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By the time you finish reading this article, you will be shocked at how much more you can fit in each day.
Can you imagine how much easier it would be if you had more time to spend working on your website each day?
Visualise yourself this time next year putting an extra 2 hours a day into your side hustle.
Just think, what would you be able to achieve?
As you read every word of this web page you will discover that this is possible.
Why is Time so Important
Let me ask you if money was not an issue how would you use your time every day?
STOP
Read that again and really think about it.
If you’re like me you probably don’t think the answer to that question matters.
You may even already be skimming on to find the answers to how to find more time in a day.
But I can guarantee one thing:
If you truly know the answer to this question, it will actually help you!
For example, I want to help others live the life they want by showing them it is possible.
Time is vital in helping people get what they want, whether it is:
- Happiness
- Health
- Success
- Freedom
- Love
- Family
- Travel
Are you beginning to see how time is our most important asset?
How to Find More Time in a Day?
Before we go on it’s important you read this quote three times:
You will never find time for anything. If you want it, you must make it.
Charles Buxton
Buckle up pumpkin because you’re about to discover how to find more time in a day…
Mornings
Pay close attention!!
This is without a doubt THE BEST way to find more time in a day, here’s why:
- There are no distractions from the real world (phone buzzing, doorbell ringing, kids jumping on you etc.)
- You have the most energy (you’ve just been asleep for a whole night and haven’t been battered by “stuff” in the day!)
Here’s the secret:
Set your alarm an hour earlier tomorrow, force yourself to wake up, and use this time to write.
Repeat…
Now, I can almost hear your mind saying “but I’m NOT a morning person!”
… Neither am I!
Do you know what I think… I don’t think anyone is!
But this is what I’ve found since I’ve woken up earlier:
- I get tired earlier… so I go to bed earlier
- Therefore I watch less TV & waste less time
- I think about what I’m going to write about the next day and somehow when I wake up my brain knows what to do (it’s almost like it’s figured it out in my sleep… this may sound weird but try it and let me know what happens!)
- Therefore an hour is actually worth MUCH more than an hour
Just picture this for a moment…
The alarm goes off, you hit snooze.
You remember you should be getting up but you just don’t want to.
You count down from 5 in your head and force yourself to roll out of bed.
It dawns on you that you’re now flopped on the floor (try to skip this part!)
You hurry to the bathroom, grab your water from next to the bed and settle down at your desk.
By the time you flick the lamp on, your brain seems to wake up.
You open your laptop, ignore everything else and start writing on a blank page.
Everything flows, you know what to write.
It’s like you’ve become Jane Austen overnight!
Last important note: You can wake up earlier or later than ONE hour before the habit is what’s important here.
Also, check out Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. It’s life changing!
Possible extra time found: 1-2 hours every day (worth double though!)
Evenings
Do you have some time when you first get home from work?
Maybe you have kids and only get your own time when they go to bed?
Whatever your situation is, make sure you use these moments of time.
It may not seem like a lot but an extra half hour a day can add up to a huge difference!
I’ve found it really important to listen to my own body and find out when I am most productive.
The mornings are most productive to me so I write in that time.
The evenings depends on what day I’ve had so I tend to use that time to respond to do things that require slightly less brain power!
For example:
- Respond to comments
- Learn something
- Update my website
- Read other blogs
- Engage with the community
I know it’s different for everyone but there has to be some science in it (like I say you’ve had a whole night sleep in the morning)…
Find a time slot that you can use each day and turn it into a habit!
Possible extra time found: 1-3 hours every day
Weekends
This is the big one!
Since you’re still here, I’m going to assume that you take your blogging seriously.
And if that is the case your weekends are a great time to get some serious time in.
As you absorb this information you’ll realise this is down to personal preference so it’s worth trying out a few different ways over the next few weekends:
- Put in 4 hours + both mornings (my favourite)
- Put in a few hours in the morning and a few hours in later in the day (I also use this)
- Work full on one day and rest the other (at least 8 hours)
- Work both days (hardcore, but may be worth it if you want to see more results or you have a busy week coming up)
Possible extra time found: 8-20 hours every weekend
Holiday, Personal Leave or Sick Days
Now listen closely!
I don’t know if I should be publicly recommending this.
But what I do know is that nothing will make you work harder than knowing you should be at work!
If you’ve used up one of your precious personal leave days, you will want to make the most of working on your website here!
This is the odd day every few months (not each week!) to really hustle!
Here are some times it may be worth one of these days:
- You want to get ahead because you have a busy schedule ahead (maybe you’re going on holiday and you don’t know what your internet access will be)
- You have fallen behind with some tasks and you need to get back up to speed
- Time to do a thorough diagnostic of your website
- There’s a big event coming up that you are releasing or promoting
Make sure you grind out a big day here!
Possible extra time found: 10-16 hours per day
The In-Between Moments
Are you beginning to notice how to find more time in a day?
Well, this one may be the smallest chunk of time, but it can add up to the most time you find each day!
There are so many chances every day you could get in a little bit more time working on your blog:
- Commute to work (can you get an Uber instead of drive?- use this link to get a FREE trip when you sign up)
- Lunch break (is it possible to eat doing your day job?)
- Downtime at work- maybe you’re waiting for a meeting…
- Travelling (train, bus, flights- I get so much done on flights or in the airport! etc.)
And do you begin to notice it doesn’t matter how hard you work? But it matters how you use your time.
Remember, make it a habit!
Possible extra time found: 30 mins-3 hours every day
TOTAL extra time in a week: 22.5-60 hours per week + vacation or sick days!
That is 1,200- 3,100 hours you can put into your side hustle per year!
(a 40 hour work week for 45 weeks is 1,800 hours)
Top Tips for Productivity & to Keep Your Sanity
No matter what you try here are my 4 top tips:
- Set a 50-minute alarm- work flat out for this time then take a 10-minute rest… repeat
- Only work for 3 hours in a row and take at least a half hour break (I have to eat food every 3 hours to keep my body happy!)
- Use Trello so you know WHAT task you want to do next- it’s great for those random moments that pop up.
- Don’t stress if you can’t work one day or weekend due to other commitments, just make sure it doesn’t happen 2 weeks in a row (this is the same for any habit)
Just remember, real life will happen, embrace it and know you can find extra time later!
The Biggest Use of Our Time
You’re intelligent enough to know that your job will be the biggest use of your time.
Yes, you may only work 40 hours a week but the mental energy and travel time added on top means it will take up much more time than you think.
Now, I can almost hear your mind saying “but we need money to function in society and keep the rook over my head!”
Well, I’m not saying quit your job tomorrow!
Read on to find out what I am saying…
Related Articles:
- Why Make Time Online? Financial Independence Retire Early Blog
- Save Hours of Time with these Resources
- Who Else Wants Free Traffic?
- Why do People Create Blogs? These 28 Bloggers Explain Their Story
- How we Save £30,000 a Year and Travel as Teachers
So What’s the Answer?
Imagine what it would be like if you could earn enough money from another source that you didn’t HAVE to work full time.
Well, here are some strategies you can use to make the most of your current situation.
Hack your 9-5
There are really 3 ways to make sure your day job can help you to achieve what you want:
- Maximise your benefits
- Make as much money as possible
- Flexibility- work from home
1. There are often benefits that are standard at companies and not negotiable such as health care, insurance and pension contributions.
However, there may be things you can negotiate on such as transport, internet or phone bills etc. If you use something for work you may be able to claim it on expenses… so ask!
2. Asking for a raise can be very daunting but here are 4 simple steps to help you be more equipped:
- Work out your current market value (other companies pay for the same role)
- How valuable you are to the company (how much it would cost to replace you, do you go above and beyond?)
- Determine how much to ask for and when (use a percentage increase and explain why… ask on a Friday MORNING or during your annual performance review!)
- Ask!
3. This is where you can really make more time!
There are becoming more and more jobs where working from home is possible…
I even know teachers that have planning or curriculum days that they have been able to work from home!
Top tip: if your company isn’t keen – ask for a trial day at home for a few weeks and be SUPER productive!
Prove what you did in those days and show your boss…
One day a week can quickly become 2 or 3 or MORE!
Side hustle
Really think about it… If you are at all interested in the financial independence retire early (FIRE) movement, then this is what you must be focusing on!
Rare thinking people like you know that a side hustle can lead to entrepreneurship and bigger opportunities.
Here are some side hustle ideas:
- Start a blog
- Domain flipping (buy a website, improve it, sell it)
- Become a virtual assistant (sort emails, do daily tasks for someone you’d like to learn from)
- Become a freelancer (proofreader, copywriter, website design etc. – note this may be a skill you want to learn more about rather than be an expert on!)
- Walk dogs
- Babysitter (it’s possible to scale by hiring other people/ friends)
- Gardening
- Sourcing on property deals to investors
It really doesn’t matter what your side hustle is, the important thing is that you keep learning new skills!
Investing
There are soooo many things you can “invest” in now:
- Cryptocurrencies
- Fine art
- Jewellery
- Watches
- Cars
- Precious metals
- Small businesses
Of course, you’ve heard that you should only invest in things that you understand… and this is completely true.
By all means, take a punt on any of the above (unless you have some amazing knowledge about them).
However, if you take investing seriously are in it for the long haul and are not “gambling” then your investment portfolio should be made up of 3 things:
- Property
- Stocks
- Bonds
Property has so many advantages over other forms of investment due to the control and leverage you can get from it.
However, stocks and bonds will be the most PASSIVE and hands-off approach (if using the ultimate strategy in the article below)
But I Don’t Know Where to Start
This is monkey simple:
Pick an idea and start!
Start now. Get perfect later!!
Rob Moore
In the summer of 2017, I had no idea people still blogged.
I also had no idea you could make money from it.
But it interested me and it ended up teaching me so much (and I continue to learn from it!)
Related article:
These are some of the skills I have developed since blogging:
- Proofreading
- Copywriting
- Website design
- Marketing
- Social media management
- Email automation
- Networking
- Business management
Any of these skills can be monetised by becoming a freelancer or Virtual assistant.
Little by little you begin to notice the importance of learning new skills?
Related article:
Be sure to pin this page to come back to it later!
How to Find More Time in a Day Summary
You’ve got to wonder where you will be this time next year with an extra 2 hours a day put towards your side hustle.
That’s an extra 730 hours!
Just remember, if you are aiming for financial independence to retire early then you must find ways to make more money.
And do you begin to see why a side hustle is crucial?
How to find more time in a day could be the one thing you need to do to reach FIRE.
Keep changing for the better,
Mike
p.s. If you are interested in making money online to free up your time, have a look at my #1 recommended program here, which I am currently using.
p.p.s. If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to drop a comment below… or send me a message on WA here
This is a great post! I’ve already started getting up earlier in the mornings so I have time before the daily chaos starts but I may have to try another couple of these too. Thank you!
I’m not sure what I’d do without that morning time!
I hope they help Carly, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
Mike
Great post! There’s a lot to be said for making little changes (like waking up an hour earlier each day). I totally agree that this can significantly increase your chance at success. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Melissa,
Yeah, it’s all about those small changes… they make a big difference over time!
Let me know if there’s any way I can help!
Mike
That’s a brilliant informative article! Definitely has lots of useful tricks and many links to other useful articles which I will make sure to have a look at too!
I have just started this journey on trying to achieve financial freedom and I’m still figuring things out myself, trying to find the things that can work for me and the different ways to make money. So, yea, glad I ran into your website!
Hey Ray,
It’s definitely a process that requires work, time and effort.
You will learn an incredible amount of skills that you can then utilise to sell (either by creating something or as freelance work)
I hope it helps, let me know if you have any questions
Mike
thank you for these tips!! struggling to find time to but into my blog sometimes and these tips are great 🙂
Thanks for the kind words Millie, I hope it helps!