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What is the most time consuming task you will face today? If you are thinking of some monstrosity of a job that you have to get done, you might be thinking of the wrong thing. It may surprise you to learn, that it is the routine work that you do each day that is really the thief that is stealing your free time.
In fact, you've probably heard a variety of 'facts' (quotation marks intended) of varying levels of accuracy about how you spend two years of your life waiting in line, or six months taking showers. True or not, there is a point to these. We lose a lot of time on our daily activities.
Would you like to get some of that back? Keep reading! Here are 4 hacks to spend less time on routine work.
Use Navigation Even if You Know Where You Are Going
"Okay Google! Take me to the baseball game." "Siri, show me how to go to Tulsa." There are navigation apps everywhere. You have probably used them multiple times.
Have you ever used Google Maps or Siri to take you some place familiar? Of course you haven't! Why would you need someone to tell you how to get somewhere in your daily life?
Here's the thing. Navigation apps can do so much more than telling you where to go. They can warn you of construction and other traffic issues. Even better, they can adjust your route so that you are always guaranteed to be taking the quickest one. This could mean shaving several minutes or more off of your commute each day.
Stop Shopping Like a Neanderthal
Are you still walking into the grocery store or pharmacy each day to pick out what you need? Even if the store is close by, the minutes you spend traveling to and from the store, walking around and finding the items you need, then checking out really add up.
Today, there are so many options when it comes to shopping online. Not long ago, online shopping was convenient for things such as holiday shopping or ordering items you did not need right away. Today, thanks to PeaPod, Amazon, and other companies, not only can you shop for gifts, you can shop for groceries, toiletries, and other necessities right from your desk.
And if you still love getting a squeeze of the actual products, the rumoured Amazon Go grocery chain with no queues at the cash desk.
Document Management is Important
When it comes to technology, everybody has their preferences. Nobody walks in lockstep when choosing word processing software, document viewers, web design software, etc. Unfortunately, this can mean dealing with the stress and complexity of ensuring that the people you communicate with can read what you send them.
For example, what do you do when you are sending out your resume to several potential employers, Some might prefer to receive your resume as-is in a word document, attached to an email. Others might prefer it uploaded to their website. You might even have a few requests to send the documents in PDF format. Because of this, you might consider utilizing tools such as PDF Candy to automate your document conversions for you.
Get Everyone on The Same App
Of course, if you do happen to have the ability to say so, you can save lots of time and energy by getting everybody in your workplace to use the same apps and other technologies. Yes, everybody loves having the freedom to choose their own technology. Unfortunately, it can cause difficulties and delays in communication and coordination.
Here's an example. Imagine you have a busy family that needs to be able to stay on top of one another's schedules. You could try and manage this through a constant barrage of emails, phone calls, and text message. Unfortunately, that is complex and time consuming. Worse, it is too error prone. This is a problem that a good calendar app could solve.
Unfortunately, if everybody chooses a different one, nothing changes. However, if you can get everybody to pick the same family calendar app, then all of this can be automated. This ensures that everyone knows what is on the other person's plate without effort.
Let Stylicious Help You Stop Thinking About Your Clothes
Did you know that many famous people wear the same clothing each day. The logic behind this is to save as much time as possible by eliminating the number of decisions you have to make each day. You may not want to go that far, but it might be a good idea to examine how much time you are spending each morning on wardrobe choices.
Does this match that? Is it okay to wear a casual shirt with dress pants? If you spend too much time in front of the mirror, consider using an app like Stylicious help you select and organize your clothes and get out the door much faster.
Life is too short to waste on mundane, daily activities. Apply the tips above to your life to get back some precious time. Then, think creatively. Surely there are other ways that you can use technology to save time.