Sometimes the internet is the bane of my existence.

There’s always something more to check out; and it’s so easy and tempting.

I might find myself browsing so-and-so’s website, and then linking to another website, and another. I’m not learning or researching; these people don’t inspire me. I’m just curious. I’m creeping! Eventually, I’ll catch myself and realize, I don’t care about all this; I shut it down and return to the task at hand.

Does this sound familiar? Don’t you hate it when a one-hour task in front of the computer ends up taking two hours? This happens because we’re multi-tasking…or so we think. It’s actually physically impossible for humans to multitask. What our brains do is trick us into thinking we’re multi-tasking by switching our focus between tasks very rapidly. Once we’ve switched, it takes a second or two to regain the focus level we had on the previous task. Hence, our focus levels are always low and tasks take longer to complete.

There are ways to break these habits. Over the next month or so, I’m going to share some of my favourite time savers. Some are very subtle, but others have significantly enhanced my time management.

Here’s time saver #1:

All of my tasks are derived from my goals list. I’ve made a commitment to myself; nothing else matters except their completion. In this regard, sometimes it’s okay to be selfish.

Without a goals list, I’d be spending my time aimlessly. I’d be lucky to achieve anything significant. Even if I did achieve something, there would have been much time wasted.

My goals list tells me where to focus my attention