Free Time Management Tips For Using An Extra Hour Wisely - 10 Ways To Get Organized In An Hour

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Have an extra hour in your day? Great! Here are some free time management tips on using this extra hour to your advantage.

Did an appointment get canceled or rescheduled?

Are the clocks turning back?

Did you wake up a little earlier?

Whatever the reason, there are a ton of good things you can do with that extra time. Below you'll find a list of free time management tips for using that hour to your organizing advantage. Enjoy!

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Free Time Management Tips:
10 Organizing Tasks To Do With An Extra Hour

Set a timer for 60 minutes and don't look at the clock until it goes off. This keeps your focus on the task at hand.

1. Go through paper.

Whether it's a pile on your desk (or any surface) or old files, commit the next 60 minutes to purging paper and getting closer to your goal of total paper organization. By the way, doing paper sorting in small chunks like this keeps the overwhelm and procrastination at bay as well.

2. Get some action items done.

Use this time to do some items on your to do list (i.e. make some phone calls, answer some emails, do some research, pay a few bills, etc.).

3. Gather items for donation.

Spend the hour going from room to room in your home and grab things you no longer want. When the timer goes off, put all of the items you gathered in a bag or box and then in your car.

4. Clean out the fridge.

Take this time to throw out all of the expired items. If you get this done pretty quickly, then move on to the actual cleaning. Remove the condiments from the door and wipe it down. Do the same for the shelves and drawers. Voila! Refrigerator organization complete!

5. Put things where they belong.

This is a good time to go through your home and put stuff back where it belongs. Put dirty dishes in the kitchen, return toys to the kids' rooms and so on.

6. Read something.

That reading pile continues to grow, because that is reserved for "someday when I have some extra time." Well guess what! You have an extra hour, so that day is today. Perhaps, you'd like to read more free time management tips like how to be on time to all of your appointments.

7. Organize the entryway storage closet.

First remove all of the items that don't belong there. Then sort everything into categories (i.e. coats, shoes, rain gear, pet accessories). Finally, put everything back in accordingly (i.e. coats hanging up, shoes on the bottom on a shoe rack, pet stuff in a basket on the shelf).

8. Make a list.

Use this extra time to plan something out like ideas for holiday gift-giving, items to purchase for your next party or things to do on your upcoming vacation.

9. Recycle paper from events that have passed.

Examples would be things like old baby announcements, invitations for parties that have happened, coupons that have expired and anything else that is no longer valid.

10. Do nothing.

Sometimes the best way to be productive is to not do anything at all. If you give your mind some down time, you'll probably get more done later. Use this extra hour to clear your mind or to take a power nap.

TIME MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS

Time Timer
This visual timer is awesome and very popular! Set the amount of time you want to spend on a task and go.

Getting Things Done
Getting Things Done is THE productivity book and is a great starting point for anyone looking to build their time management foundation on something strong. I highly recommend it.

The Miracle Cube Timer
This simple timer has rave reviews! Set it by resting it with the desired time facing up, and a loud alarm sounds when the appropriate amount of time has passed.