5 Ways to Create More Time

Every time the new year rolls in, there is always someone on our list of friends or on one of our socials, who shares a list of all the books he/she read during the past year. This reading accomplishment would be in addition to their regular work achievements, work-life balance, and almost always, a near perfect social life. Now I don’t know about you but for me, I always used to wonder: where do they find the time?

Another thing that always got to me was how people kept themselves updated on current affairs from around the world: how did they know what is happening in politics overseas; how do they know which candidate is most likely to win; how do they know what the burning issues are around the world; how do they know this very particular statistic on this new social movement and how do they have such a clear grasp of exactly how polarized the issue is; so on and so forth!

Some of you could say that one does not need to know literally everything that is always happening around the world, but we can agree to differ here. I believe that given the nature of my work, both current and the one I envision for my future, I need my own informed opinions on several topics including but not limited to geopolitics, political science, the economy, finance; you get the gist! While in pursuit of this aim, I would always have a list of endless questions in my mind, rising out of my wonder and curiosity, but I couldn’t find the time to devour that knowledge that I knew surrounded me – till I created more time!

Here are five ways you too could create more time:

Podcasts while in Kitchen:

We all need to spend some time in the kitchen, be it cooking or doing the dishes, and it can be incredibly boring! I always used to dread those times and would end up putting off these tasks till I had someone on call. So, I started queuing up my favorite podcasts and now I always play them while cooking/doing the dishes. Since the work I am doing is so menial, my brain is completely free to focus on what I am listening to, and it is incredible – killing two birds with a stone! Now, I usually listen to a podcast related to economics or current affairs, but you can use this additional time listening to a subject of your choice. The key here is that you are utilizing the time that was previously only dedicated to doing the dishes/cooking, but now you are also gaining some knowledge, and, in my opinion, this is best kind of productivity.

Kindle/Audiobook while Commuting:

I am sure we have all heard of this little hack: using your commute time to catch up on some reading! And if you do not do well reading on a moving vehicle, you can always listen to an audiobook! Access to books and information is so easy in today’s age that none of us really have an excuse!

Reducing Entertainment Time:

Ever since I read the book “Amusing ourselves to Death”, the way I look at entertainment and the way I consume it has changed considerably. This year I made a very conscious decision (implemented in October the year before in fact) to reduce the time I spend watching TV and substituted that time to learn a new language using Duolingo!

Catching Up on News while Cleaning:

I have one combo for you: noise-cancelling headphones and vacuuming! It is essentially the same concept: we must set aside time to clean but who says that it’s the only thing one must do during that time? I always catch up on my favorite news talk shows/podcasts while I clean because again, menial tasks mean my brain is free to concentrate on other things. And let me tell you, you will be surprised how much information your brain absorbs when your hands are busy in tedious chores! Compare this to when you try and listen to a podcast while not doing anything else – it even sounds boring!

Twitter before and immediately after bed:

This one is not for everyone but hear me out! Twitter is a treasure trove of information and for me personally, my knowledge bank has increased (and continues to increase) multifold since I have started actively using Twitter. So right before I sleep, I browse Twitter (and not my socials except for the funny-reels binge) because for me, a stimulated mind helps me sleep better. Similarly, immediately upon waking up, I browse Twitter with my morning cup of joe, the intuition being the same: a stimulated mind wakes me up for the day ahead! The one caveat is who you follow though, and it’s a good thing that you can curate your list. For instance, amongst several others, I primarily follow a bunch of policy makers both from here and back home; I follow a whole hoard of economists, from academia, industry, and government; and I follow lots of politicians, again those with views that match mine but also those with whom my ideologies do not really align. The end-goal is similar: I want to substitute some activities from my “free time” with consumption of information/knowledge.

So, this is my list of five things that simply create more time for you to learn; time that is otherwise earmarked for menial tasks or is simply free! This is not an exhaustive list by any means and therefore, if you get the concept, you can play around with it. Breaking up my time this way, truly makes me feel like I have more than 24 hours in my day, and I hope that it works for you too.