There are 365 days in year and 24 hours in a day, with 60 minutes in each hour that makes for 525,600 minutes in a year.  It seems that we can pack alot into a minute these days.  Not sure if you have caught the short viral videos that run down a wide range lessons from geography to philosophy in that 60 second window.  Certainly everyone wants to do more with the time they have when they have the concept that time is perishable.  If you do not use your time wisely you cannot get it back.

But what is wise to spend your time on and what is unwise is very subjective.  If you look at some lists of top “time wasters” according you will find the lists include: Online Addictions, Unnecessary Meetings, Trying to be Perfect, Multitasking and much more.  Depending on your lifestyle your personal list may vary greatly. Let’s examine “unnecessary meetings”.  How do you determine if a meeting is going to be unnecessary or if you have the option not to attend in anticipation it might very well be unnecessary.  For me its based on my weekly outlook, if I have room for something I am unsure of I might just take the meeting as I often find there is a reason for the gathering in some way.  Sometimes meetings, even ones that appear unnecessary shift your viewpoint, give you access to a new network, plant a seed for the future or even help you reflect on a memory when you have to share it to help someone else.  In a simple coffee session, a good one lasts long, covers a wide range of topics and shows that the person I am with is valued.  I carry with me so many coffee moments shared.  So for me, time shared is not wasted.  But of course there has to be limits.

Now I think time that is wasted can be put into categories of individual creation.  As many of my friends see me as having a productive life and ask me how I manage it.  I put too much on my plate sometimes but that is part of my personal choice to do too much rather than not enough.  I categorize and prioritize the things I do with my time and I have a few habits.  I try to make a calendar of what I want to do and who I want to see. Besides work I do not try to any more than 3 meetings in one day and no week with more than 3 fully packed days so no more than 9 meetings a week.  I want to be able to remember those meetings and be able to properly prepare and follow up. I often set weekly, monthly and yearly goals.  But I do not crush myself over these markers but just use them to check in on how I am progressing on personal and professional goals I am setting.

What ways are you valuing your time and others?  If you have habits to share or want advice leave a comment below and maybe someone in the Aurora.hr community can relate and share tips.