The Opportunity Cost of Time and Three Productivity Tips

What is “Opportunity Cost”?

 Back when I did Economics 101 we learned about spending money in terms of “Opportunity Cost”. The idea is simply that if you spend your money on one thing, then you obviously can’t spend it on anything else. So if you buy peanuts with your money, you can’t buy raisins. That is the “Opportunity Cost”. By saying “Yes” to peanuts, you say “No” to raisins. If you are wise, you decide what is the best way to spend your money across a variety of options, and you prioritize your spending.

Similarly, how you choose to spend your time has an “Opportunity Cost”. If you are spending your time doing one thing, you are effectively saying “No” to other options you could be doing instead. So we need to think carefully about what we say “Yes” to doing in our lives and prioritize our limited time. I think that an essential step in managing our time is to realize that if we choose to do something we need make sure it is necessary or meaningful. If you have a clear idea of your big picture goals, it will help you to prioritize your time.

Using time effectively also means to try and be as productive as possible with limited time. My top three productivity tips are:

1. Make Lists: There is an old proverb that says “an ounce of thought is worth a ton of action”. Making lists frees up your mind to focus on actually doing the task rather than trying to keep remembering what  it is that needs to be done. If there are tasks you need to do regularly, it might be helpful to have a master list that you can refer to again in future. I find it helpful to keep paper and a pen in the kitchen to write down shopping lists as I run out of things. I also use a packing list if we are going away and I have a list of things we like to take to the beach if we go there for the day.
2. Use a diary/planner/bullet journal/electronic device: Again, it is easier to note down appointments and priority lists than to try and rely on memory. Some people prefer to use electronic devices for this, others find pen and paper works better. I am a pen and diary person! It is so much easier to see how much you are trying to cram into a day when it is written up. Remember that you also need to plan around the actual appointment – for example travel time to get there and back – so if you plan your time carefully you may realize some tasks take longer than you first thought.
3. Prioritize:  Remember the opportunity cost of time? Many people recommend just prioritizing three tasks a day and tackling the hardest one first. This will also allow you to decline non-priority tasks.  Another option that may help with prioritizing is to see if you can delegate some tasks to others who have a better capability to do the task more effectively and efficiently.

Photo by Carli Jean

What is on your priority list this week? Are you managing to get a step closer to achieving your goals?

Managing Your Time by Setting Big Picture Goals

In our busy world there are always a million and one things trying to grab our attention and the “To Do” list, if you even have time to write one, is sometimes a mile long. How to do it all? Well the simple fact is we all have limited time. Just as you can only stuff so many things into a physical space like a drawer or cupboard, you can only do so much in a given time period.

Photo by Niklas Rhöse

So where to start? I think the best jumping off point to managing time effectively is actually to start off spending some time thinking about your “big picture goals” and actually writing them down.  

You could simply jot down a list or you could draw a circle with various aspects such as exercise/health, friends/social, work, home/family or whatever categories make sense to you. Then list under each heading what activities you would like to be doing in each category. For example, under friends you might have the activity of making a weekly phone call or e-mail to long distance friends.

After you have spent some time considering what matters most to you, it might then be easier to choose which activities and items on your “to do list” support those goals and it also be easier  to say “No” to things that are not priority goals. (Obviously there are things that are not really a choice, like having to clean your home and prepare food, but these may fall under the heading of having a functional, happy home).

Re-doing my goal list for the second year now, I realize that I really can’t “do it all” and it is important to prioritize what is really meaningful and do those things first.

On her blog Slow your home, Brooke McAlary discusses what it means to live a balanced life, and she suggests that it is probably not possible to always manage to everything in all your priority areas all the time. She uses the analogy of a tight rope walker that has to tilt to stay balanced.

Sometimes your life may need to tilt in a certain direction for a while as you bring up children or look after aging parents or whatever necessitates your attention for that time. You might even find your plans are de-railed by ill health or unexpected events –so do be gentle with yourself. Plans need to be flexible and you might have to be creative and patient about achieving your goals.

What is at the top of your priority list? Are you managing to do what you value most?