If you’ve got a big block of free time, the best
way to put that to use is to relax, have fun,
decompress from a stressful day, or spend time
with a loved one. But if you’ve just got a little
chunk — say 5 or 10 minutes — there’s no time
to do any of the fun stuff.
Put those little chunks of time to their most
productive use.
Everyone works differently, so the best use of
your free time really depends on you, your
working style, and what’s on your to-do list. But
it’s handy to have a list like this in order to
quickly find a way to put that little spare
time to work instantly, without any
thought. Use the following list as a way to spark
ideas for what you can do in a short amount of
time.
Reading file. Clip magazine articles or print out
good articles or reports for reading later, and
keep them in a folder marked “Reading File”.
Take this wherever you go, and any time you
have a little chunk of time, you can knock off
items in your Reading File. Keep a reading file on
your computer (or in your bookmarks), for quick
reading while at your desk (or on the road if
you’ve got a laptop).
Clear out inbox. Got a meeting in 5 minutes?
Use it to get your physical or email inbox to
empty. If you’ve got a lot in your inbox, you’ll
have to work quickly, and you may not get
everything done, but reducing your pile can be
a big help. And having an empty inbox is a
wonderful feeling.
Phone calls. Keep a list of phone calls you need
to make, with phone numbers, and carry it
everywhere. Whether you’re at your desk or on
the road, you can knock a few calls off your list
in a short amount of time.
Make money. This is my favorite productive
use of free time. I have a list of articles I need to
write, and when I get some spare minutes, I’ll
knock off half an article real quick. If you get
5-10 chunks of free time a day, you can make a
decent side income. Figure out how you can
free-lance your skills, and have work lined up
that you can knock out quickly — break it up
into little chunks, so those chunks can be done
in short bursts.
File. No one likes to do this. If you’re on top of
your game, you’re filing stuff immediately, so it
doesn’t pile up. But if you’ve just come off a
really busy spurt, you may have a bunch of
documents or files laying around. Or maybe you
have a big stack of stuff to file. Cut into that
stack with every little bit of spare time you get,
and soon you’ll be in filing Nirvana.
Network. Only have 2 minutes? Shoot off a
quick email to a colleague. Even just a “touching
bases” or follow-up email can do wonders for
your working relationship. Or shoot off a quick
question, and put it on your follow-up list for
later.
Clear out feeds. If my email inbox is empty,
and I have some spare time, I like to go to my
Google Reader and clear out my feed inbox.
Goal time. Take 10 minutes to think about your
goals, personal and professional. If you don’t
have a list of goals, start on one. If you’ve got a
list of goals, review them. Write down a list of
action steps you can take over the next couple
of weeks to make these goals a reality. What
action step can you do today? The more you
focus on these goals, and review them, the more
likely they will come true.
Update finances. Many people fall behind with
their finances, either in paying bills (they don’t
have time), or entering transactions in their
financial software, or clearing their checkbook,
or reviewing their budget. Take a few minutes to
update these things. It just takes 10-15 minutes
every now and then.
Brainstorm ideas. Another favorite of mine if I
just have 5 minutes — I’ll break out my pocket
notebook, and start a brainstorming list for a
project or article. Whatever you’ve got coming
up in your work or personal life, it can benefit
from a brainstorm. And that doesn’t take long.
Clear off desk. Similar to the filing tip above,
but this applies to whatever junk you’ve got
cluttering up your desk. Or on the floor around
your desk. Trash stuff, file stuff, put it in its
place. A clear desk makes for a more productive
you. And it’s oddly satisfying.
Exercise. Never have time to exercise? 10
minutes is enough to get off some pushups and
crunches. Do that 2-3 times a day, and you’ve
got a fit new you.
Take a walk. This is another form of exercise
that doesn’t take long, and you can do it
anywhere — but even more important, it’s a
good way to stretch your legs from sitting at
your desk too long, and it gets your creative
juices flowing. If you’re ever stuck for ideas,
taking a walk is a good way to get unstuck.
Follow up. Keep a follow-up list for everything
you’re waiting on. Return calls, emails, memos
— anything that someone owes you, put on the
list. When you’ve got a spare 10 minutes, do
some follow-up calls or emails.
Meditate. You don’t need a yoga mat to do
this. Just do it at your desk. Focus on your
breathing. A quick 5-10 minutes of meditation
(or even a nap) can be tremendously refreshing.
Research. This is a daunting task for me. So I
do it in little spurts. If I’ve only got a few
minutes, I’ll do some quick research and take
some notes. Do this a few times, and I’m done!
Outline. Similar to brainstorming, but more
formal. I like to do an outline of a complicated
article, report or project, and it helps speed
things along when I get to the actual writing.
And it only takes a few minutes.
Get prepped. Outlining is one way to prep for
longer work, but there’s a lot of other ways you
can prep for the next task on your list. You may
not have time to actually start on the task right
now, but when you come back from your
meeting or lunch, you’ll be all prepped and
ready to go.
Be early. Got some spare time before a
meeting? Show up for the meeting early. Sure,
you might feel like a chump sitting there alone,
but actually people respect those who show up
early. It’s better than being late (unless you’re
trying to play a power trip or something, but
that’s not appreciated in many circles).
Log. If you keep a log of anything, a few spare
minutes is the perfect time to update the log.
Actually, the perfect time to update the log is
right after you do the activity (exercise, eat,
crank a widget), but if you didn’t have time to
do it before, your 5-minute break is as good a
time as any.
Got some productive spare-time tips of your
own? Share them in the comments.
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