3 Ways to Improve Time Efficiency

I have become very meticulous about how my time is spent, trying to use every minute to its fullest. To the point that just the other day, I had my coffee brewing, and to not waste a second of my time and just wait around doing nothing those 4 minutes while it was brewing, I was texting with a Turo rep about an upcoming car reservation, and while waiting for their reply, I uploaded my latest real estate investing video to Instagram. In fact, I do this type of stuff all the time, that my wife Ashley is now starting to be more efficient with her time.

There is just so much to do each day, and because of it, I need to schedule out my whole day down to the minute, so that I’m using my time as efficient as possible.

Rocky said it perfectly, ‘Time, you know, takes everybody out, it’s undefeated’. And It’s why I try to make sure I use my time the best that I can.

Whether its using the one minute I have to spare writing one more sentence in my upcoming book before I set off to my next appointment, or listening to a podcast at 10PM at night versus watching TV so I can learn something new, or heading to the gym to improve my health versus meeting with friends over a pint (which yes, you still have to do once in while), I’ve learned to use every second of every minute. And because of it, I’ve become a very successful real estate investor.

With only 24 hours in a day, time flies, so you need to make the most of it. In fact, if you watch until the end of this video, I’ll share with you 3 tips that I use so you too can be more efficient with your time.

Let’s get to it, as your time is valuable.

The first tip on how you can be more efficient with your time is to use a calendar.

And not one of those wall calendars, but your calendar on your phone, on your computer, on your tablet, something that you use all the time, so most likely your phone. I have my calendars on all my devices synced so that when I put an event in, it automatically syncs with all devices. This way I have no excuse for missing something. By doing this, and since we always have some sort of device with us, I know what I should be doing at all times, and can look ahead as to what upcoming in my schedule.

But I don’t just use my calendar to schedule events such as meetings or appointments or dinners. I use it to schedule my whole day, such as when I’m suppose to be working, or when I’m suppose to be eating, or when I’m suppose to take a break, or when I’m suppose to gym, even when I’m suppose to read.

Here’s what I mean. This is what a typical day of mine looks like.

As you can see, it’s full, but most of it is just me scheduling in what I should be doing, even though its something I do everyday such as working. By doing this though, I also found that if I have an event such as work, or to read, or to educate my self, or to go to the gym, or to have lunch, I prevents me from booking anything in those time slots, because I treat those events as an appointment already.

This really helps me stay on schedule, so that I get things done in my business, so I finish working on projects that I need to complete, so that I take the time to be healthier by working out, so that I take the time to improve my mind.

So start filling in your calendar with when your going to the gym, when you’ll read a book, when you’ll work on that side hustle, when you’ll play with your kids.

Yes, even that, I read the other day of a successful businessman whom even schedules this into their calendar, and they stick to it because they treat it as an appt and as a result they don’t book over it. You’ll quickly realize that you can do much more in a day once you schedule them.

The second tip to using your time efficiently is to set a to do list each day.

This is something I am a strong believer in because without knowing what I’m doing each day, my mind tends to jump from one thing to another. Which is exactly what use to happen to me in the past, working on this business, working on that project, but never really finishing anything. I now created this little spreadsheet here,

As you can see, I’ve broken down all my businesses, or categories of my business that I need to work on throughout the week.

Before, I would work on all of these each day, jumping from one to another.

Now, the night before, I choose which business or project I’m going to work on the next day, usually choosing 3 from my spreadsheet, focusing on one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening, and I stick to it. Then the following day, I choose different businesses or categories of my business to work on.

Currently, I work on my book every morning, as I want to complete this, setting aside minimum 2 hours, because it takes about 15-30 minutes to really get focused, before you are zoned in, but for the other businesses I alternate, never working on the same one back to back, unless I need to get something done. By doing this, it helps me stay focused, and work on all my businesses, because when your goal is to have 6 sources of income, you need to pay attention to all of them to make sure each source is generating you an income.

A little tip as well, use the app Evernote! I write all my thoughts and ideas and things I want to get done in this app, and then set reminders on when I’m going to work on these things. When the reminder is due, I get an email from Evernote, and I print out the email, which becomes part of my daily to do list.

The last way you can become more efficient with your time is by multi-tasking.

I’m a huge proponent of multi-tasking, but not the multi-tasking you’re thinking of. As mentioned in the 2nd way I’ve learned to use my time wisely, it's best to focus on one thing vs multiple things at a time. Studies have shown this as well. However, what I’m referring to is what I called NWT Tasking (not-wasting time tasking).

For example, and I’ll use my coffee brewing example again, during those 4 minutes it takes to brew, I’m getting ready for what I'm going to be working on according to whats in my calendar, and what is on my daily to do list, which might involve opening up an excel doc I’ll need to use so that I can work on the task.

Also, make these NWT tasks part of your routine, so that you get in the habit of knowing what you’re going to do, so you don’t waste time, so you don’t diddle daddle.

Perfect example, when your driving to and from work, and Tom and Nick Karadza of Rockstar Realty got me on this, put on a book on tape.

In a way your multi-tasking, driving and listening, using your time wisely vs just listening to the radio, hence not wasting time tasking, because your learning.

Another tip, get better with using google maps. I always know how long it’s going to take to get to a destination. As a result, I always show up exactly on time, never 5-10 minutes early. Now many people like being early, but why. These days, no ones early, everyone's late.

So why should I get there early to wait and waste my time. By knowing at what time I should leave, I use every last second to finish an email, to write a blog, to research an investment property, before I jump in my car to go where I have to go.

I could go on and on about examples where I’m applying my NWT tasking method, such as having my wife drive so I can answer emails, or jumping in the shower while the bacon is cooking in the morning, vs waiting around watching TV, or writing this script while dinner is cooking on the BBQ vs waiting around doing nothing while it cooks.

Point is, there is always something useful you can be doing with your time. Key word, USEFUL. It’s why I hate people whom say they don’t have time, time to go the gym, time to work on starting a business, time to cook a healthy meal, time to read a book. I get it, we are all busy, but if you really looked at how busy you think you are, you’d probably find that a lot of time is just being wasted.

Think of it this way, by using just 5 minutes here, 5 minutes there, each day, can add up to hours over a week. This is time you could be using to do more in your life.

As my cousin use to tell me when we’d be walking somewhere, ‘walk with a purpose’.

So, what I’m telling you is, live with a purpose. Use your time efficiently, and you will do amazing things.

In saying that, if you want to start using your time more wisely and learn how to invest in real estate, then enroll in my FREE real estate investing bootcamp which teaches you the foundation you need to begin investing in real estate. WHAT TO DO NEXT: Enroll in Real Estate Investing Bootcamp