Time Journal



I bought a whole bunch of these
for 10/$1 during back-to-school days.

Ever get to the end of the day and think "Where has the day gone?"  " Did I do anything important today?"  "I feel like I didn’t get enough done today and I have so much more to do." 

If you want to increase your productivity and efficiency at home or at work, or both, then you might want to consider keeping a time journal.  Once you start one you'll realize you do a whole lot more than you think you do. 

Listing the things you do and the times in which you do them is important in assessing all the many things you do and knowing just exactly how long you spend doing each task, rather than just assuming you know.  A time journal will help you to focus on those tasks you do on a regular basis and gain a better perspective on why the day seems to go so fast. 



Composition books make wonderful journals.

After about a week of time journaling go back and look at all you have done and then see if there are things you can do differently to streamline the things you do and make wiser use of your time.  As you evaluate the things you do consider some of these key points: 

·         Could I do this task at a different time of day?

·         Do I need to do this task every day?

·         Do I even need to do this task at all?

·         Am I wasting more time on idle tasks then I thought?

·         Am I cramming too many tasks into my day?

·         Do I need help from others to complete necessary tasks?

·         Could someone else be doing what I am doing, thus freeing up some valuable time?

·         Could I effective complete more than one task at a time to increase efficiency?

·         Am I trying to complete too many things at once and therefore decreasing efficiency?

·         Am I wasting time?

·         Am I wasting resources?

·         How much time do I spend dealing with clutter, organizing and re-organizing areas in my home or workplace?

·         Can I see ways to be better organized? 

Is clutter getting in your way?  If so consider reducing clutter and organizing work zones and office spaces to minimize the amount of time wasting shuffling clutter in order to allow you to get started on certain tasks.  I think we all find ourselves struggling in this area. 

Consider getting up a little earlier to start your day sooner.  Of course, if you decide to do this make sure you are getting enough sleep, which may mean going to bed earlier at night.  I think we tend to stay up too late, as a rule anyway.  Consider having a set bedtime and wake time. 

A big thing to consider is this.  Do you schedule time for yourself?  If there was no time allotted for pursuing your own personal tasks like reading, crafts, going to a movie, etc. then it is a good idea to make a point of adjusting your schedule so you can.  We all need a little time to ourselves on a regular basis. 

Do you, or have you, ever used a time journal?