Time and Motion Study. ON YOU!
How do you KNOW what you are doing with your time every day? How much time do you really spend WORKING?
Now that's enough! I mean REALLY SPEND ACTIVELY WORKING,!!
Try this quick and easy experiment every day for a week and you will be shocked at what you find out.
A "Time and Motion Study" is the observation of your tasks performed to identify certain redundant or wasteful motions and the precise time it takes to do each thing, for the purpose of making it BETTER!
Sounds complicated but is really simple - You just watch and track what you do during the day and how you do it, broken into small increments of time, so you can see CLEARLY what you spend your time doing, and improve on waste.
You can start right now. Take a plain piece of lined paper, and break it into sections going across corresponding to whatever you are doing. For instance, WORK, PERSONAL, FAMILY, etc. If you're doing it only for work time, you can break it into something like ORGANIZING, MAINTENANCE, WRITING, MARKETING... etc (You can drill down on anything you want by using smaller sections as you as you get the hang of it, and customize it for your life.)
Then use each line, going down the page, as 15 minutes. Now START RECORDING. Set a timer (I use my smart phone) for 15 minutes. You can do it for 30, but I guarantee you will forget what you REALLY did and for how long, if you go that long.
Even just a few minutes every day doing this, and an hour or so every week, can dramatically change your productivity.
ZONING OUT's OVER! - You'll get addicted to the timer because it keeps you on your toes, it breaks your preoccupation and jolts you out of that stupid trance we get into doing many things, especially on electronics.
GET REAL - If you say you work 8 hours, but 3 of that is spent with trivial stuff like cruising WA blogs that are more social in nature, or following arcane tangents on social media that have nothing to do with your business, you'll see it when it smacks you in the nose on your own study of YOURSELF!
GET EFFICIENT - Once it's brought to your level of conscious awareness your subconscious starts working on how to make it better.
ADMIRE YOUR BAD SELF - You can check yourself this way - before you wreck yourself - since if you make a new plan the results will show up on the chart the next day you do it.
So... come again... HOW MUCH TIME do you really spend working? :)
-Alexx
Recent Comments
14
You're right about wasting a lot of time being sidetracked. So easy to do...I struggle with that all the time. The timer is a good idea!
Yes, it seems like a formality, but I've really grown dependent on it. I couldn't believe how it keeps me moving quicker! -Alexx
Some good ideas. The timer has been suggested before, but it is definitely worth your reminding us. Thanks.
Until you try it you don't realize how much it will help. I needed it to be convenient, so since my smart phone is always with me now, for counting steps per day, etc I am using the timer on that and it's working really well. -Alexx
You're so welcome. It's hit and miss with me on websites, but basic self-management I have some little bit of experience in. -Alexx
Very good article. I don't have a lot of spare time. I am helping to take care of my granddaughter while my son is going through Chemo.
Good points I am guilty of wasting a lot of time, think I may try this time and motion exercise to see exactly how much time I waste. Thank you for this advice
You won't believe how well it works. SO WELL that you'll use it here and there just randoml to drill down on certain areas. Thx for reading. -Alexx
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Hi Alexx!
As you know, I'm working on honing my blogging technique and trying to find a balance between participating here at WA and blogging - and making money!
To that end, I've given myself a maximum of 40 words for...
HAHAHAHAHAHAH -Alexx