This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Do you want to know the key to time management? STOP DOING THINGS! Yep, that’s right!  You won’t find more time by creating and organizing better and longer to-do lists. The only way you can get your time and life under control is to stop doing things of lower value and focus on doing things that make a difference.

So for you to start doing anything new, like finding more time to spend with your horse and ride, you’ve got to determine what you’re going to stop doing.

Obvious Time Wasters

 

Social Media

 

We all know how much of a time suck being on Face Book, Instagram, Linked In, Twitter, Pinterest and You Tube, etc.  can be. The time you spend on these platforms is time you are taking away from your horse, or time away from other tasks that will eventually take you away from your horse. Every time you reach for it, think about that. Enough said.

Your Phone

 

Your phone is usually your access to social media, time waster number 1,  but it can also be a huge distraction with texts and phone calls from friends, phone calls in general, playing games, looking at photos, etc. Turn off any notifications, and set designated times for answering email.

Here’s a good rule regarding email: check your email twice a day at 11:00 and 3:00. Make it clear to people, “I check my email twice a day at 11:00 and 3:00. If it’s an emergency, phone.”

Return calls during times when you are not planning to be working with your horse.

 

TV and Movies

 

I love watching movies on TV at home, but it can also be a huge waste of time. We have tamed this beast at our house by not even turning it on until 9pm.

 

Less Obvious Time Wasters

 

Perfectionism

 

Being a perfectionist doesn’t seem like it would be a time waster on the surface, but obsessing over every little detail of a task can really take its toll on the clock. It eats away at time spent doing other activities including spending time with your horse. Learn to settle for less than perfect. Strive for B- work, its good enough.

 

 

Procrastination

 

Putting off tasks leads to constantly thinking about them. Mark Twain once said that “If the first thing that you do when you wake up in the morning is to eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that’s probably the worst thing that’s going to happen to you all day long.”  Find the biggest, ugliest frog in your day, and tackle that sucker first. It’s the one that you’re most likely to procrastinate on. Procrastination is not only a thief of your time, it can be a killer of your dreams.

 

 

Not Saying “NO”

 

One of the biggest ways we waste our time is by saying “yes” to  unimportant tasks.  Some of us may feel a sense of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) or a sense of obligation when asked to do something. It feels completely unnatural to say no. But sometimes that’s what’s required in order to protect that all-important limited resource of time.

Practice saying things like:

“I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. Is there anyone else who might be able to give you the attention this deserves?” (or point them in the right direction)

“I wish I could, but I can’t.”

“Not this time, but I’d love to join/help out next time!”

 

 

Destructive/Toxic People

 

Cut out the destructive people in your life who pull you down (or if you can’t completely, cut down the time you have to be around them), and start spending time with people who will build you up and pull you up.

Remember, the people you spend your time around can have a dramatic effect on your life and your success. If you are always hanging around people who complain, blame others for their lack of success or are unproductive, it will start to reflect in your life. Their neediness can be a huge drain on your time and energy.

Find and spend time around successful, responsible people. People who don’t waste time and are productive with their lives. They will start to reflect on you as well.

Delegation Avoidance

 

What tasks are you currently doing that you could delegate to others, or even hire out? Most household tasks such as cleaning, cooking and yard work fall into this category.

Inspect each task on your to-do list and determine (honestly) if it is a task you could delegate to someone else, hire out, do less often or even stop doing altogether.

Other Time Hacks

 

 

Prioritize Time with Your Horse

 

Making time with your horse and riding a priority is the number one key to your riding success.  Building your schedule around your riding and practice time over other obligations is the only way to truly ensure that you meet your riding goals.

This brings us to one of the greatest time savers of all, and that is to simply get better. Practicing and getting better at preparing your horse, doing tasks around the barn and riding usually goes hand in hand with getting things done quicker. As your horse gets more riding time, he gets fitter and fitter and therefore requires less warming up and riding time.

 

 

Plan Your Time, But Don’t Spend All Of Your Time Planning

 

We can’t talk about time management without mentioning planning your time.

Using a calendar or planner is an easy way to view all of your commitments and deadlines in one space. Many people find it useful to spend an hour on a Sunday evening mapping out their entire week.

 

We’ve already talked about making your riding a priority, so now is the time to actually schedule your riding time into your planner.

 

If you don’t plan your time at all, you set yourself up for failure. On the other extreme, if you enjoy organizing things, you may have a tendency to spend all your time planning instead of actually executing.

 

Accept that some things will take longer than planned, and that’s okay. Be sure to build in buffer time. Be flexible, but be ruthless when it comes to protecting your riding time.

If you’re looking for a planner, you may want to give this one a try. There are lots of great choices at reasonable prices available from Amazon.

 

 

Be Outcome Focused Rather Than Task Focused

 

Try this, rather than making long to-do lists of tasks you want to accomplish during the day or the week, focus on what outcomes or experiences to you want to achieve during your week.  If, for example, you want to ride your horse 4 times during the next week, start with that as the goal. Then, reverse engineer your week so that you schedule riding 4 times into your planner for the week.

 

 

Take Advantage of Buffer or “Fringe” Time

 

Jane Pike of the Confident Rider podcast calls the little pockets of time between tasks on your calendar “Fringe Time”.  If used wisely, fringe time can be used to catch up on reading a few chapters of a book, writing quick thank you notes, watching a training video or even spending a short amount of time with your horse.

One example of how I use buffer or fringe time is on my commute to work. It takes me 50 minutes to drive to work and back. Rather than spending that time listening to the radio, I use this time to listen to audio books and podcasts.  I also watch training videos and listen to podcasts while I’m getting ready for work in the morning.

 

Capitalize on High Energy Levels

 

Think about when your energy levels are high. Some of us are morning people, some of us are night owls. Take advantage of when your energy levels are at their peak and get some of those more time consuming tasks out of the way when your energy levels are high. I happen to be a morning person. One of the ways I’ve capitalized on that is to get up earlier. Yep, I’ve made it a habit now to get up an hour earlier than I used to. I crash at 9 pm, but oh well, it’s dark outside and the TV goes on then anyway.

 

 

Conclusion

So here is one more important point.  In order to manage your time well, you have to have to be very clear on the specific goals that you want to accomplish.  Spending more time with your horse and improving your riding is one of those goals!

To help you get clear on setting your goals, I offer a free mini course on goal setting that will help you clarify what it is you want to accomplish over the course of one to ten years! For more information on setting goals, check out this article 6 Reasons You Need to Set Goals.

I hope you found this article helpful. Please share any of your tips on time management. I’d love to add them to the list!

 

Enjoy the Ride!