Don’t you sometimes wish you could clone yourself? How do you work smarter, not harder?
It seems like lots of folks have the same complaint as I do, which is that they always have a lot of stuff going on that they wish they could accomplish all at once. Or that they don’t have the time but have more than enough inclination to tackle several projects, tasks and errands simultaneously. Don’t we all just wish there were more than 24 hours in a day to do everything we’d like? Yeah, that’s why I’m about to order myself the book, “The 4 Hour Work Week” that everyone in the blogosphere’s been talking about and which I’d also like to chime in on, once I’ve gotten around to reading it 
.
It’s also the reason I haven’t yet actively gotten aboard Twitter — I can see myself losing many precious minutes / hours to it if I were to dip more than a few toes in this new community. Like a lot of you who live on the internet, I’d love to be able to expand my online networking efforts, but I worry about how much of a “time pit” the internet social gathering holes actually are.
I’m always on the lookout for ways to try to free up more time, which is something that remains elusive to me. I thought that by leaving the workforce, that I’d miraculously be sitting on an additional 8 to 10 hours that I could use any which way I’d like, and I’d have lots of time to relax. Of course, my life’s much more balanced now, so maybe all that extra time is going to more hours of sleep, that’s why I’m not noticing the extra hours during the day!
The issue here is that I’m a great planner, but not a good enough organizer and certainly one who’d like to get better at “working smarter” rather than harder. Hmmmm…. wonder if working on a productivity blog will help me get better at these things? Then again, it may be another “time pit”.
Any other suggestions for increasing one’s productivity levels? Maybe you can tell us what worked for you!
Now to raise your personal finance knowledge quotient, how about going through the following?
Recommended Personal Finance Reads
- Five Cent Nickel tells us how to find a good mechanic.
- Free Money Finance covers a simple bible-based budget that involves a breakdown of 10% to give away, 10% to save and 80% to live on. I’d probably raise the savings portion and reduce the “what to live on” portion.
- Consumerism Commentary relates a few tips for college-bound students.
- Lazy Man and Money objects to the idea that personal finance education is a waste of time. I agree with him.
- Frugal Dad went on a frugal safari! Check out the great animal shots (I mean, pictures)!
- Money Smart Life suggests how you can have a destination wedding for less.
- Gen X Finance: Do majority of corporations skip on paying taxes? “Hogwash!” says Jeremy.
- The Sun’s Financial Diary: While I spread some Google joy by talking about how Google has been voted “best company to work for“, Sun tells us how Google’s been celebrating the Beijing Olympics.
- Mighty Bargain Hunter: We gain much pleasure from watching our portfolios soar, but when they’re down in the dumps, we avoid looking at them. Here are ways to get over the fear of our portfolios.
- No Credit Needed suggests strategies to remain debt free.
- Million Dollar Journey answers a reader’s question about withholding taxes on U.S. securities (for non-residents).
- Brip Blap: Google’s gone to Beijing with its logos, and your money will too, according to Steve, if you don’t take into account the effect of inflation on your money.
- My Dollar Plan lists some things that your health benefits can cover for you.
- Roth 401k brings us an intro to the Roth 401k. It’s a great read!
Additional Financial Articles I Enjoyed
- Rich Credit Debt Loan: Untapped Riches: Never Pay Off Your Mortgage…
- Counting My Pennies: Disappearing Grocery Budget
- My Daily Dollars: The Beauty of Savings
- One Snarky Chica With Issues: Are Small Towns Really Cheaper Than Cities?
- The Dough Roller: Do You Believe In Financial Miracles?
Recent Carnivals
- The Olympics is at the Carnivals!
- Carnival of the Vanities
- Working At Home Blog Carnival
- Money Hacks Carnival
- Carnival of Financial Learning
- Carnival of Financial Planning
- Carnival of Fraud
- Carnival of Money Stories
- Finance Fiesta
- Stock trades: Free stock trades from Zecco, Cheap stock trades from TradeKing, Stock news and Investment info at INO TV Free, No cost Trend Analysis for stocks
- Earn top returns: FNBO Direct [1.90%], HSBC Direct [1.65%], WTDirect [1.76%], E*Trade Bank [0.95%], ING Direct [.25% to 1.65%]
- Cash bonus: Discover More [$50], American Express [$25], Lending Club [$25]
If you enjoyed this post, you can get free regular updates through our RSS Feed, or you can have our latest posts delivered to your email inbox by supplying your address here. Your address will only be used for this purpose, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
{ 6 trackbacks }
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the mention! I agree; I’m trying to limit unnecessary drains on my time. It’s amazing how quickly they can eat up your day.
Hey thanks for mentioning our destination wedding article.
Good luck as you work on your organization and productivity – I think we all need a little more of that. If you come across any good tips, I’d love to read them!
I still don’t understand the merits of Twitter. Is it just to send out mini-feeds and updates more easily during the day?
But back on topic, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to find time in the day to do basic tasks like take my clothes to the laundromat, clean the house, go grocery shopping. It seems like a lot of companies now are pushing this 9am-6pm workday – or something even more tedious. By the time I get home, I’m so sick and tired of staring at a computer screen, I can barely bring myself to finish daily, minute tasks.
But as for a solution, I try to plan out my week on Sunday. I make lists and plan quick trips to the supermarket, etc. on my way home from work and try to pread it out throughout the week so that I can feel like I have a little bit of “down time” in the evenings.
Thanks for the link! I think I’ve seen that guy in the photograph around….
Learn to say no for the things that are not your top priority. There are lots of things to improve efficiency but just saying no eliminates a bunch of stuff that really isn’t that important.
Focusing on the most important tasks frees up the most time. That is why a GTD type system is so valuable. It allows you to get everything out of your head so you can stop doing mental gymnastics over and over again and use that energy to attack your couple most important tasks for the day, which you can objectively chose from you GTD list/files/cards each day/week/month/year.
Hi! I’ve written a whole series of articles on finding more time in your day:
http://www.erica.biz/2008/you-are-worth-more-than-you-think-overcoming-the-key-reason-entrepreneurs-fail/
and http://www.erica.biz/2008/entrepreneurs-is-extreme-frugality-a-waste-of-time/
are two recent ones. I hope they help you!
-Erica
It’s a great book. Well written and funny (albeit a bit cocky). Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the mention! I’m interested to hear what you think of The 4 Hour Work Week. I can’t figure out where my time goes some days!
I admit, I’m not good at social networking for anything other than a bit of fun. I use Twitter, but only to follow my friends and a few news sites. I don’t have the time to be communicating on it regularly!
Thanks for the links. Any information to increase productivity while decreasing time spent is worth a great deal.
I think if anyone can make a pill so we don’t have to sleep or at least sleep so much they will make a lot of money and make our lives easier.
I had the same experience when I quit a corporate day job and didnt find the same amount of time that I thought I would post job.
So maybe if we cut out sleep it would be the same thing. No matter how much time we have our list of things to do will be that + 1.
Thanks for the mention! Glad you enjoyed my observations on small towns.
That is why a GTD (Getting Things Done) type system is so valuable. It allows you to get everything out of your head so you can stop doing mental gymnastics over and over again and use that energy to attack your couple most important tasks for the day, which you can objectively chose from.
Ed: Thanks for the info. I also don’t allow keyword use in links and handles, thanks.