Time is the most valuable asset that we have. If like me, you are sick of hearing about how you should wake up at a ridiculous o’clock in order to be successful, then read on. 

Personally, I enjoy waking up around 0500-0530, not because I think it will turn me into the next Elon Musk, but because I genuinely enjoy the stillness of being awake while others are not. I savour the first fresh cup of coffee of the day whilst listening to the birds chattering away to themselves. All of this is good for my mind. 

Regardless of what time you crawl out of bed, it is what you do with the time that you have that is the key to getting what you want in life. Before you commit to some crazy ass routine, take time to evaluate the one that you currently have. 

How efficient are you with your time?

I have just re-evaluated my own routine and want to share a few ways in which I have optimised my own time. 

I am in the process of learning a new language, trying to study for at least an hour each day. Now that the weather is milder, I have also started to run a lot more. I have combined the two objectives and now run whilst listening to the language podcast that I use. This way I am getting two hours worth of tasks completed in an hour. 

I travel a lot by car, and without the luxury of a driver there is potential to waste a lot of free time. I love to read so I have started to use audio books whilst on long journeys. On shorter journeys I will often listen to one of my favourite podcasts. The time I spend on the road therefore is seldom wasted. 

I have forced myself to be stricter when prioritising my efforts. Do you find yourself in meetings that really don't have anything to do with you? If so then you need to stand up and leave. It is a waste of your time. I walked out of a presentation this morning because it was running over the specified half hour allotted. I made the decision that my time was better spent elsewhere doing more productive tasks. 

Hopefully these few insights will generate some thought of how you can make the best use of the time that you have, if you want to, that is. 

This article is not intended to make you do more in the time that you have, but to help you find efficiencies so that you have more time to do what you want. 

Enjoy.