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Making Time  by Karon Goodman Now we know we can’t manufacture time like a set of tires, but we can make the best use of the time we have with a little organization. Here are a few quick tips for maximizing your “found” time, when even a few minutes can be turned from paltry to productive:  1. See stuff in pieces. Learn to look at whatever you can as lots of little jobs instead of one big job. Sometimes we tend to put things off because we can’t block off hours at a time to do them, but if we can see the work as parts of a whole, we can tackle it more effectively. Think of a big job you want to do, then divide it into parts, and even smaller parts, and then work on one thing at a time. The planning and forethought will probably even make the job go quicker and smoother.  2. All time is not created equal. While you might be able to do a job in a short amount of time, it doesn’t mean you always should. For example, don’t fill out insurance forms or write a sensitive email while you’re watching something on the stove. Do go ahead and prepare lunch for tomorrow or sack the trash while you’re tending the meal. Save the mindless work for when your mind is distracted, and focus well on something that requires your attention when you can give it so you don’t have to waste time to re-do it.  3. Use the snippets. Two hours still adds up to two hours in ten minutes increments, so value the few minutes you have here and there. Sure, some projects can’t be set up and taken down in short amounts of time, but the house still gets cleaned or the book read if you do it catch-as-catch-can instead of all at one time. If you’re able to leave a sewing machine set up, for example, one garment mended at a time soon adds up to everything mended.  4. Anticipate opportunities. It’s always a smart idea to be prepared with a good use of your time in case a few extra minutes comes along. You’ll learn when opportunities come up in your routine, but consider the possibility for found time in new experiences too and plan for it. Even if the extra time doesn’t materialize when you thought, you’ll be ready when it does.  5. Call it finished. If you use some extra time to file a pile of papers but end up just shuffling the stack and not making decisions about what to do with everything, you’ll just have to do it again – no time saved at all. Have a goal for each job you squeeze into your found time, finish what you started and be done with it. You’ll be glad you did.  And remember -- it’s important to stop and do nothing now and then, to just relax and enjoy time alone or with friends or family. And we’ll have more time for that kind of fun and enjoyment when we use our other time wisely. It’s making time for more time . . . and who wouldn’t like that? Karon Goodman is a writer, speaker and fellow organizer. Subscribe to her newsletter and get a free organizing report, The 3-hour Blitz. Join in at her blog, The Organized Homestead  http://organizedhomestead.blogspot.com  .

 

 

 

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