Making time and Killing time

‘How do I kill time?’,  ... no one every asks that question. Unless you are waiting for your better half to finish shopping and you got absolutely nothing in the mall to distract your attention with. But to save time, now that’s something we all keep pondering over.

The Essentials
I have many things that I need to get done in my daily to-do list. Some that are clear and present needs. Others are left overs from yesterday, and to add to it are new thoughts that are getting planned as actionable. And btw, I am yet to add actions others are expecting from you, with your time involved.

Before you identify something as a task, ask your self these questions -
Is is important to do it now?
Is it important to do it today?
Is it of any value (for me or people I care about)
Is there any immediate or long term benefit?
What’s the worst to happen if its not done?

These questions will clarify your thoughts on how to manage this task. Keep it in the backlog, do it now, keep it an ongoing task (chunk it, I will explain this soon) or do it now (or today or this week, how so ever you see ‘now’ as.)

Prioritise tasks
A simple solution I see for this is to have your priorities set up. Know what’s important and what’s not, when planning. try and identify major to-do things first thing in the morning (the big ones). Small ones can always be impromptu actioned there and then when you have time free for your self.

Chunk it
A lot of time, we have tasks that are big. Like, say, cleaning the house. If you plan to take a leave so that you can do it, then that’s your planning (no right or wrong). But what if taking a leave is not an option? Well, chunk the task. Make small actionable cleaning tasks. Like, say cleaning one room a day after you come back home in the evening. And that way you end up cleaning up the house in a couple of days or more.

Do nothing.
What is the number one thing I would like to do with my time? Actually, nothing. And by that, I mean ‘absolutely nothing’. It’s a wonderful state to be in. And I bet none of us ever even think, let alone attempt to do that. It’s the next best thing to do after meditation. Probably the only thing that comes close to it is documenting our thoughts (like writing) and reflecting. Give it a try and make sense of it. Don’t wait for someone to tell you how you would feel. Just go ahead and experience it.