By 
Nothing annoys me more than a person stretched too thin. We’ve all seen them, running around like a chicken with their head cut off, talking a mile a minute with their shirt on inside out. I always want to grab them and force them to take three deep breaths. We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day and there is always someone getting more done in a day than you. One of my best college lessons was to work smarter, not harder and this is my approach to everything, especially time management. We all have things to do, but not all of it has to be done specifically by you. One of my best travel management tips useful for freeing up your life is understanding how you spend your time. That usually serves as a wake up call that you spend too much time online and watching TV.
Next, you have to identify what you realistically want to accomplish. It is much easier to eliminate a bad habit when you can replace it with a different activity. So if you want to work out weekend and stop hanging around at home binge watching tv, go for a long bike ride every Saturday to substitute the behavior. Once you know what you want to do you need to prioritize it to ensure you’re getting the most important things done as often as possible.
Lastly, it’s time for automation. Take a close look at your list and objectively identify tasks that can be done by someone other than yourself. Obviously you will need to personally complete your fitness requirements but do you really need to check your emails or update your blog? What if you could hire an assistant to complete these tasks for you? When I mention getting an assistant to people I usually get a reaction somewhere between looking at me crazy and full on cursing me out. Everyone has this strange idea that only fortune 500 CEOs have assistants and that they must sit outside of a corner office. Well, I have two mind blowing facts to share with you: 1. It is 2015, everything is done on the web. 2. You can have a virtual assistant for as little as $4/hour.
What if someone handled your calendar, email, web design, social media accounts, travel arrangements, bill payments and even found you work online to start that freelance career you’ve been dreaming about? Well, here is a list of online communities dedicated to helping you automate your life. You can handpick your assistant, interview them, hire them and train them to learn and exceed your expectations, immediately making your life simpler. If you want an American or Canadian assistant try the Canadian Virtual Assistant League. If you are trying to keep costs to a minimum try out these websites located in India that offer English speaking assistants with specialties ranging from web design to accounting: AskSunday, Tasks Everyday, Your Man in India and Brickwork.
Is your time worth more than $5/hour? If so isn’t it time you paid someone to that cost to free up a couple more hours per day? Work smarter, not harder.
What do you think?