Keys we have found to help find “Free Time”
It can be used for anything
Can help to lower your stress levels
Can help you increase your wellness, productivity, health, fitness and longevity.
Today we are all hyper busy, hyper consumed and limited on time. It might be the greatest threat we all face in our day to day lives is how to find more time in the day for ourselves and our goals.
Who has free time? Why should you care?……The bigger question is who doesn’t want more free time?! And yes everyone SHOULD care!
-
What are you doing in the final minutes before your head hits the pillow each night? The final 30 minutes? Final hour? If you are like most of us you are trying to wind down from the day and perhaps relax or zone out on things unrelated to the days events. Perhaps you are watching a show, cruising social media? These final minutes are not helping you to rest necessarily and we would argue are holding you back from one of the best time management tips our coaches have to offer. Why?
● Phone scrolling and screen time before bed robs us of need sleep for our active lifestyle and work life.
● These final minutes are not productive and rob us of precious sleep time. When we don' sleep our ability to concentrate and be focused goes down significantly, increasing the time it tasks to actually get real work done. (Or workouts!)
● A poor nights sleep increases our stress levels and cortisol; this can lead to weight gain and poor nutrition habits.
● If you are socializing or spending time with family for instance, consider going to bed earlier during the week vs the weekends for instance - if you feel you are missing out on time with your family.
What to do?
● Force yourself to go to sleep earlier! Even 10-20minutes can help.
● This can also help you catch up on sleep deficits which we accumulate when we have a poor nights rest or multiple nights of poor sleeping.
● Sleep mode; Turn down the lights, turn off the phone and put it down. Perhaps do yoga, meditation... or just go to sleep. Laying restfully in your bed with your own thoughts is not a bad thing! This can help the brain digest the unrelenting flow of communication that is our day!
The results? Literally no downside here!
● Improved body and brain function
● More free time to be active
● More focused productivity in less time.
● Greater long term focus, goal attainment and results.
● Improved nutrition and energy for being active.
● A higher quality of life!
-
Are there things that you may be doing each day and week that you spend lots of time on that maybe you shouldn't? Can you cut back on these things or minimize them? Are they really adding to your day or productivity? Quality of life or? Can you find ways to make these time sinks less in duration and volume?
Some examples;
● Home chores; can you higher help? PS... we at Tristar hate laundry 🧺 and find folding a waste of time 😂
● Meal prep - Can you prepare meals earlier in the week or order groceries online?
● Reduce interruptions and distractions - example text messages or other social media? Put your do not disturb sign up on your phone and devices.
● Get more organized to reduce confusion or wasting time finding things. This could mean at home, work or other. Are you spending extra time each day to prep food or find your gear for your workouts? (Create a go bag for the gym or other sports activities with food, water and gear. In fact have multiple bags!)
● Make a list of what you spend your time on, how long it takes to do each task and limit the amount of time you spend on these specific tasks. Then prioritize this task list so you are not getting sucked into time sink holes! 🕳
-
One of the most important things, but less obvious, that can help you with time management is deciding what you are NOT going to do vs what you are going to do. Learning to say no is hard for some but a critical decision making process skill that can leave you with more time and energy.
When in doubt, leave it out?
● Is this "thing" i am doing, not urgent? And not important?! These activities hold little if any value and should be eliminated as much as possible. Example; "checking instagram"
● If its not important, can you delegate that task or time commitment? You will want to have a force ranked system that allows you to accomplish the key 3-5 tasks that MUST be done that day and the rest accomplished another day.
● Use a time tracker to isolate activities that you spend a lot of time on but produce little value. Our coaches recommend using an app called Toggl to track time and categorize it well across your devices.
-
You may love or hate your calendar, setting it up, how you strategize your days, weeks and months - But these rules to using your calendar could free up a considerable amount of free time.
● Blocking sessions - Set a reminder one day at the start of your week to block the most important work and life appointments that need to get done. These should include basic to advanced life events. Don't forget to block out and build in time for travel, meals, workout time, any setup and breakdown for that activity, unstructured and recovery time. ★★★ PRO TIP: block out time on your calendar for sleep!
● Build in time between events and meetings - Make sure you keep a 10-30minute buffer between meetings and life activities so you have some time to do basic bio breaks and eat! Running yourself back to back ragged is a sure fire way to increase your stress levels and load.
● Meeting lengths - Don't be afraid to set limits on your meetings and times for activities. If something takes 45minutes that should only take 30minutes, make sure you pull the plug and move on!
● Sync your training peaks calendar to your personal calendar - You can have your planned training peaks calendar sync directly with your favorite calendar app. (Outlook, IOS or Google calendars)
● Use the Pomodoro technique - This is all about working in short, massively productive, intensely focused bursts, and then giving yourself a brief break. It’s incredibly simple, in that all it requires is a timer, and it allows you to break down a large task into manageable intervals.
Here’s how it works:
Choose a task
Set your timer for 25 minutes
Work on the task until the timer ends
Take a short break (around 5 minutes)
Every 4 Pomodoro sessions, take a longer break (15-30 minutes)
This technique allows you to accomplish a significant amount over the course of the day while still taking adequate breaks. The relatively short time of each session also allows you to intensely focus without becoming mentally fatigued.
-
Never before has it been easier to order in meals and groceries direct to your door. Companies such as amazon, Walmart and any e-tailer have made it a breeze to get exactly what you need within hours to days. This strategy can have you avoiding driving to the store, waiting in lines and frees up valuable time real-estate!
● Use a grocery service to mail directly each week the food items you need the most.
● Order other neccessary items direct to your home or office, example toilet paper, water, healthy snacks etc.
● When your in a pinch, order in an entire meal. This may be a luxury for some, but in a pinch rather than cook, order from your favorite but healthy restaurant.
● Who says you have to order in food? Order in other services direct to your door. The app "Thumbtack" for instance allows you to find a handyman, house cleaner or other tasks around you that can help free up your time.
-
Run your errands.. no literally run your errands! This goes for commuting as well 🙌🏻 . We are talking about taking some of your activities on the road and when, where, weather permitting, run or bike to the store to get things done.
● Walk to the store with backpack to pick up something you need.
● Carpool with a friend home from work and be dropped off miles from home to get you exercise. Driving out of state? Great! Bring your bike and ride the first hour to a meeting spot with your friends or family who can pick you up. Time it well and you can drop the commuting time in favor of free workout time. 😎
● You think we are nuts? 🥜! Yep, run to the store for lunch or breakfast and jog home. Anyway you can marry together downtime with active time is a win win.
-
Avoid multi-tasking; focus on the tasks at hand and block out all other distractions. Set time limits on assigned tasks. Build in buffers.
● This is one of the simplest time management tips for life & work, yet it can be one of the hardest to follow.
● Focus on the task at hand and block out all distractions. It can be tempting to multitask, but you’re just shooting yourself in the foot when you attempt to do so.
● You lose time and decrease productivity when switching from one task to another.
● Similarly, don’t get overwhelmed by a to-do list stretching a mile long. Stressing over it will not make it shorter, so breathe in, breathe out, and take it one task at a time.
-
If you are l like many and tend to blow off your strength training in favor of other activities (Bike, run, soccer etc) which are more “fun” …. consider doing your stretching and strength training “off the clock”
● At work, consider sitting on a stability ball and recline backward just slightly as you skim through a computer report and shred your abs!
● Driving to work? Red lights are great for glute squeezes. ….The possibilities are endless.
-
Make sure you have enough gear as back up in case you lose something or have multiple places where you are active.
● An extra pair of run shoes 👍🏻
● Extra swim goggles and shorts.
● Two gym bags with duplicate gear.
● Stash this extra gear in places where you need it most; the car, work etc.
● Be prepared for any activity? Yes, if you bring extra clothes and gear you won’t be disappointed for instance when the gym is closed and let’s say running or walking is now your best or only option.
-
We have already stressed the importance of sleep, on overall mental and physical well being but adding in an extra sleep session to your loaded day can turbo charge the second half of it.
● Take a 10-30minute timed nap midday. This can reset your brain. 🧠
● Naps can help you to restore and repair muscles from workouts and activities.
● Thinking more clearly you can accomplish work in a more focused manor and get things done in less time!
