How do you use time better?
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008It had been a long week, and since not much had been accomplished blog wise, I decided it was ok to break my secular sabbath rule, and finish off of a draft I had recently began working on.
3 hours later, I had read every article on Obama’s win, I now know that I’d probably make a good president too, and I now have a slight desire to seastead. I also have a better appreciation for stories, and the difference between mysteries and puzzles (excellent, but lengthy article by Malcolm Gladwell). To be sure, these are all very wonderful things to know (I hope). The only problem is, I still don’t have a blog post, and half of my “sabbath” just disappeared.
Clearly, I need to focus my time a little better.
The thing is, if I can figure out where my time is going, I can use it more efficiently to gain many things, most precious of which is: time!
Or so the theory goes.
But time being what it is, you have to let it pass to properly take on such a bold task (time management is ultimately a never-ending fight against yourself, so yes, this is a bold undertaking). I rather like the passage of time, so this shouldn’t be much of a problem; it’s the manage part that’s kind of difficult to hunt down.
Obviously, I’m turning to the Internet to help me out, and I’m gradually amassing a list of time management tools to help with the dirty work. Here are some of the weapons I currently have in my arsenal (some I’ve tried, and others I intend to look into, but I’m waiting for… time).
RescueTime
I’ve been using this for a while now, and I still find it useful (previously covered here).
Map Your Time
The best thing about mapping your time is that it provides you with a schedule you can keep up with, and adjust as necessary.
RememberTheMilk
The best thing about RTM is it’s Gmail Integration, which is a fantastic way of keeping track of tasks, etc… (especially when used in conjunction with Better Gmail 2).
Time Tracker
Basically, Time Tracker will tell you the truth about how much time you’re spending on tasks, projects, etc… Because you can break it down into projects, this is also a handy way of keeping track of both productive and unproductive tasks.
Mail Trends
I intend on trying this out sometime in the future. The benefits to this would be amazing, considering how much time one could save with a better understanding of their email habits. Meanwhile, I’m still hoping I’ll come across a more user friendly alternative (Mac, preferably open source please).
Judo
This is what it boils down to at the end of the day. Ultimately, the goal is to use time wisely, not to amass a bunch of cool tools (although coolness doesn’t hurt either).
In the meantime, drop me a line if you know of other time judo moves, time hacks, apps, etc… My measuring stick for a good time hack is simple: After the initial excitement, if you’re still excited about it after a few days, you owe it to those around you to share the good news (the comments section is also a good place to start).
