This post contains a partner link which may earn us a commission when you click it. Here’s our full affiliate disclosure policy. Thanks for the support! So, you want to learn how to be more Efficient in life. You want to learn the secrets to: Get more accomplished in a day Work more effectively Stop feeling that “there isn’t enough time” Well, as a preface, it’s not easy. Efficiency is about doing a lot of small things right, which when added up, make a big impact. If you’re looking for a blog post that holds the codex on how to be more efficient in life… it doesn’t exist. If you’re looking for the next best thing? This is probably it. In this post, I’ll share some actionable advice on how to be more efficient in life. 1. Get great sleep Efficiency is about quality, not quantity. Thus, the number one tip on how to be more efficient in life is to get enough sleep. Sleeping 8 hours, and producing 16 hours of quality work is more effective than sleeping for 6 hours and producing 18 hours of mediocre work. Efficiency is about quality, not quantityClick To Tweet Sure, there are some weird sleeping routines (polyphasic sleep cycles) that random strangers on the interwebs swear by, but don’t believe the hype. Instead, try the method that has worked for everyone I have ever met: getting a solid 8-8.5 hours of continuous sleep every night. So how do you get great sleep? Well, that could be a separate blog post itself, but the most important thing to do is to prioritize sleep. To get 8 hours of sleep, you really need to budget 9 hours. After all, it’s rare that you can fall asleep immediately, and you need some time for your pre-bed routine. Commit to getting enough sleep every night and don’t let random errands distract you. 2. Don’t waste time and be mindful of how you spend it This is such an obvious piece of advice, that I was planning to skip it, but sometimes it’s important to restate the obvious. Focus your time on the work and projects that are important to you. Ultimately you can’t do everything, thus it’s important to prioritize, delegate, and even decommission projects that aren’t important. Spend your time on projects that are important to youClick To Tweet Be mindful about how you’re spending your time every day. Minimize distractions and decrease the time wasted on meaningless pursuits that are irrelevant or have little positive impact on your life. Cutting out activities like binge-watching Netflix, browsing social media, or playing video games will free up time and energy which you can place on more important endeavors. Nevertheless, even I sometimes fall prey to the black hole of random Youtube videos or never-ending blitz chess games which can consume entire evenings if not days. The trick here is not to get stuck there in the first place. Find and prevent the trigger for these frivolous activities. It’s also helpful to develop the mental fortitude to say no when your brain asks for ‘just a bit more’. A trick I’ve found helpful in ensuring productivity when I got home for the day was to accomplish a small task as soon as I got back (e.g. organizing the room, doing laundry, packing for the next day). This made me more likely to want to continue my productive streak, than waste time in a whirlpool of inactivity. Look to experiment and discover different tactics that will work for you. 3. Buy time Getting great sleep is my number one tip on how to be more efficient in life. But my favorite efficiency tip? Buy time. So how do you buy time? Well, this could be (and probably will be) its own blog post, but ultimately – look for products and services that help save you time. For example, I hate grocery shopping in NYC. It’s time-consuming, check out lines are long, and lugging groceries from the store to your apartment is exhausting. Normally I spend ~2 hours a month buying groceries, but instead, I pay for Amazon Fresh ($14.99). Thus I’m basically paying $15 every month for 2 extra hours of free time.  The Math per Month: Amazon Fresh – $14.99 Time Spent grocery shopping – 2 hours There are various other ways you can buy time. Decrease your commute time by buying a skateboard for commuting… purchase vegetables precut so you can cook quicker… once you start looking you will find opportunities to buy time everywhere. 4. Plan your day, create lists, and prioritize Mapping out your day will help save you hours in the long run. So take a few minutes before you start working to contemplate your daily goal, which tasks you need to prioritize, and how to handle your commitments in the most efficient manner. You’re more likely to procrastinate when you’re not sure what to work on. But if you have an action plan for how you will tackle your tasks, you’ll approach the day with a much more focused intent. Bonus: Do your daily planning during your commute. Plan your workday on the way to the office, and create a game plan for your personal tasks on the way home.  5. Workout, relax, socialize, and meditate Maintain a balanced schedule. Take strategic breaks. No one can stay focused for 16 hours in a row. So exercise, socialize and carve out time to relax. Fit in a daily meditation. Every couple months, spend a few days traveling or going on vacation. Taking time to rest and recover will ensure that when you do focus on work, you perform at your peak. But look to relax in a productive way (e.g. reading a book, or learning a new skill). Don’t convince yourself that binge-watching TV your way of ‘relaxing’. Even when you unwind, do so with a worthwhile activity. Read a book, or learn a new skill. Find…Click To Tweet 6. Actively reflect on how to be more efficient in life The journey towards efficiency is never-ending. There are countless ways to make your life more efficient. Furthermore, there is no need to start big. [...]

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