9 Simple Ways to Save Time

As a blogger and someone who is self employed, I had to learn quickly how to organise my own time. I also learnt that no matter how well I organise my time, there are never enough hours in the day to get through everything I want to get done in any given day.

There are ways to make more time for the things you want to get accomplished though, by identifying and then cutting out, the time sucks we all encounter on a daily basis.

Here are nine simple ways to save time:

Shop Online

I hate shopping, so shopping online is perfect for me anyway, but we waste so much time going to the supermarket. Think about it: we have to get sorted to go, get there, navigate around the store, wait in queues, pack bags and get back home. So a minimum of two hours.

Now think about ordering online – you login and place your order which takes perhaps twenty minutes. It might not seem a lot, but over a year, or even a month, it soon adds up.

Batch Your Tasks

One of my biggest mistakes in the beginning was jumping from task to task trying to fit in a little bit of everything. I don’t even want to think about the time I wasted getting focused on a new task and reminding myself which stage I was at – sometimes eight or nine times each day.

Where your deadlines allow it, batch tasks so you are working on something similar for a longer period of time so you’re not constantly dipping in and out of different things and wasting time refreshing your memory and/or collecting what you need to complete each task.

Set Limits for Social Media Time

Maybe you love social media, maybe you view it as a necessary evil, but either way, as a blogger, you need to be present on social media. That’s part of the job. What isn’t part of the job is realising three hours have gone by and all you’ve done is scrolled through your Facebook feed liking pictures of puppies.

Set yourself a realistic time line to hop on, respond to notifications and messages, post to your pages and interact in your groups. And then close it down.

Organise Your To-Do List

Make a daily to-do list and note down the time you will do each task and how long it will take you. This means you don’t waste time wondering what to do next and it keeps your work time structured. It also sets you mini deadlines, meaning tasks can’t end up spreading out to cover more time than they warrant.

Add An Extra Hour to Your Day

If you’re a morning person, get up an hour earlier. If you’re a night owl, stay up an hour later. Or cut the two hour lunch break down at an hour. We all claim we don’t have enough time, yet we often waste the time we do have. Add an extra productive hour into your schedule and you’ll soon see the rewards.

Don’t Waste Time on Negativity

There are days when things will go wrong, and you will feel like screaming. And that’s ok. Scream, shout, rant to friend – whatever you need to do to swallow it and move on. Allow yourself five minutes to get it out of your system and then move on from it.

There is no greater hinderance to creativity and productivity than resentment and while you have negativity bubbling around inside of you, the simplest tasks will feel like major chores – and they’ll grow to fill the time a major thing would take.

Prepare and Plan

Just like your daily to-do list, have a longer term plan. Weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. This way, you’ll know what’s happening when and deadlines won’t get missed. It also allows you an opportunity to tune straight in to work mode and get started.

And if you do find yourself with some spare time on your hands, you can look ahead and work through a task you had planned for later in the week instead of having to use the time to brainstorm what you could do.

Outsource Some Tasks

Think about everything you have to do every day, and decide which tasks you could outsource to someone else. You could base this off the tasks you like the least, or the tasks that take you too long. Outsource them. Yes, it will cost you money, but it frees you up to do something that allows you to make money.

You could choose to hire a freelance writer to complete your blog posts and marketing copy, or you could hire a VA to do your social media scheduling or deal with your email list.

Stop Doing Things That Don’t Bring You Joy

This isn’t always possible – for example, if you hate cleaning, you’ll most likely still have to do it unless you can afford a cleaner. But when it comes to your business, remember you’re in charge.

Think about the jobs you take on – are there any you put off because you hate them? Those are the things to consider cutting from your work load, assuming you would still earn enough without them. You’ll be more productive because you won’t be putting off tasks (and procrastinating instead of working) and you’ll be leaving yourself open to opportunities which you will enjoy more.

Do you have any time saving tips to add? Why not share them in the comments 🙂

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