GET MORE FREE TIME!

We asked the experts—from life coaches to leaders of Fortune 500 companies—how they find more minutes in the day, and they spared a few to share their answers.

Advice to help you find more minutes in the day

If there’s one thing we probably have in common, it’s that we wish we had more time—for work and play, to read and cook, to relax and sleep (definitely to sleep). A quick internet search says it all: Google “how to get more free time” and you’ll find no shortage of results, from limiting distractions to decluttering to writing your to-do list on an index card (which forces you to prioritize tasks since not everything will fit on a teeny card). There are countless strategies designed to help you eke out a few additional minutes—or, dare we say it, hours—in the day. Time is proving to be more important than extra money, as, according to one 2016 study by researchers at The University of British Columbia, valuing time over the almighty buck leads to greater happiness.

Well, if time buys happiness, where does that leave us? Super busy with work, kids, relationships and responsibilities—that’s where. We know we’re overscheduled and technology-obsessed, and we’re definitely lacking downtime. There are only 24 hours—a mere 1,440 minutes or a scant 86,400 seconds—in a day, and the bad news is we can’t change that. But the good news is there are lots of tangible ways to make and save time. And no, we’re not talking about brushing your teeth in the shower while listening to voice messages, shaving your legs and scrubbing grout. (FYI: Multitasking doesn’t always save you time, as you’re less focused and more likely to make errors, to name a couple of reasons.)

So how do the busiest among us do it? What do experts such as CEOS, life coaches and counsellors recommend for carving out a few more moments in the day? We picked their brains for advice, and they shared their secrets to scheduling success.