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This is a simple yet effective ways to save a lot of time. And all it requires you to do is plan your activities in advance. That way, you can group all similar errands together. Let me give you an example…
Let’s suppose you need to go to the bank. If your gas station is near the bank, then it makes sense to fill your gas tank at the same time, rather than waiting a day or two when the gas station might not be as convenient.
That’s a pretty simple example. And yet it would likely save you 10 minutes or more. Not only that, it would also save gas since you don’t have to drive out of your way another day to fill your tank.
Now imagine if you had to do a whole string of errands. Let’s suppose you have to go to the bank, gas station, grocery store and perhaps a friend’s house. And let’s further suppose that you know tomorrow you will need to go to the post office. Instead of doing the string of errands today and just one errand tomorrow, you’ll save time by waiting and doing all of them tomorrow.
Again, that’s a fairly simple concept. And yet plenty of people waste time simply because they don’t take one minute to plan ahead. For example, they go to a grocery store without a shopping list, and then they have to go back again the next day because they forgot to buy something.
This tactic isn’t just limited to grouping your errands together. You should also group similar tasks together. That’s because doing similar tasks means that you won’t have to re-orient or “shift gears” too much, which saves time.
Let me give you an example…
Let’s suppose you’re an online marketer, and your to do list for the day includes tasks like:
- Writing an article for an article directory.
- Writing a blog post for your blog.
- Finding affiliates.
- Doing keyword research.
The best order is to do them in the order listed above (or approximately). That way you do the two writing tasks together and then you do the two research tasks together.
You see, if you do writing, then research, then writing and then research again, each time you sit down to write you likely have to “get in the mood” again. But if you put your writing tasks back to back, it’s easy to stay focused. Then you can shift gears just once and do your research tasks.
Here are some other examples of ways you can save time in both your personal and professional life:
- Be sure to keep current, accurate to-do lists and shopping lists. That way you know ahead of time if you can group errands or items together.
- Create your shopping list in order that items appear in your store. For example, if the produce department is near the front door, then put the vegetables and fruits at the top of your list.
- If you need to do an errand, see if anyone else in your household or office needs something at the same time. (This saves time if you’re typically in charge of these errands.)
That’s it for this time. Next time you’ll learn the magic of touching things just once!