Reclaim Your Life: How to Find More Time in Your Day

You hustle and bustle to cram as much as you can into your day while completing all of your personal errands and still meeting the demands of your career. You sometimes wonder how you'll get it all done without losing your mind...or, at the very least, your hair.

Well, now is the time to stop and think. What are you doing with the time that's available? After all, we all have the same 24 hours; it's just a matter of how we choose to use them. To help you complete everything you want and need to do each day without compromising your work/life balance, here are four ideas to consider:

1. Stop telling yourself that you don't have enough time.

If you expect to fail, you will. So, every time you tell yourself that you don't have enough time, you don't. To have more time to do the things you need and want to complete without compromising your work/life balance, then you need to affirm that you can get it all in.

Self-fulfilling prophecies can influence just about anything. So, greet each day with a positive outlook and with the knowledge that whatever needs to be done today will be done.

2. Be very clear about what has to be done.

Sometimes, we do things out of habit - not because we have to or even want to, but because we've become so programmed to do things a certain way that we can't see beyond our own methods. That old saying about not fixing "what ain't broke" is only true if you're sure something "ain't broke." And, if you're comfortable doing something and it works, you just might not realize that there's a better way.

To finish more tasks without compromising your work/life balance, you need to make a true assessment of how you handle everything. Yes, you may be doing something the best way possible, but you also might not be. Ask yourself, your friends and your family if there's a better way.

3. Remember: It's okay to ask others for assistance.

What makes us want to take on everything ourselves? As if that means we're successful! And, yet, there truly are times when it's wiser for us to ask for assistance. Yes, delegating work to someone else is a great way to free up more time in your day; however, asking for assistance can just mean asking for advice, asking a question, or asking for a hand in completing a task.

4. Look for unexpected time during the day.

Do you ride a bus, train or carpool to work? How do you spend that time? If you sit and look out the window at the scenery, that's wonderful; but, don't complain later on that you can't get everything done during your day. Instead, why not prepare your to-do list, plan your next meeting, or complete any other mental task that needs to be done?

Other options? Listen to the news or a book on tape as you run on a treadmill. Plot out a business report, hold that necessary meeting, or plan your child's birthday party as you eat lunch at a local café or brown-bag it in the park. Work on those mental tasks or resolve a problem as you wait in the checkout line.

Up for Discussion

Know what I was doing while I wrote this article? Dinner was in the oven; clothes were in the washer; and the hose was slowly watering the lemon tree in my backyard. It's all about multitasking and finding enough time to do everything you want and need to do without compromising your work/life balance.

Also, if you have any suggestions about where to find additional time during the day, please share your ideas with our members.