6 Approaches to find more hours in your busy week

We’ve all heard the phrase “time is money,” but unlike cash, we can’t stuff extra hours under our mattresses for a rainy day. Or can we? While we haven’t cracked the code on time travel (yet), there are ways to squeeze more precious minutes out of our jam-packed schedules or just feel more productive. Let’s explore six approaches to help you become a time millionaire—without resorting to a flux capacitor or TARDIS. 

1. The Great Time Audit

Before we can amass our time fortune, we need to know where our current hours are going. For a week, track every activity you do, down to the minute. Yes, even those “quick” social media checks that somehow turn into hour-long scrolling sessions. You might be surprised to find you’re unknowingly funding a hefty time-sink portfolio. Once you’ve gathered this data, look for patterns and ask yourself: “Is this how I want to invest my limited time?” If the answer is no, it’s time to reallocate those assets.

If you lost two days of productivity dealing with your taxes, it might be time to hire a tax accountant. If it’s Reddit and Instagram sucking away all your time, you may want to look into website blocking tools that allow you to cut yourself off during certain hours. 

2. The Ruthless Prioritization Method

Warren Buffett didn’t become a billionaire by saying yes to every investment opportunity. Similarly, we can’t become time millionaires by agreeing to every request that comes our way. Instead, develop a system for ruthlessly prioritizing tasks. One effective option is the Eisenhower Matrix, which helps you categorize tasks based on urgency and importance. Anything that’s neither urgent nor important? Delegate or delete it faster than you can say “time bankruptcy.”

3. The Batch Processing Technique

Think of your tasks like laundry. You wouldn’t wash one sock at a time (if you would, we need to have a different conversation). Apply this same logic to your tasks. Group similar activities together, and tackle them in one go. This might mean designating specific times for checking emails, making phone calls, or even engaging in small talk with that chatty coworker. By reducing the mental switching between different types of tasks, you’ll find yourself with a surprising surplus of time.

4. The Meeting Minimizer

Meetings. Aka, the place time goes to die a slow, painful death by PowerPoint. While some gatherings are necessary, many could be replaced by a well-crafted email or a quick chat. For the meetings that do make the cut, implement strict time limits and clear agendas. And remember, “This meeting could have been an email” is not just a meme—it’s a rallying cry for time millionaires everywhere.

5. The Technology Tamer

Though they’re designed to save us time, our devices often end up being our biggest time thieves. It’s time to show that tech who’s boss. As briefly mentioned in the first tip, there are apps you can use to block distracting websites during work hours. Turn off non-essential notifications. And for the love of all that is productive, stop sleeping with your smartphone in the room! Your dreams of becoming a time millionaire shouldn’t be interrupted by 2 AM messages from your drunk ex.

6. The Strategic Procrastination Approach

This may sound like lunacy, but sometimes, putting off a task can lead to increased efficiency when you finally tackle it. The key is to procrastinate strategically. Use that “procrastination” time to do some diffuse thinking, let your ideas marinate, gather more information, or simply recharge your mental batteries. Just be sure to set a firm deadline for when you’ll stop procrastinating and start doing. After all, even time millionaires have bills to pay.

Implementing these approaches won’t magically add extra hours to your day. However, it will help you make the most of the time you do have. You might find yourself with enough spare hours to finally learn a new language, launch your side hustle from a virtual office, or simply find more hours to enjoy blissful idleness.