Look, I know that Pinterest and Facebook (and a bunch of other sites on the interwebs) can be great time filling brain-sucks. I also know they can be super useful and many savvy business owners utilize these sites for good rather than evil. But, in those rare and elusive moments of nothing-on-my-calendar, I am just as guilty of picking up my iPad to pin and realizing two hours later that I did absolutely nothing with my evening. (Is it wasting time if I’m saving links for 45 ways to use baking soda or resources for refinishing furniture? I justify….)

And in this highly scheduled world of meetings, calls, appointments, school visits, and workouts, eventually something falls through the cracks. A call is canceled, you wrote down the wrong time zone for a Skype call and you are an hour early, or your meeting is pushed back (again). 

Instead of grumbling about wasted time and blaming the person who dared to move your highly planned schedule around….

see this new-found free time as a gift and use it.

Too annoyed to be motived? Set the timer and pick an option below: 

Have an extra 5 minutes? 

• return at least 5 emails – if it takes you more than 60 whole seconds to craft your response, you shouldn’t be emailing it
• drink a glass of water
• gather all of the pens and pencils in your office and put them all into a jar or cup so they are in one place when you need them
• check your bank account statement – knowledge is power
• cold call 2 dream clients – tweet them, email them, comment on a blog post – just get engaged in building your ideal clientele

15 minutes to spare?

• craft that killer sales page/newsletter/poem that’s been sitting in your head – this is your official permission to make it a reality
• write your grocery list 
• do 5 sun salutations
• set by-whens for upcoming projects you need to complete – put them in a calendar with reminders
• complete that one task that has been in front of you for weeks – you know the one, do it
• take a walk – getting outside for just 15 minutes will increase your productivity for the rest of the day
• setup automatic bill pay on any accounts that don’t already have it
• find inspiration – sign up for a class or course to further your enjoyment/education/fun

A whole 30 minutes?

• call a grandparent – yours, a friend’s, anyone. Ask them to tell you about love.
• grab a broom and sweep your floors
• grab a coworker or friend and have a clearing – it’s deep cleaning your relationships
• cook a meal that will get you through several more for the week – leftovers are the best friend of the busy people
• setup your email inbox so that it’s organized and clear from here on out

***

What do you do when you find yourself with some spare time you weren’t expecting?
How would you add to this list? 

Hit reply and let me know or comment on the blog. Let’s revolutionize how we use our time, minute by little minute.

xo