Leverage Your Time

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Leverage Your Time

Leverage Your Time

Another excellent way to put time on your side is by finding ways to leverage your time. What’s that? Leveraging your time means using a certain amount of your time in such a way that it ends up saving much, much more of your time later on.

One example of this is taking the time to put things back where they belong when you’re finished using them. Think of a simple tool you use often, such as a pair of scissors. If you simply leave the scissors wherever you last used them, the next time you need them you’ll waste a lot of your time trying to find them. Now consider what would happen if you were to designate a place for the scissors, and put them back in that place each time after you use them. The small amount of time needed to put the scissors back where they belong will save you a large amount of time when you next have the occasion to use them. That’s leverage — spending a little time to gain yourself a lot of time.

A good place to look for ways to leverage your time is in the tasks that you do repeatedly. Often, investing some additional time up front in making these repeated tasks more efficient can save enormous amounts of time again and again.

Many of the computer programs you use probably have ways to automate repeated tasks. Sure, it takes some time to learn how to use those automated features, yet that initial investment of time can pay off each day in the time it saves you. If there’s a web page that you visit often, you can save it in your “favorites” list instead of entering the web address again and again. Learn to use the “mail merge” feature of your word processing program if you’re regularly sending a standardized letter to many people.

Perhaps there’s a certain location you drive to several times a month. Have you ever considered that there might be a faster way to get there and back? Take a little time to explore an alternate route, and you could save yourself a lot of time in the future.

There are countless ways to leverage your time in all areas of your life. Each of them usually requires you to make an initial investment of time, and yet that investment can pay off in time saved over and over again. When you feel pressed for time, it can seem to be an unnecessary waste to spend even more time looking for a more efficient way to do something. But if you’ll step away from your “rush mentality” for just a little while you can save yourself a large amount of time in the long run.

Time is a precious commodity. Everyone gets exactly the same amount of it each day, and yet some people make much more effective use of it than others. The difference is not usually in how fast you go. Hurrying will not gain you much and may actually set you further behind. The key to making the best use of your time is not by using it quickly but by using it wisely. Think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Eliminate the waste of negativity from your mind. Look for ways to invest your time that will end up saving time again and again. See time not as a tyrannical enemy, but as a friend that you can respect, understand and use to your benefit. Get time on your side, and it can be one of your greatest resources.

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