How to Work Less
Set your limit., Identify the essential., Eliminate the rest., Batch., Do it in stages., Decide what to do with excess time., Watch communication tasks.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Set your limit.
Decide the maximum amount of time you are willing to work in a week.
It is suggested to set something like 4 days a week.
You might be ambitious and shoot for 3 days, or even less.
Or you might go for 5 days a week, 6 hours each day instead of 8 hours.
Whatever seems ideal to you, go for it! -
Step 2: Identify the essential.
If you have less time to do your work, how do you get that done? You have two choices: 1) work faster; or 2) do less work.
It is recommended to take the second option.
You need to determine what exactly you really need to accomplish within the limits you’ve set for yourself.
If you cut your work week by 20%, for example, you need to cut out 20% of your work.
That means identifying what must be done, and what can be put off.
Make a short list.
Do what must be done first, and don’t muck around. , If you have a short list of your essential tasks, take a look at what’s not essential.
Is there any way to eliminate it? Delegate it? Outsource it? Delay it? Think hard about this, because if you can somehow eliminate 20% of your list, you’ve made huge strides to meeting your self-set limits. , If there’s something you do every day, consider batching it all into one day.
For example, you can write all your invoices at once instead of doing them every day.
It saves time.
You could do that with almost anything.
Same thing goes for something you do throughout the day, like email or phone calls.
Consider batching tasks like that into one session per day. , If you have a big cut in work hours as your goal, you might not be able to accomplish it all at once.
Go for a gradual change.
First, set a smaller limit (maybe 1 hour less per day, for example, or only a half day on Fridays).
Focus on making that first stage work, and when you’ve got that down, make further cuts.
Keep doing this until you get to where you ultimately want to be. , Setting limits on your work isn’t going to work if you don’t know what you want to do with that extra time.
Decide on working 1 hour less each day? What are you going to do with that hour? It can be anything: fun projects, creating a side business, spending time with loved ones, reading, exercising, going to the beach, whatever.
But set aside that block (or blocks) of time for something, and be sure to do it. , Whether it’s email, phone, IM, Skype, Twitter or whatever, you can fill your work day with communication tasks.
It will fill the time allotted to it.
Instead, allot a small amount of time for each vital communication method (30 minutes for IM, 30 minutes for phone, 1 hour for email, or whatever) and don’t allow anything outside of that limit.
How to Stop Spending Too Much Time Online How to Defeat a MySpace Addiction How to Quit Facebook -
Step 3: Eliminate the rest.
-
Step 4: Batch.
-
Step 5: Do it in stages.
-
Step 6: Decide what to do with excess time.
-
Step 7: Watch communication tasks.
Detailed Guide
Decide the maximum amount of time you are willing to work in a week.
It is suggested to set something like 4 days a week.
You might be ambitious and shoot for 3 days, or even less.
Or you might go for 5 days a week, 6 hours each day instead of 8 hours.
Whatever seems ideal to you, go for it!
If you have less time to do your work, how do you get that done? You have two choices: 1) work faster; or 2) do less work.
It is recommended to take the second option.
You need to determine what exactly you really need to accomplish within the limits you’ve set for yourself.
If you cut your work week by 20%, for example, you need to cut out 20% of your work.
That means identifying what must be done, and what can be put off.
Make a short list.
Do what must be done first, and don’t muck around. , If you have a short list of your essential tasks, take a look at what’s not essential.
Is there any way to eliminate it? Delegate it? Outsource it? Delay it? Think hard about this, because if you can somehow eliminate 20% of your list, you’ve made huge strides to meeting your self-set limits. , If there’s something you do every day, consider batching it all into one day.
For example, you can write all your invoices at once instead of doing them every day.
It saves time.
You could do that with almost anything.
Same thing goes for something you do throughout the day, like email or phone calls.
Consider batching tasks like that into one session per day. , If you have a big cut in work hours as your goal, you might not be able to accomplish it all at once.
Go for a gradual change.
First, set a smaller limit (maybe 1 hour less per day, for example, or only a half day on Fridays).
Focus on making that first stage work, and when you’ve got that down, make further cuts.
Keep doing this until you get to where you ultimately want to be. , Setting limits on your work isn’t going to work if you don’t know what you want to do with that extra time.
Decide on working 1 hour less each day? What are you going to do with that hour? It can be anything: fun projects, creating a side business, spending time with loved ones, reading, exercising, going to the beach, whatever.
But set aside that block (or blocks) of time for something, and be sure to do it. , Whether it’s email, phone, IM, Skype, Twitter or whatever, you can fill your work day with communication tasks.
It will fill the time allotted to it.
Instead, allot a small amount of time for each vital communication method (30 minutes for IM, 30 minutes for phone, 1 hour for email, or whatever) and don’t allow anything outside of that limit.
How to Stop Spending Too Much Time Online How to Defeat a MySpace Addiction How to Quit Facebook
About the Author
Jennifer Graham
Writer and educator with a focus on practical cooking knowledge.
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