Image courtesy of vhm-alex @ deviantART

What’s your guilty reality TV pleasure? The Bachelor? Survivor? America’s Got Talent? Of course, the granddaddy of them all — American Idol — just started a new season. Some 30 or 40 million fans have been waiting six months for American Idol to kick off. If this season is anything like last season, expect at least 50 hours of American Idol on your TV. No, that’s not a typo.

Last year I gave you a few ideas on what you could have done with those 50 hours instead of watch American Idol. For example, you could earn an extra $1,000, read several books, start writing your own book, burn 43,000 calories jogging, learn the waltz, and others. But, who am I kidding? If you like the show, you’re not going to listen to me. Heck, I’m not even going to listen to me because I’m going to watch this season!

But you’re nuts if you think I’m going to waste 50 hours. Here are my 5 rules for watching reality TV efficiently:

1. Never forget the price of an hour. Quick, what’s the average life expectancy for someone in the United States? According to the Center for Disease Control, it is 77.8 years; but the guys in white lab coats at the CDC got it wrong. Sleep and work take 313,176 hours of our life. This leaves us 368,352 hours — 42 years. That’s our real life expectancy. Watching a couple of hours of TV might not seem like a big deal (most people watch 4 hours and 35 minutes per day!), but if you only have 8 real hours a day, those two hours suddenly represent 25% of your day! Next time you start flipping mindlessly through the channels, ask yourself if you really want to invest 25% or 50% of your day to TV.
2. Never watch live TV. This is so obvious I questioned including it, but you’d be shocked at the number of people who still watch those, uh, those short annoying things that interrupt the show. You’ll save about 20 minutes for every hour of TV you watch. This one is a no-brainer. Get a DVR and use it.
3. Never watch the elimination episodes. This should save you about 15 hours and at least a dozen brain cells. How they can create an hour-long show around a 30 second elimination both infuriates and impresses me.
4. Never just watch TV. American Idol ain’t rocket science. There are a thousand things you could be doing while watching. Here are a few ideas: pay bills, read a magazine, exercise, write notes to family and friends, surf the web, connect with Facebook friends, pack tomorrow’s lunch, fold your clothes, or give a massage.
5. Never watch TV alone. If you’re going to kill two hours watching the latest reality show, you might as well make a party out of it. Invite friends over and encourage them to bring somebody new each week — this way you get to expand your network, connect with your friends, and watch some TV at the same time.

I once went two years without watching any TV, and guess what? I didn’t miss a thing. I do watch some TV now, but I make sure I am conscious about what I’m watching and how I’m watching it. If you follow these 5 rules, you’ll still enjoy TV but you’ll achieve more.

And remember, the other 8 hours are your most precious time to create a more financially secure and rewarding life. Don’t spend all of this time watching others try to achieve their dream while neglecting your own.

For a limited time, you can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) at www.other8hours.com and learn more about my new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

Overcoming A Loss Of Motivation

21 Tactics To Increase Motivation

Is it possible that you are (at least partially) responsible for your hectic, over-scheduled, and downright crazy schedule? Some of your time pressure is legitimate. You have HOA meetings to attend, kids that need a ride to soccer practice, household chores that need to be finished, and a host of other responsibilities. But studies show that we have more leisure time now than we have in the past.

While you may have more “leisure” time now than before, it won’t feel like it if you fill your free time with activities that aren’t enriching. Still, the challenge is freeing up more time in an environment where it feels like there are more and more demands on your time.

If you look closely at how you spend your time and discover that you may be your own worst enemy, try the following two strategies:

Abstaining

Don’t be a time slut. If you’re the type of person who can’t say no to favors and requests, others will take advantage of you. If you sacrifice your other 8 hours to benefit someone else, they will keep coming back for more and more until you’ve got nothing left to give.

So wise up!  Make it your policy that your default answer is, “I’m sorry, I just can’t help you with that.” If that’s too strong, follow it up with “because I’m working on a deadline, have a previous engagement, late for an meeting/appointment, taking care of my sick mother, getting checked for a rare and contagious disease, etc.” Whatever you say, you’ve got to have a sense of urgency in your voice, and you’ve got to extract yourself from the conversation as quickly as possible by saying, “Let’s catch up soon though.”

Balancing

Be more like the Governator. You may have heard that the Federal budget deficit is over one trillion dollars. That means the federal government is spending a whole lot more than it receives in taxes. This is similar to someone who gets into credit card debt. Few know this, but state governments can only spend as much as they make. If the Governator wants to add a program, he has to subtract the money from somewhere else. This is called pay-go, as in you pay for things as you go.

Your job is to adopt a “pay-go” type of policy with your time. Before you agree to join a non-profit board, train for a marathon, volunteer at a local soup kitchen, help a friend move, start a Bible study, take a night class, or help your neighbor have a garage sale, you must eliminate that time from something else. Picture a balance that you need to keep level. If you add something to your schedule, you have to subtract something to keep it in balance. This will help protect your time by forcing you to limit your commitments.

I preach that the way to create new wealth and purpose is to invest your other 8 hours. You might not have 8 hours, but you probably have more time than you think. Abstain and Balance to free up more time so you can start a business, write a book, or create something.

Robert Pagliarini writes for CBS MoneyWatch and is the author of three books including the latest, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth and Purpose. For a limited time, you can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) from the book at www.other8hours.com.  Copyright 2009 CBS Interactive, Inc.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

The 21 Habits of Healthy People

The Benefits of Meditation

Back in November, I went away for a weekend’s retreat, and it was one of the best things I did last year. I have a lot going on in my life, and clearing that space meant juggling some commitments around – but it was well worth it. I felt much happier and more relaxed than I had done in a long time, and I came back from the weekend determined to keep some of that “quiet space” in my regular life.

I expect that you’re similarly busy. You probably find it hard – logistically and emotionally – to find any time for yourself. When you do get a gap in your day, you end up filling it with chores or emails or tasks that have been on your to-do list for months. And when it comes to the evening, you probably don’t have the energy to do much more than turn the television on.

Even when you’re short of time, though, it’s possible to find yourself a quiet space – mentally, if not always physically! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

If you have … five minutes

Five minutes might not seem like long, but if you sit in silence, focusing on your breathing, you’ll realise how refreshing that time can be. You might want to read up on meditation, or, if you’re religious, you might like to pray.

However busy you are, you can find five minutes a day – perhaps five minutes before work, during your lunch hour, and when you come home from work – to simply sit quietly and let yourself calm down from the busyness of the rest of your day.

If you have … half an hour

Although finding a half-hour block in your day is more challenging than snatching five minutes, it’s definitely possible. It might mean taking your lunch break (instead of working through it), or using the first half-hour when you get home from work in the evening.

Half an hour is a great length of time to go for a brisk walk. I find that walking is one of the best ways of being active, because you don’t need any special equipment, you don’t need to shower afterwards, it’s free, and you can do it almost anywhere. Instead of listening to music while you walk, opt for silence, and observe your thoughts.

If you have … an afternoon

Free afternoons (or mornings) don’t come about all that often, so make the most of them – and try blocking out a Saturday or Sunday afternoon every once in a while. (If you have kids, try arranging a childminding swap – you’ll take your friends’ kids if they’ll have yours the following week.)

A whole morning or afternoon is perfect for digging into a creative project. Whether you like to work with paint, clay, words, music or even food, give yourself the chance to make something. Don’t rush it, or feel that you have to produce something perfect or finished – just enjoy the process of creation.

If you aren’t in the creative mood, try curling up with a great book that you’ve been wanting to read for a while. Treat yourself to a mug of good coffee or hot chocolate too, and enjoy!

If you have … a weekend

Empty weekends are few and far between, and you may have to plan several months ahead to get one. It’s worth it, though: a whole weekend away from the busyness of life can refresh you, get your creative juices flowing, and help you think through the priorities and commitments that you have.

There are many places – some religious, others not – which welcome visitors to come on a retreat. Some retreats are run like courses (e.g. for painters or writers), others are very free-form and you can do whatever you like. Alternatively, you could just book yourself into a hotel, or go hiking for a weekend. Choose something which gets you away from the computer, the phone, and all your day-to-day worries – make yourself as uncontactable as possible!

I’d love to hear how you find quiet in your life, whether it’s for short or long periods.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

The 21 Habits of Healthy People

The Benefits of Meditation

Image courtesy of Photoshop Art @ Flickr

Getting too much sleep is hazardous to your health — it may lead to higher risk for obesity, diabetes, and premature death. We’ve been brainwashed to think we need 8 hours of sleep a night, but sleep requirements vary greatly by age, stress level, and health. In fact, research suggests 7 hours might be the ideal amount of sleep the average adult needs per night, and getting 8 or more hours can lead to increased mortality — even more so than too little sleep!

All this talk about how we are sleep deprived and how we need more sleep is enough to, well, put me to sleep. Many experts have pounded the table that “improving job performance may be as easy as getting a good night’s sleep” and that “getting a good night’s sleep is the single best way you never thought of to improve your abilities and human capital literally overnight.”

Hogwash! Not only can too much sleep be bad for your health, it can rob you of your other 8 hours. If you work 8 and sleep 9, that only leave 7 hours for you to pursue your goals and live your life. Every hour, minute, and second you sleep more than you need to is a complete waste of time and your life.

Too little or too much sleep can lead to low energy and mental sluggishness. Your goal is to get an optimum amount of sleep, which I define as the least amount of sleep possible while still feeling physically energized and mentally alert. So how do you know how much sleep you need? Test, test, test. Here’s what to do:

Step 1
Start with 8 ½ hours of sleep. Make sure you get the full 8 ½ hours. No more and no less.

Step 2
The next day, complete the Sleep Optimization Form.  This is a simple form to gauge how you feel (physically and mentally) at different times during the day. Because stress, eating habits, and a host of other factors can influence our energy levels and outlook, try to keep all other variables constant (i.e., unchanged as possible).

Step 3
Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for four nights in a row.

Step 4
Reduce your sleep by 30 minutes and start the sleep/test process again for four nights in a row. Keep cutting your sleep in Step 1 by 30 minutes until you reach 7 hours.

Step 5
Analyze the data. Review your Sleep Optimization Form and identify which days you felt the best (based on higher scores). If you find that you feel good on 8 ½ hours of sleep, but you also feel good on 7 ½ hours of sleep, you’ve just saved yourself an hour a night and given yourself an extra 30 hours a month to create something.

If you really want to get fancy, you can test 15 minute increments (e.g., 7 hours and 45 minutes versus 8 hours). Remember, we’re trying to identify the absolute minimum amount of sleep you need because every minute you aren’t sleeping is another minute for you.

Now I just hope I don’t lose any sleep over contradicting all of the other experts…

Robert Pagliarini writes for CBS MoneyWatch and is the author of three books including the latest, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth and Purpose. For a limited time, you can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) from the book at www.other8hours.com.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

A 3 Step Routine To Boost Energy

5 Unusual Ways To Get Super Quality Sleep

I’ll bet you’ve got a number of started or almost-started projects that you’d love to do. Perhaps you dream of starting your own business, writing a novel, learning a foreign language, or taking a qualification. Or maybe you want to get the attic cleared out, organise your files, or repaint the hallway. It could even be that you know you need to take the time to exercise, meditate or journal … but you never get around to it.

The problem is, your life is already full, and you end up busy with all the day-to-day things, unable to find time for what you really want to do. Here are some ways to make the time that you need:

Use Your First Hour

How often have you told yourself that you’ll get to your big project or your novel or your spring cleaning once everything else is done?

And how often have you reached the end of the day, and had no energy? How often has something unexpected cropped up that steals away the time you were going to spend working towards your goal?

An easy solution is to take the first hour of your day and use it for what really matters to you. Everything else can wait for just one hour.

Use Your Diary

If you never seem to have a free day to clear the garage, or a weekend to get that small business launched, then pick up your diary. Look ahead a few weeks, and find a day or a couple of days that you can block out to work on something important to you.

Treat this time just as seriously as if you were going on vacation or to a seminar. If you’re asked to make social or voluntary commitments during it, explain that you’re busy.

You’ll find that your existing work and other activities flow around the time that you’ve blocked out, leaving you with the space to finally make progress on your project.

Use Your Friends

Sometimes, freeing up an hour of your day, or a couple of days in a month, just isn’t easy. Perhaps you have childcare responsibilities, a demanding job, or a lot of different commitments.

This is when friends and family can come in handy. Don’t be afraid to ask for the support that you need: many people will be genuinely glad to do you a favor. Ask a friend to babysit your kids while you write your business plan; let your spouse or housemate cook dinner while you head to the gym; get advice from a friend on how to move forwards with your plans.

Friends can also be a great source of encouragement. You could ask a friend to keep you accountable by checking up on your progress, whether that’s through a weekly phonecall or a quick daily check-in on Twitter. Sometimes, it’s easier to stay motivated when you know that someone else is cheering you on.

Use Your Willpower

Finally, in order to make time for the things which really matter to you, you’ll need to use your willpower.

You might hope that because you’re working on a project that’s important – whether it’s your novel or your small business or something self-nurturing – that you’ll always feel motivated. Chances are, though, that there’ll be times when you’re tired, or when you have to work through something difficult or dull in order to get to the next steps.

At those times, you’ll want to answer your emails, or watch television, or sleep in.

This is when using your willpower matters. Don’t say that you “have no willpower” – we all do. The more you exercise some self-discipline, the easier it becomes; plus, there are ways to increase your willpower. Sometimes, you’ll need to force yourself to make time for your project even when you don’t feel like it – because you know that making steady progress is going to be a great feeling.

How do you make time for the things you really want to do? What important projects have you stalled on? How can you get going again?

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

A Smarter Approach To Time Management

The Only Time Management Tip Your Really Need

There are no shortage of ‘experts’ that claim to know the secret of maximum productivity. At first someone will swear that the only way to really get things done is to multi-task: more done, less time. Then immediately someone will counter that it’s far simpler, more effective and rewarding and ultimately more ‘zen’ to do one task at a time: single-tasking.

It’s time to stop the confusion. Is one method really better than the other or does it just depend on the individual using either method?

Let’s clear things up, shall we:

Single-tasking: Do one thing at a time to be more effective

Ah, the age-old art of doing less to achieve more. This has been beaten to death for centuries. When you focus all of your efforts on just one thing, it’s assumed you will complete it to the best of your ability. While this is mostly the case, single-tasking is significantly more time consuming. If you want to create a masterpiece it will take time. So much time, in fact, that you might lose track of your other assignments.

There are even times when you’ll be trying to complete a task, and still be unable to tackle it. This, of course, leaves the task uncompleted and you having accomplished less than expected.

Despite getting only one thing done at a time as opposed to many things, the return on that one thing will no doubt be tremendous. All the work you put into the task will be reflected in how effectively you completed it. There will also be a greater sense of reward having completed something start to finish and these small victories, on a daily basis, can ultimately have a very positive mental effect.

Multi-tasking: Do more in less time.

That’s the basic idea of muti-tasking. Though personal development sites collectively hail that single-tasking is more effective (heck, even I support it), multi-tasking is still effective in getting things done. To be fair, multi-tasking has benefits that doing one thing at a time doesn’t.

As I’ve stated above, you get more done. A perfectly legitimate example is that you’re working on a project for your business and you also have a baby to take care of.  Will you just drop caring for the baby while you finish that big project? Or will you nuture your little bundle of joy at the risk of losing your job? Better yet, would you fare better to manage both simultaneously? I don’t know about you, but the last choice looks the best to me.

Though multi-tasking does have its benefits, there are times when it can get a bit overwhelming. Taking on a lot of difficult projects at once is definitely not a good idea. By doing this, you spread yourself too thin and the law of diminishing returns begins to kick in.

Which Method is Better?

Both methods clearly have their respective pitfalls, but which method comes out on top? Single-tasking allows you to zero in on a task and get it done sufficiently, but multi-tasking gives you a wider range in which to get your tasks done at the expense of depth of understanding.

The answer then, lies not in the general, but the specific – as with most things in life. Different tasks, assigned by different people with different expectations, must be looked at on a case-by- case basis. There is no blanket answer as no two situations nor two people are alike.

Why Not Do Both?

Is there are rule that explicitly states that, “Thou shalt not single-task and multi-task at the same time?” Neither method is better than the other because they are both useful in getting things done. You don’t have to multi-task two big things in order to get them done quicker, because it’s possible that you’ll fail at completing both of them. Spending your valuable time single-tasking small problems can lead to overestimating them.

The solution is to multi-task the small things and single-task the big things. However, what if there are two large tasks to do? Should you still multi-task? The short answer is yes. Break up both tasks into smaller tasks and do them simultaneously. The long answer is that it depends on the task and which one you think requires more attention than the other. Some things aren’t easy to chop into chunks and can only be single-tasked, whereas some things can only be multi-tasked.

Multi-task or Single-task? The choice is yours

Not everyone can multi-task. It’s not a matter of brain capacity or time management skills. Some of us just feel that it’s more convenient to do a single task until it’s done. In addition, not everyone is comfortable with single-tasking. Some people just have to do something else in order to periodically take their mind off of the task at hand; they can’t sit still and focus on one thing at time.

But it doesn’t matter what I say. Nor does it matter what any other personal development blogger might tell you. No one way is “the” way to go. Both methods are very person specific, knowing what type of person you are will dictate your choices. The important point is to honestly evaluate your strengths, weaknesses and work habits, and approach each task conscious of these traits. Then experiment with different combinations to suit your needs.

Which do YOU think is better? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

John Anyasor is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain who writes for the HiLife2B: Blog on Personal Improvement for a Good Life. He gives advice on personal development, life lessons, college life tips, and more.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Want to Learn How To Get Motivated? Click Here!

Related Articles:

Triple Your Productivity Tomorrow

A Productivity Filled Day

Artwork courtesy of Amy Buchheit

Some days, you wake up early, storm through tons of work before lunch, and come to the evening feeling as though you’ve accomplished a lot. For many of us, though, those days are the exception rather than a rule. Perhaps you’re reading this in the middle of a rather unproductive day. Maybe you woke up late, spent time procrastinating, had to deal with a dozen “urgent” little tasks, or simple got interrupted every five minutes.

If it feels like your day is slipping through your fingers, here’s how to turn things around and make that unproductive day into a fulfilling one:

Stop and Take Stock

So often, we end up in “reaction mode”, responding in a knee-jerk way to things as they come up. This is generally an ineffective way to work: you often end up dealing with fairly low-priority tasks simply because they’re the ones which present themselves.

When your day’s running away from you, take just five minutes to completely stop. Close your email program and your browser, or simply switch off your computer monitor. Think about what you want to accomplish today. Are you on track? If not, what’s gone wrong – and how can you pull things back into line?

Pick One Important Project or Task

As you take stock of your unproductive day so far, work out one important project or task that you want to get done, something that will give your day a sense of meaning and purpose. Perhaps it’s something you’ve been putting off, like writing an important letter or email. Maybe it’s the first step in a new course of action, like signing up for a course or seminar. It could be something that will take you further towards an important goal – perhaps getting your business’s website online.

Spend An Hour Focusing On This

A whole hour of focused attention is long enough to make meaningful progress. Let everything else slide for an hour, and spend that time concentrating on your one important thing. Your emails, and phone calls can wait until that hour’s up. It might help to set a timer. If your task involves writing, try using a full-screen program like Dark Room. Shut down your email – or even disconnect your computer from the internet if it helps.

Eliminate As Many Distractions As Possible

You might have to struggle to find just one hour to devote to something truly important. To keep your day on productive lines, eliminate the distractions that are sapping your focus. That might mean that you close your email and leave it closed until it’s nearly the end of your working day. Perhaps you’ll let your phone go to voicemail. Let your colleagues know you’d appreciate only being interrupted in a real emergency – or if you work from home, explain to your family that you could really use some uninterrupted time.

Challenge Yourself to Be Productive

Some unproductive days aren’t simply caused by us succumbing to distractions – they’re partially influenced by external events. Maybe you have several meetings scheduled, a lot of family duties, or various chores to run. Challenge yourself to squeeze in as much productive work as you can: perhaps you’ll jot down some notes while waiting in line at the post office, or maybe you can blitz through some emails with your toddler on your lap. If you have routine chores to do around the house, listen to audio books or podcasts during them – it’s a great way to fit some learning into your day.

Review Your Day

When you’ve had an unproductive day, don’t waste time and energy feeling guilty about it. See it instead as an opportunity to learn about the conditions in which you work best. Spend ten minutes reviewing how your day went, asking questions like:
•    Where did things start going wrong? (eg. “I woke up late”, “I checked my email first thing”)
•    What distractions did I succumb to?
•    What could I have done differently?
•    What helped me to focus?

There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes – they’re great learning opportunities, and chances to eliminate methods of working that aren’t helpful to you.

Do you find that you regularly have unproductive days? How do you turn things around?

Want Personalized Productivity Tips? Click Here!

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

How To Become a Highly Productive Night Owl

How To Stay Productive When You Make Your Own Schedule

Time is our most valued asset. Our most precious resource.

Many people claim that they are overworked, over-stressed, and incredibly pressed for time. While I don’t know if that’s necessarily true or not, I can say that time is something that’s always on everybody’s mind.

In the personal development world, we often think of time as something we “spend,” and when we want to grab more time for an activity, time is something we then “create.” But is that really true? The fact is that you can never really create any more time than what you’ve been given. You can free up time. But you can never truly create more of it.

In this post, I want to explain four easy tips to help you find more time to do the activities you love. Let’s get to it!

1. Take an entire day off for relaxation.

The first tip I have might seem a bit counter-intuitive, but it’s worked wonders for me.

When you’re feeling as if you have too much on your plate, one of the best things you could ever do is clear everything off of your plate. Just let all nonessential responsibilities slide to the side for the day. True, something urgent might pop up, and you probably won’t be able to be relinquished of all of your responsibilities, but a day of relaxation can seriously free up your mind.

Instead of stressing out and trying to find little ways to cut corners here and there to free up time, take a day off just to let your mind think and relax. When the next day rolls around, see if you can spot any ways to more efficiently and productively schedule your time. By taking a day off, you gain an outsider’s perspective into your time management dilemma. You can take a step back, clear your mind, and tackle your challenges with a fresh perspective.

2. Swap time given to one activity with to another activity.

Fairly simple, right? Choose one activity that you do that really doesn’t need to be done, and replace it with a better activity.

Instead of watching TV for an hour, go build your online business. Instead of idly reading cheap romance novels that don’t have much inherent value, go connect with your family members and friends. With this method, you’re taking large chunks of time already devoted to certain activities and reassigning that time to something else.

3. Be consciously aware of what you’re doing.

Everybody’s been in those tricky situations where they’re pressed to meet a deadline and the project they’re working on isn’t quite done yet. Whether it be for school or work, you know the dreadful feeling of the clock ticking faster and faster as the deadline quickly approaches.

What happens to your productivity in these situations? It naturally shoots up like a rocket. When suddenly nothing else matters but the project that’s due in two hours, you somehow magically manage to get it completed. Why do you think this is? It’s because you were consciously aware of what you were doing. When you don’t have time to waste on anything, you become acutely aware of the time.

What if you lived your life like this, just for a day? For one day, don’t just go through your daily motions. Be totally aware of how you’re spending your time. Keep a clock by you at all times and notice what you’re spending your time on. Are you going to be speeding up certain tasks and taking your time with other ones? How is your time going to be managed if you completely realize that there’s only a certain amount of minutes in a day?

4. Trim the fat off of what you’re already doing.

Do you really need an hour to do a task that you know you can complete within 45 minutes? Go though all of the tasks you do, estimate the time it takes you to complete all of those tasks, and see if you can snip away extra minutes. Try doing hour tasks in 45 minutes; try doing 30 minute tasks in 20 minutes.

Some tasks will naturally take too long if you give yourself too much time, such as writing a new blog entry or cleaning up your house. Most of the time, it doesn’t take long at all for people to get into the flow of things, so they mindlessly procrastinate because they’ve given themselves so much time towards completion. Don’t let this happen to you! Force yourself to get your work done in less time, and then assign those minutes to something else worthwhile. Make a schedule and document the true value of time that needs to be dedicated to each task. If you’ve figured you can do something in 30 minutes, and you’ve laid out that plan for yourself, it is far easier to get it done within that allotted time.

Getting things done in a thought out, timely matter, will end up generating a lot more free time to spend on the things you really love doing. Not only will you accomplish more, but getting to the point and getting things done you will also free up your mind, so you are not distracted by all of the things you haven’t yet accomplished and you will be able to put your full energy into every moment.

What are some of your suggestions for reclaiming and reassigning your lost time?

Got a Self Improvement Question? Click Here!

Matt is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain.com and  is the founder of Refocused Living – a personal development blog dedicated to genuinely helping people out through all aspects of self-improvement.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

Seeking Solitude: 17 Ways to Find Time for Yourself

Time is All We Have: 3 Ways To Reclaim Your Investment