I bought back a TON of time with these 5 HABITS
If I just had more time… a statement we make as we desperately try to accomplish our daily tasks and get more done. If we just had more hours in the day a lot of problems would be solved. However, time is finite and we simply have to work with what we’ve got. In this article, I want to share with you five habits that have bought me back ALOT of time. I am not talking seconds and minutes. I am talking about hours. These tips are not just for therapists in private practice, but for anyone looking to get their time back. Let’s get it!
Estimating and “Calendaring”
Each evening, I sit at my desk for a few minutes and I do a couple of things. One, I list out all of the tasks, events, and items I have going on the next day. Of course, we can’t predict the future, but I have a descent sense of what I am facing the next day. Some of these items include patient sessions, staff meetings, cooking dinner, exercising, picking up children, etc. I then estimate how long each of these tasks will take. For example, picking up kids from school takes about thirty minutes door to door, cooking dinner takes roughly forty-five minutes, staff meetings are about one hour, etc.
⭐️ Bonus Tip:
If you have trouble estimating how long tasks take, you are not alone. I too struggle with this. In order to improve, I spent a few months timing all of my recurrent tasks. Yes, I literally timed how long it took to brush my teeth. This was a bit tedious and took a while, but I now have a much better sense of how long certain items take to complete. This allows me to organize my day effectively. If you struggle to estimate time I suggest beginning to time out your frequent tasks over the course of several months. Write down the typical times and figure out the average. Boom! No more guessing.
Once I have my items listed and times estimated, I then open up my calendar and begin plugging these items in for the next day. For example, cooking dinner will be from 5-545pm, dropping children off at school will be from 8-830am, etc. Once this is completed, I have a good structure to follow for the next day. I can visualize how my time will be spent. I can play around with items that are flexible, I can plan out breaks, etc.
The act of estimating and “calendaring” each evening only takes about ten minutes yet it yields immense results. I am more prepared for the next day and have a guide to follow rather than winging it in the moment. I don’t waste time thinking about what is next. I already know.
Having a Prioritization System
In relation to calendaring you need to have a strong prioritization system. How do you decide what to focus on at any given moment? When it comes to needs such as eating, using the restroom, waking up, etc. prioritizing our needs is not too difficult. However, what if it is more ambiguous than that? What if it’s Monday morning and you have a to-do list that all seems equally important? How do you choose what to work on first? Many people struggle with prioritizing. They may choose the wrong item to work, or worse, get stuck trying to decide what to work on ending up doing nothing at all. Yikes! Prioritizing should not be based on feelings. This is where a prioritization system comes into play.
I use the Eisenhower Matrix as my system of choice. I can run almost any task through this matrix in a matter of seconds and decide whether or not I need to work on it now or put it on hold. For more on the Eisenhower matrix, check out this quick video.
You can use the prioritization system in conjunction with estimating and “calendaring” to ensure your days are filled with items that are a priority.
Getting Up Just 15 Minutes Earlier
We live in a world of extremes. If you go on YouTube and search “morning routine” you will see people getting up at 4:30AM, 5:00AM, etc. This is great, but it’s not for everyone. But what if getting up just fifteen minutes earlier could have a dramatic impact? By waking up fifteen minutes earlier each day you add 1.75 hours back to your week. That is 91 hours per year. Think about that! That’s an extra two weeks per year! Fifteen minutes may not seem like a lot, but it adds up. Think about all you can get done with an extra two weeks per year.
Automating Routines and Creating Systems
I used to be against automation. I would never set automatic payments up on my credit card, I would never have automatic alarms set, etc. I wanted complete control over everything. Although this is not always a bad thing, it was wasting a lot of time. Below is a list of items you can consider automating and/or systematizing to buy back time.
Setting a timer on your coffee pot/tea kettle to begin brewing in the morning
Setting up automatic payments on your credit cards and bills
Having breakfast prepped the night before (i.e. over night oats)
Setting recurring appointments on your calendar
Prepping your workspace the night before
Setting out notebook, pens, computer, etc.
Having clothes chosen the night before
Having lunch prepped the night before
Having a task management system (i.e. Notion, Todoist, etc.)
Pre-charting
Drafting email templates for the next day
Scheduling emails to be sent in the future
Adding Zoom links into recurring calendar events
Doing What You Can Ahead of Time (Precharting, Creating Templates, etc.)
As a therapist I have to write a ton of client notes. The main section of the note includes clinical details about the session. Ofcourse, I can’t fill this out ahead of time. However, there are many other portions of the note that can be completed prior to a session. For example, the note asks where you are located, what type of session it is, etc. Completing these sections ahead of time is called pre-charting. Rather than starting the note from scratch after each session, you can begin the note before the session begins. Although this may only save a few minutes per chart, it goes a long way. I have bought back hours with this method alone.
For those of you who are not therapists, what work can you start ahead of time? Can you create email templates? Can you start the excel sheet for your report? Think about what portions of your work you can start before your day begins.
Do you want to go deeper…
If you liked this article and want to go deeper into topics like this check out my consultation group. This is like having an individual consultant without the exorbitant cost.
