7 Considerations that Can Save You Time
There are always so many activities and events to be a part of, and so many are so good, but there is only so much time in the day. And don’t forget all those responsibilities that take a chunk of your time along with all those other things that you need to take time to do to stay healthy…you know like sleep.
So how do you decide what gets cut to save you time?
The Problem
There are some great resources and opportunities available to you, your family, your kids, your pets, your business….
And each time you get an offer about one of those opportunities, your stress level probably goes up a notch and valuable time is spent thinking and considering that opportunity before a decision is made. maybe you’re feeling a little guilty because you already know your answer is no so you delay your response.
But know this…
Until its finalized, that opportunity or resource is just costing you more stress and more time and effort.
So how about a little streamlining?
Be Prepared
Established goals in place and awareness of your current and upcoming priorities, schedules and obligations are huge benefits since, even before a request or offer arrives, you know:
- what you want
- where you’re going
- what you’re already doing
How do you handle requests or opportunities that require an immediate answer? What do you do when you discover, while skimming email in the grocery checkout line, a potentially interesting opportunity?
Being prepared can really help you to stay organized and streamline the time used to make a decision and complete the related tasks. You benefit by avoiding unnecessary stress and having a routine that enables you to make the best decisions for you from a position of informed strength. Here are a few ideas that might help in streamlining:
- If the answer must be immediate, then it’s no
- Skim email and either delete or sort into folders for consideration at a set time that day or the next
- Decide and handle responses before the end of each day or it’s no
Seven Considerations
I know there can be times when making a decision or giving the answer you want or need to give can be difficult. Maybe the request is coming from a friend or family member, maybe there’s a discount involved, maybe it is something you legitimately want to do but just can’t right now.
Considerations that you might find helpful are:
- Is it something you would like to do?
- What existing goal would it work toward?
- What current or upcoming obligation would it replace or support?
- How would it affect your schedule and workload?
- Who else would be affected and how?
- How would it affect the time you set aside for family and self-care?
- Would it fit within your budget?
Of course, there’s quite a bit that you might need to consider within each of these, but I hope these support you in making decisions from a place of wisdom without stress. 
Let Your No Be No
Once you’ve made your decision and your answer is no, then:
- Say no thanks and stick to it
- Delete or move any correspondence or documentation relating to the opportunity out of your Inbox and/or throw away any paperwork, in order to avoid huge Inboxes and stacks filled with stuff you don’t need
- Take advantage of opportunities to opt out of future correspondence relating to the resource or opportunity to minimize correspondence you don’t need to reread
Okay. When it’s an offer in your email Inbox, these are sort of easy enough… When it’s in person, Yikes!
It’s common to get requests from people and then have that person seem to not hear when you say “no”. While the why’s for that is a topic for a completely different post, here are two reminders:
- You’ve already considered the opportunity or resource
- You have a right to say no
You don’t have to be rude, but you also don’t have to change your mind.
Of course, if this is something going on with your spouse or a boss or you receive new information that might truly affect your decision and or something similar, then maybe further consideration is necessary or a different way to communicate your no is appropriate.
Whatever the case, seek to stay within the parameters where your decision is respected, along with the other person’s time and consideration.
Let Your Yes Be Yes
If your decision is to say yes to the opportunity or resource:
- Give your response, purchase the resource, gather information about what’s next, etc.
- Delete any unnecessary correspondence and move what remains necessary to one location for quick future access
- Update your calendars and make connections
- Participate and/or get it done!
Keep it Simple to Save You Time
The goal here is to avoid revisiting correspondence or discussion and wasting a lot of time in the long run.
While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with receiving follow-up email or enjoying follow-up conversations with someone, look for ways to eliminate duplication when it’s not necessary. Think about your potential savings of time and effort and the possibilities that you might be able to explore with the time and effort you free up.
Being prepared and having an awareness of those 7 considerations should help you save time and let your yes be yes and no be no when that next request or resource comes up.
A few other posts that relate to this topic are:
