I’ve been thinking lately about how much time things like life just take up. We are always on the go, running from one place to another, doing this, accomplishing that, yet sometimes we feel as if we have wasted time. Wasting time leaving us feeling unaccomplished and behind.
Here are three things I attempt to craft into each day in an effort to waste less time:
Arrive on time.
There’s a lot of conversation out there about what time people should arrive to a meeting. Some people say arrive 5 minutes early, some suggest to arrive late. Most people nowadays arrive late; they try to stack their day up. If you work in a culture where the meetings start on the hour, there is no time in between meetings sometimes. One of the things that I’m doing so that I always arrive on time is to plan the meeting to start on the 15 and end on the zero. People have asked what I do when I finish a meeting at 3:00 and I don’t have another until 3:15. Those 15 minutes are precious. I now have 900 seconds to close out that last meeting, respond to anything I need to and set myself up for the next meeting.
Always be ready.
When I think about heading into a conference room, I’m looking around and asking myself what am I ready to do if there’s extra time. If one of the people attending the meeting is held up for 10 minutes I’m always ready to write a thank you card or get a few more pages into a book I am reading. In times like these, time is actually on your side. Use it to get forward movement in your day and in life!
Stay curious.
The third way that I waste less time is to become more interested in my surroundings. Just recently I had to replace a digital camera. The camera I got is a little more powerful than the fit in the pocket type point and shoot digital camera. I’ve been carrying this camera virtually everywhere I go. Carrying around this camera has helped me open my eyes to the world around me, realizing I have missed quite a lot. When you stay curious your senses come alive. You not only begin to see things differently but you begin to hear things differently too. Next time you feel like you are wasting time by standing in a long grocery line, let your senses keep you curious. Engage in this time in a new way, with fresh eyes and open ears.
What are some things you do in an effort to not waste so much time? Comment below!