7 Ways To Get More Time Starting Today
7 Ways To Get More Time, Starting Today
How can you hack time and get more of it?
They say we all have the same number of hours in a day – Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, and you. How is it some seem to be able to effortlessly make millions and still have plenty of time off for golf, vacations, and quality time with the family, while others can’t find a spare moment to think, nevermind get ahead?
It’s how we use our time that makes the DIFFERENCE.
So how can we hack time, to create freedom to do the things we want most and take advantage of new opportunities?
Time is the most precious thing we have. We can’t get more of it, but we can free more of it up if we use it well and leverage it. This is critical whether you are trying to find the time to get started in real estate or are an experienced investor or CEO.
It all starts with a healthy respect for the value of time. Here are seven practical tips that we can all put into play immediately this week to recoup more of our time…
- Order In
You didn’t think it was going to be this easy, right? It can be. How much time do we spend going to buy food, shopping, or even running for a coffee. Add up the drive time, the extra hours of labor which are spent paying for gas, distracted browsing, and waiting in line. Transit times and running errands accounts for hours burned through each week. How much time could you gain if you ordered your groceries on Amazon, batch cooked your meals, invested in an awesome espresso machine, and/or had lunch delivered?
- Avoid the Inbox
The inbox can be one of the biggest time drains for real estate investors and business owners. Rushing to check every ping of an incoming email, flipping screens to see if there is anything there when you don’t hear any notifications, and feeling the need to respond immediately to each message can suck hours out of your day, especially when you count all the time it takes to get refocused on the previous task. The truth is that 99.999% of those emails can wait. So can the text messages, and even most calls. Tim Ferriss built his 4 Hour Work Week brand on the premise of better email handling. However, you don’t even have to outsource this. Start by limiting your access to your inbox to before you really start work, at lunch, and at the end of the day.
- Hire Someone
Delegate or hire someone for all but the most important tasks. The bottom line is that online 10-20% of what you did last week probably yielded 80-90% of the results you wanted and gained. Why waste your time on the rest?
It is true that you may be limited on funds to employ others (at least for now). It may truly be faster to do yourself (this time), but not more profitable in the long run. You might be able to do it better. Yet, you are robbing yourself from your full potential, and the world of that potential by failing to let it go.
As a real estate investor or business owner your hourly earning potential is huge. It’s more than a maid, receptionist, event planner, chef, attorney, and more than most doctors – so delegate! Hire a cleaner, an administrative assistant, bookkeeper, and so on.
This is easier than ever. Even if you have an almost non-existent budget. Hire and you’ll gain the time to make the bigger bucks. Ask for referrals or hop on Upwork.com and recruit someone just for the time you need. That might just be a couple hours a week or month to start. Even better; hire yourself a general manager, personal assistant or project manager, and have them hire and manage these other people for you.
Outsourcing is a skill you need to develop. You might be able to do all the work you or your company have to get done now, but you want to start building some muscle around offloading tasks now.
- Uninstall Facebook
Facebook can be awesome for staying connected to friends and family, inspiring others, and for real estate marketing. However, it can drain your time at a seriously detrimental rate. Consider all the time, results, and experiences you could gain by unplugging from Facebook and Twitter!
If you can’t bring yourself to uninstall, then move the app to your third screen back so you aren’t tempted to check it so often, and turn off notifications. Then put up a sticky update that stays at the top letting others know what you are doing, and maybe include a link to your opt-in page where visitors and followers can get on your automated email list and buy, sell, or lend on your properties through your system or one of your assistants. If you like plug in some Facebook ads and let them run so you don’t feel like you are missing out by not constantly engaging.
- Stop Surfing
Simply surfing the web can eat into your time and mojo too. The news, popup ads, and pointless arguments in online forums can not only drain your time, but can throw you off your game with distracting thoughts and needless stress. The Rescue Time app can help you start by analyzing where you are wasting time, and then helps you prevent distractions. You can always catch up on your favorite real estate blog feeds at the end of the day or week when you have free time.
- Systems & Automation
The chances are that there are existing proven systems and tools for you to use for 80% of what you do each day. This might be organizing direct mail campaigns, finding cash buyers or private lenders, or sending follow up emails. Find the solutions, plug them in, let the systems do the work while you focus on what’s most important.
- Boost Personal Performance & Productivity
Saving time is only half the story. Getting more done in the time you have is the other half. Systems and technology for automation can go a long way. But what about personal productivity? Diet, exercise, and getting and staying in the optimal frame of mind each day makes a huge difference. Maybe a little more sun or vitamins will help. Maybe it is taking an hour to yourself to eat, meditate and workout before you start the rest of your day. Even simply running has proven to dramatically improve productivity. You might want to try out the 6 Primal Life Pillars class and learn how to optimize your life for success, join a local gym or follow some health thought leaders. Whatever you choose, know that when you invest in your health (mind, body and spirit) the payoff is lasting and profound.
Starting testing some of these time hacking tactics out today and reclaim your time!
