David Beck: Work smarter not longer and set real priorities

It's time to ask ourselves whether we don't have time to do something, or it's just not a priority. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion:

Think about something that sits at the back of your mind which you want to do, or know you should do, but you just don't have time.

Now, ask yourself seriously if you don't have time or whether you are just not making it a priority.

In my experience, the latter is often closer to the truth.

A common example is going to the gym or working out. How often do you hear people say: "Oh I would love to, I just don't have time".

You do have time. You just haven't made it a priority.

What are you doing from 6-7am? Sleeping in? Waking up but scrolling through social media? If working out is truly a priority for you, why not get up an hour earlier and get it done before the hustle and bustle of the day really begins?

Another one is that flatmate that many of us have had. The one who leaves dirty dishes all over the bench and complains they have not had time to do them. The same flatmate who just spent three hours watching Netflix.

You do have time to do your dishes. You just prioritised Netflix over doing your part and contributing to the household.

If you combined the time you spend watching television, gaming, scrolling through social media and the like, you might find there are a lot more hours in the day than you think.

I do those mindless time-wasters too, I'm not perfect, but I believe being honest with ourselves is the first step towards living a more productive, efficient and fulfilling life.

This is something I looked to tackle a couple of years ago. I was able to highlight the early hours of the morning as a time I could use more efficiently in achieving those things that should be priorities.

Now, I get up at 4.30am and meditate, read, journal and workout. Before I have even arrived at work I have done many of the activities I know will push me closer to my goals.

In his book First Things First, Stephen Covey talks about doing activities which "sharpen the saw". Prioritising those things which increase our capacity to "use the saw" - being more productive and fulfilled. This often means choosing to do what is important rather than what is urgent and being honest with ourselves about how we use our time.

It happens in the office as well. I think there is a trend in many New Zealand workplaces to celebrate those who work the longest hours, the workers who stay after hours or take work home with them.

In some cases, this might be necessary depending on the job and the project being worked on.

However, I believe in most cases having to stay late at work simply means you are inefficient or too much is being asked of you.

I've seen it in offices I've worked in previously. I would watch someone muck around, gossip and procrastinate between 9am and 5pm. Then, I'd arrive back at the office the next day to hear them almost bragging about how late they stayed at work.

If they'd just been more productive they would not need to have stayed after hours.

The focus on being the employees who work the longest hours as opposed to those who are efficient is such that I've even felt frowned upon for leaving on time most days. This should be encouraged - if I get all my work done inside the hours I'm paid to do it, I'm not only taking care of my own work-life balance, it's better for the company.

All of this starts with asking ourselves the question: "Do I really not have time or do I just need to sort out my priorities?".

You'll be amazed how long 24 hours actually is.