It would look something like: 1.5 hours > 3 hours > 4.5 hours > 6 hours
You know how sometimes you sleep for like 11 hours, and you wake up groggy?
That's because you woke up during a sleep/
On the other hand, have you ever woken up after sleeping for 3 hours and you felt wide awake and energized?
Again, sleep cycle.

For me, establishing a habit of getting up early had the biggest impact on my life, because it allowed me to focus several hours on myself and my biggest goals.

When it comes to getting up early, my suggestions are following:

Goto bed at the same time

Get up earlier gradually (If you are currently getting up at 8am, and your goal is 6am, start with 7:50am, then 7:40am, and so on, until you reach your goal, and then work on maintaining it)

Note: you might experience energy drops in the first couple of weeks. But that's normal until your body adjusts to the new schedule.

Pro tip: if you experience a sudden drop of energy, take a 30-minute nap.

2. Reclaim dead time.

RECLAIM DEAD TIME.

Dead time = time spent on activities that don't require too much mental effort which you can eliminate at the moment, but can be used more productively. Example: commuting / working out / buying groceries

Find something you can do while being engaged in these activities. Possible options include: listening to audiobooks / podcasts / reading books / using apps like Duolingo or Memrise for quick language learning.

The main idea here is to do something that will give you value while performing items that you already are committed to spending time on.

Now that you have found ways to shave hours off your current time expenditure, let's go on to...

3. Set goals.

SET GOALS.

You should be smart about how you distribute resources. If you don't have goals, it's quite easy to waste time "by accident." That's why it's so important to purposely allocate your resources so they line up with your long-term goals. This is important because if you know what you are striving to achieve, you will be able to direct your attention to it.

Goals work like a lens of a camera. If you set the lens and focus properly, you will be able to take a clear picture. If it is out of focus, your picture will be blurry.

When it comes to setting goals, there are tons of guidelines. But here, I would keep it simple. Focus on one year ahead, and set 3-5 main goals for the most important areas in your life (work, health, social relationships, personal growth, travel, etc.)

Make your goals specific, and phrase them in a way as if you've already achieved them. All you need to do is write down yours and start.

4. Define high leverage activities.

DEFINE HIGH LEVERAGE ACTIVITIES.

Here, you can implement the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 rule. This principle states that 80% of results come from 20% of your activities/

To make this easier, I suggest you ask yourself:

If I could only do one thing on that list all day long, which item on the list would add the most value and help me get closer to my goal?

Then, ask:

If you could do only one more thing on your list of key tasks, which would be the second activity that contributes the most value to me?

Finally, ask yourself what the third most important task is.

5. Create a morning ritual. 

CREATE A MORNING RITUAL (OR "YOUR THING").

An effective morning ritual is an incredible way to kickstart your day. Your rituals should consist of the high leverage activities you've defined above, the ones that help you achieve goals.

An example: If your goal is to start a blog, a high leverage activity would be to write an article every week. Your ritual would maybe be to write 30-60 minutes in the morning. Here are several super tips to make your ritual even more efficient:

Drink water
Get a small win
Do something that will make you feel proud
Exercise

6. Delegate, eliminate, automate.

DELEGATE, ELIMINATE, AND AUTOMATE.

We usually think that we need to do everything on our own. Maybe we can. But we don't have to.

Out of all of the activities that you have to do, look at the ones which are not your HIGH leverage ones. Of those items, decide which can be delegated to someone else. See whether or not you can eliminate something, and in the end, see whether certain activities can be automated.

An example: My mom used to spend at least 2 hours a day preparing food. I calculated that she could have saved those 2 hours every day had she bought food in a restaurant and had it delivered instead of preparing it herself. Having freed up 2 hours, she could have decided on which high leverage activities she could invest in. (I understand that delivery is not always an option for some people. Let this serve as an example)

7. Block out time for yourself.

BLOCK TIME (OR 'SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH YOURSELF").

You should schedule a meeting with yourself based on the high leverage activities you defined. After that, learn how to protect that meeting with yourself, and use it to focus on activities that will get you closer to accomplishing your goals.

Always start with the first one in the sequence.

8. Work in bursts.

WORK IN BURSTS.

This is actually quite interesting: your time is best utilized when broken into 2-3 bursts. I find that Pomodoro Technique to be particularly useful. This technique was developed in the late 1980's as a means for time management. It typically means 25 minutes of work, followed by 5 minutes of break. This will keep you relaxed, but also highly effective in those 25 minutes.

9. Get into the flow.

GET INTO THE FLOW.

Everybody has their ZONE. I get into the flow when I know exactly what I am working on; that helps me reach my goals. Pro tip: find music that works for you. It's one of the best ways to get into the state of flow.

10. Take naps!!!

TAKE NAPS. (Seriously)

I am a big believer in naps. After you finish a big chunk of work, your energy will typically drop down. If it happens to you, simply find a corner of the lounge or your home/dorm where it's quiet. Just close your eyes. You don't actually need to fall asleep, but let your body relax.

11. Have a buffer

HAVE A BUFFER.

If you have an important meeting or a project.
Always schedule a certain amount of time that you can count on, in case something doesn't go according to plan
If a meeting is scheduled for 3pm, you come at 2:45pm. Just to be safe. Or if the project's official deadline is February 1st, you can set your reminder for a couple of days prior.
Like a fail-safe.

12. Take a breather.

WHEN THINGS DON'T GO ACCORDING TO PLAN, CHILL.

Even if you become an expert in productivity and time management, you will still have a lot of inefficiencies.
This is usually because we often depend on external circumstances. If I schedule a meeting and someone is late, I jsut take my phone or podcast out and make sure I use my time efficiently.
And breathe.

13. Track, evaluate, make changes.

TRACK HOW YOU ARE INVESTING TIME.

Keeping a time log of your most important activities and evaluating it at the end of the week is an important technique. This will allow you to see what causes the inefficiency and whether or not you can doit better next time.

EVALUATE YOUR RESULTS.

Once per week, sit down for 30 minutes or so and go through the week. What was productive? Focus more on that. What was unproductive? Try to eliminate, delegate, or automate.

14. Bulk up!

BULK UP ON TASKS.

Dedicate one day a week to do the following.

Grocery shopping
Food planning and preparation
Room/dorm/apartment cleaning
Decluttering

15. Rewards!!

REWARD YOURSELF.

Not every minute of your life should be planned out. After a productive week of work, reward yourself with a lazy couple of hours or even a day. Something of a cheat day.

16. Make a nightly routine. 

DEVELOP A NIGHTLY RITUAL.

At this point, you've had the most productive day. All you need is a closure. Ben Franklin always asked himself: "What good have I done today?"
Think about the amazing things that have happened.

17. Detox!!!!

DO A TECH DETOX.

An hour before you go to sleep, turn off your laptop, phone, and all electronic devices. Talk with your roommate or family or read a book, and get yourself ready for the next day by defining your priorities and what you will wear, do, and eat.

FINAL TAKEAWAY

Building these rituals took me several months of reading wellness books and years of trial-and-failure. Even today, I am continually optimizing them to make sure that I am aware of how I spend time.

Yes, I slip through the cracks. I have good days and bad days. I think it's important to prioritize mental health, so sometimes I have more off-days than others. But that's okay!

The reality is that you won't be able to do it perfectly, and you shouldn't strive to.